Billionaire businessman Femi Otedola has recounted a tense encounter with then-Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo — one that ended with the ex-president branding him a “stupid boy,”.
Otedola shared the explosive episode in his upcoming book, Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business, set for release on August 18. He revealed that Obasanjo became furious after being told that a diesel scarcity — allegedly caused by deregulation — was crippling the economy.
The former president accused Otedola of misleading him into deregulating diesel importation, which had previously been under the absolute monopoly of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Otedola, who was then Chairman of Zenon Petroleum, had assured Obasanjo that the private sector could handle the deregulated market without NNPC involvement, effectively ending the diesel subsidy.
Diesel became the first petroleum product to be deregulated in 2004. But when opponents told the president that trucks had stopped moving, industries were shutting down, and the market was collapsing, Obasanjo — according to IReporter Online — lost his temper.
“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!’” Otedola recalled.
He immediately flew to Abuja the next day to meet Obasanjo face-to-face. The president, still seething, confronted him again, but Otedola countered with proof — letters of credit showing six ships loaded with diesel waiting to discharge supplies.
Otedola said he was the victim of fierce industry sabotage from NNPC loyalists opposed to deregulation, adding that he was even paying heavy demurrage while his ships were berthed.
He promised the president that he would publicly advertise diesel availability to counter the false scarcity narrative.
In the end, Obasanjo — known for his resolute decision-making — stopped listening to the “naysayers” once he confirmed Otedola’s sincerity,
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