Nigerian billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola, has lifted the lid on a dramatic clash with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the controversial deregulation of diesel imports in 2004, in his soon-to-be-released memoir Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business.
In excerpts from the book shared ahead of its official release, Otedola recounts a tense confrontation with President Obasanjo amid widespread reports of diesel scarcity across Nigeria shortly after the government deregulated the market. The policy shift had been strongly backed by Otedola and other key players in the private sector, who argued that private companies were well-positioned to meet national demand.
At the time, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had held a monopoly on diesel imports under a government subsidy regime. However, following deregulation, Otedola’s company, Zenon Petroleum, swiftly became the dominant player in the market.
“When President Obasanjo deregulated diesel in 2004, Zenon took an unassailable lead in the market,” Otedola writes in the memoir.
“My opponents’ reaction was to tell the president that we’d turned the market upside down… and that industries were shutting down because there was no diesel.”
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The situation escalated when Obasanjo, reportedly angered by the crisis, placed an irate call to Otedola in the early hours of the morning.
“‘You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you!’ he shouted. ‘You persuaded me to deregulate diesel, and now there’s no diesel in the country!’” Otedola recalls in the book.
Alarmed by the severity of the president’s reaction, Otedola flew to Abuja the next morning to clarify the matter. He described a second confrontation at Aso Rock in which Obasanjo once again vented his frustrations before allowing Otedola to explain.
“As soon as Obasanjo saw me, he flew into a rage again… I allowed him to cool down, and when he stopped talking, I explained the situation,” Otedola writes.
He told the president that six vessels laden with diesel were waiting to discharge, and presented letters of credit as proof that supply was on its way. He further alleged that elements within the NNPC, resistant to the deregulation policy, had deliberately misinformed the president in an effort to preserve the lucrative subsidy regime.
To address public concerns and provide greater transparency, Otedola said he took the unusual step of publishing diesel availability and pricing in national newspapers to reassure both consumers and government officials.
Despite their confrontation, Otedola described Obasanjo in respectful terms, calling him a “determined and robust president” who, once convinced of a person’s integrity, would remain steadfast in his support.
The memoir promises a rare insider’s view into Otedola’s rise in Nigeria’s energy sector and his dealings with political power, offering readers candid reflections on the interplay between business and governance in one of Africa’s largest economies.
Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business is scheduled for release later this year.
