‘God Will Punish You!’ – Otedola Reveals Obasanjo’s Rage Over 2004 Diesel Crisis
Nigerian billionaire and oil magnate, Femi Otedola, has opened up on a tense confrontation with former President Olusegun Obasanjo over the 2004 deregulation of diesel importation, revealing that the former Head of State furiously accused him of misleading the government on the policy.
Otedola made the revelation in his soon-to-be-released memoir titled Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, published by FO Books and scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In excerpts from the memoir seen by TheCable, Otedola, who was the chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd at the time, narrated how Obasanjo lashed out at him during a late-night phone call, hurling insults and blaming him for an alleged scarcity of diesel in the country following the government’s withdrawal from the market.
“When President Obasanjo deregulated diesel in 2004, Zenon took an unassailable lead in the market,” Otedola wrote.
“But soon after, my opponents told the president that the market had been thrown into chaos, that there was no diesel in the country, and that the economy was about to collapse. Obasanjo was livid. He rang me at 2am, shouting on 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!’”
According to Otedola, Obasanjo had relied on his assurances that the private sector was capable of meeting national demand without the involvement of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which had previously imported diesel and benefitted from government subsidies.
The Zenon boss explained that the reported scarcity was a fabrication pushed by vested interests within the NNPC and rival marketers who stood to lose from the deregulated regime.
“I flew to Abuja the next day. As soon as Obasanjo saw me, he exploded again. ‘What kind of rubbish is this? What kind of nonsense is this?’ He was right in my face, shouting at the top of his lungs,” Otedola recounted.
“I allowed him to calm down and then explained the situation. I told him they were feeding him lies. I had six ships on the high seas, loaded with diesel, waiting to discharge. In fact, I was paying demurrage,” he added.
Otedola claimed that elements within the NNPC who opposed the policy were behind the misinformation, in a bid to return to the previous arrangement that allowed them benefit from subsidies and import contracts.
In a bid to counter the misinformation and restore confidence in the market, Otedola proposed that the government take out adverts on the front pages of national dailies, clearly showing the availability and pricing of diesel across the country.
He praised Obasanjo’s leadership, stating that the former president eventually listened to reason and ignored the “naysayers” once convinced of his honesty.
“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 noted.
Sodiq Lawal is a passionate and dedicated journalist with a knack for uncovering captivating stories in the bustling metropolis of Osun State and Nigeria at large. He has a versatile reporting style, covering a wide range of topics, from politics , campus, and social issues to arts and culture, seeking impact in all facets of the society.
