Book excerpt: Femi Otedola recounts Obasanjo’s rage during diesel crisis

In his upcoming book, “Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business,” Femi Otedola has disclosed that a nationwide diesel scarcity following deregulation in 2004 led to a furious confrontation with then-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

According to Otedola, who owned Zenon Petroleum at the time, Obasanjo “flew into a rage” and accused him of misleading the government into deregulating the importation of diesel, a market previously monopolised by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Otedola had assured Obasanjo that the private sector could meet demand, ending the need for NNPC’s subsidised imports.

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In excerpts from the book, Otedola recounts the president’s reaction: “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!’”

The situation escalated further when Otedola met with the president the next day. “‘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.”

Otedola explained to the president that the scarcity claims were false and driven by his competitors, particularly those within NNPC who opposed deregulation to protect their subsidy benefits. He told Obasanjo, “Baba, they’re lying to you. It’s all lies. I have six ships waiting to discharge big supplies of diesel.”

To prove his point, Otedola proposed advertising the availability and price of diesel on the front pages of newspapers.

The memoir, “Making It Big,” is Otedola’s first and is scheduled for release on Monday, August 18, 2025. It has received advance praise from notable figures like Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Akinwumi Adesina, and Aliko Dangote.