Former President Olusegun Obasanjo lost his temper after hearing reports of diesel shortages nationwide attributed to deregulation, according to Femi Otedola in his upcoming book, ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business’.
Obasanjo reportedly accused Otedola of deceiving him into deregulating diesel importation, a sector that had previously been under the exclusive control of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Otedola, who was the owner of Zenon Petroleum, had assured Obasanjo that the private sector could handle the supply without the involvement of NNPC, which had been selling below market price and receiving subsidies from the federal government.
The diesel market was liberalized in 2004, marking it as the first petroleum product to be entirely subsidy-free and ending related rent-seeking activities.
In excerpts shared with TheCable, Otedola 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.”
He added: “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.’”
He explained that he presented proof to Obasanjo, including letters of credit for the shipments, to show that diesel was indeed available nationwide.
“I was even paying demurrage. I told the president that I was the victim of competitors’ backbiting,” he noted, adding that he told Obasanjo to “see what they come up with next… You’ll see that it’s me who’s telling you the truth.”
To counter the misinformation, Otedola said he offered to begin placing adverts on newspaper front pages, showing diesel availability and pricing to reassure the public of stable and fair distribution.
He remarked that he suspected NNPC insiders, who were resistant to deregulation and benefitting from the subsidy regime, were responsible for the false reports.
“Obasanjo was a determined and robust president. Jealous people did not easily sway him. Once he made up his mind that someone was trustworthy and genuine, as he seemed to do about me that day, he stopped listening to the naysayers.”
Otedola’s debut book has already received early praise from Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director general of the World Trade Organization, Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank Group, Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, Samuel Adedoyin, founder and chairman of the Doyin Group of Companies, and Arunma Oteh, former vice president and treasurer of the World Bank.
‘Making It Big’, published by FO Books, is scheduled for release on Monday, August 18, 2025.
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