By Abiola Olawale
Nigerian billionaire businessman, Mr Femi Otedola has shared a dramatic encounter with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the 2004 diesel deregulation policy.
This was detailed in his upcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, set for release on August 18, 2025, by FO Books.
Otedola, then chairman of Zenon Petroleum, narrated a 2 a.m. phone call from Obasanjo, who accused him of misleading the government into deregulating diesel imports.
Otedola said the former president flew into a rage because he was informed that there was diesel scarcity across the country due to deregulation.
Otedola said he had convinced Obasanjo that the private sector could meet Nigeria’s diesel demand without the involvement of NNPC, which had been selling imported diesel below market price and getting subsidy reimbursement from the federal government.
The business tycoon wrote: “When President Obasanjo deregulated diesel in 2004, Zenon took an unassailable lead in the market.
“My opponents’ reaction was to tell the president that we’d turned the market upside down (and that the) economy was about to be brought down because there was no diesel, and Obasanjo was mad at me because he’d sought and received assurances from us that NNPC’s exit from diesel importation wouldn’t affect supply.
“My critics then fanned the flames by telling him there was no diesel in the country, that trucks couldn’t move, and that industries were shutting down.
“The President called me at 2am, shouting through the phone. ‘You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you! You persuaded me to deregulate diesel, and now there’s no diesel in the country!’ He was livid. I flew to Abuja the following day. As soon as Obasanjo saw me, he flew into a rage again. ‘What kind of rubbish is this? What kind of nonsense is this?’ He was right in my face, screaming at the top of his lungs.
“I allowed him to cool down, and when he stopped talking, I tried to explain the situation. ‘Baba, they’re lying to you. It’s all lies. I have six ships waiting to discharge big supplies of diesel.’”
Otedola argued that diesel was available across the country and that he was even paying demurrage fees due to delays in offloading his shipments.
“I was even paying demurrage. I told the president that I was the victim of competitors’ backbiting,” he wrote, saying he asked Obasanjo to “see what they come up with next… You’ll see that it’s me who’s telling you the truth.”
