Nigerian filmmaker and entrepreneur Kunle Afolayan has raised concerns over the rising cost of diesel in Nigeria, revealing that his business operations now require about N11 million every four to five weeks to stay powered.
Afolayan, the owner of KAP Film Village and Resort, disclosed this in a video posted on his Instagram page, describing the financial burden as increasingly unsustainable despite his investment in solar energy.
According to the filmmaker, the soaring diesel price—currently about N1,500 per litre—has placed enormous pressure on the operations of his creative hub.
“I’ve been sad because I can’t cope with the N1,500 per litre of diesel. In one of the businesses that we run, the KAP Village, we spend about N11 million in four or five weeks on diesel.
And we have solar power, but we’re still spending about N11 million,” he said.
He explained that the situation has forced his businesses to purchase diesel on credit, with repayments sometimes taking up to two months before new supplies can be secured.
“The diesel we’ve been buying, we’ve been buying on credit. When we make small money, we find a way to pay. Sometimes it takes two months to even pay it down before we can get another one on credit,” he said.
Afolayan noted that the situation worsened after diesel prices rose from around N1,000 per litre to about N1,500, describing the increase as unsustainable for business owners.
“But now from about N995 or N1,000 to N1,500, it’s not sustainable,” he added.
The filmmaker also appealed for support to upgrade the solar infrastructure powering his facility in order to reduce dependence on diesel.
“If you can come to our aid, I’ll really appreciate it,” he said.
His comments come amid rising fuel costs in Nigeria, following a recent increase in diesel prices by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which reportedly raised its price to about N1,620 per litre.