Former President Olusegun Obasanjo once lashed out at billionaire businessman Femi Otedola in the early days of diesel deregulation, accusing him of causing a nationwide fuel shortage, according to revelations in Otedola’s forthcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business.
In excerpts Otedola recounted how Obasanjo deregulated the diesel market in 2004 after assurances from the Zenon Petroleum boss that private companies could handle supply without the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Shortly after the policy took effect, Otedola said political and business rivals fanned rumours that deregulation had triggered scarcity, paralysing transport and industry.
“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!’” Otedola wrote.
He said he flew to Abuja the next day to defend himself, telling Obasanjo the claims were “all lies” and that six ships loaded with diesel were waiting to discharge.
Otedola blamed elements within NNPC who wanted to keep the state monopoly and continue benefitting from subsidies. He then proposed advertising diesel prices and availability in newspapers to counter the disinformation.
According to Otedola, Obasanjo was not easily swayed by jealousy or backbiting once convinced of someone’s sincerity.
Making It Big — Otedola’s first book — will be released on August 18, 2025, and has already drawn praise from global and African business leaders, including WTO’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, AfDB’s Akinwumi Adesina, and Dangote Group’s Aliko Dangote.