Nigeria, Aug. 22 -- In his newly released memoir Otedola: An Autobiography, the business mogul recounted how his company, Zenon Petroleum & Gas, was thriving at the height of the oil boom. In 2008, crude hit $147 per barrel, and riding on optimism, he placed a $500 million diesel import order. Within weeks, however, oil prices plummeted to $37, leaving him with shipments worth far less than he paid.

The News Chronicle understands that that was only the start of Otedola's financial hell. His problems were exacerbated by the Central Bank of Nigeria's devaluation of the naira, which meant that debts taken at N117 to the dollar had to be reimbursed at N165, thereby increasing his obligations overnight. He claims that nearly N60 billion in ca...