Femi Otedola Opens Up on 2 am Confrontation with Obasanjo Over Diesel Scarcity

Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has revealed a fiery late-night exchange with former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004 over the deregulation of diesel supply in Nigeria.

In his upcoming memoir, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, Otedola recounts how the then-president angrily called him at 2 a.m., blaming him for a reported shortage of diesel across the country.

“‘You’re a stupid boy! God will punish you!’ he shouted down the phone,” Otedola wrote. “He accused me of persuading him to deregulate diesel, only for the country to run dry.”

At the time, Otedola’s company, Zenon Petroleum, had assured the presidency that private companies could meet the nation’s diesel demand after the government ended the NNPC’s subsidy-controlled monopoly.

But according to Otedola, certain NNPC officials opposed to deregulation deliberately misinformed Obasanjo to protect their subsidy benefits.

The next day, Otedola flew to Abuja to explain the real situation—revealing that six ships loaded with diesel were already in Nigerian waters, waiting to discharge. He even presented letters of credit as proof.

To fight the false reports, he began publishing diesel availability and prices in newspapers, restoring public confidence.

Despite their heated clash, Otedola described Obasanjo as a “determined and robust leader” who stood firmly behind people once convinced of their integrity.

The memoir promises more behind-the-scenes stories from Otedola’s decades in business and his encounters with Nigeria’s political elite.