Nigerian billionaire and oil mogul Femi Otedola has revealed a fiery confrontation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the deregulation of diesel importation in 2004.
In his upcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, Otedola describes how Obasanjo was furious after being told that diesel was scarce following the policy shift. The book, published by FO Books, is set for release on August 18, 2025.
Otedola, who then owned Zenon Petroleum, had assured the president that private companies could meet the country’s diesel demand without the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which had previously imported diesel at subsidized prices.
“When diesel was deregulated, Zenon quickly dominated the market,” Otedola writes. “But my opponents claimed the economy was suffering due to diesel shortages, prompting the president’s outrage.”
He recalled receiving a 2 a.m. call from an enraged Obasanjo:
“You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you! You persuaded me to deregulate diesel, and now there’s none in the country!”
Otedola flew to Abuja the next day to explain. “I told him the rumors were false. I had six ships loaded with diesel waiting to discharge. I was even paying demurrage.”
To counter the misinformation, Otedola proposed publishing diesel availability and prices on national newspaper front pages to reassure the public.
He blamed resistance from within the NNPC, saying they were against deregulation because they wanted to keep benefiting from subsidies.
Despite the heated exchange, Otedola said Obasanjo eventually trusted him. “Once he believed in your integrity, he stopped listening to detractors,” he noted.
Nigeria’s diesel market was liberalized in 2004, making it the first petroleum product to be fully deregulated marking an end to government subsidies and rent-seeking in the sector.
