The wealthiest individual on the continent, Aliko Dangote, is challenging Nigeria’s wealthy and powerful to turn inwards and invest their capital on the ground.
In a recent media session, Dangote Industries Limited proprietor was not just keen but enthusiastic in pointing out that expansion on the ground will be ubiquitous unless the nation’s oligarchs make investing on the ground priority ahead of foreign assets acquisition.
On behalf of Dangote, the actual growth is not possible without concrete local investment that addresses Nigeria’s economic issues. Sending money to foreign banks, he complained, and advocated keeping cash abroad to strangle economic development while putting the continent at risk. In contrast to countries where the magnitude of corruption is as vast, he claimed that countries recycling their corrupt or real money at home have better economies.
He invited Nigerian entrepreneurs to forget imagining other economies as haven countries and instead imagine Nigeria as sufficient soil upon which to build wealth and lasting mark. “There is no other way for transformation to real transformation but to invest in the country,” he reiterated.
Dangote use the example of constructing the $20 billion Dangote Refinery as a model of vision and investment to place Nigeria and the entire African continent on the global map. The refinery, which would place Nigeria in a league of its own in the refined petroleum product, was not without trials. He had admitted to having overshot the scale and sophistication aspect required, to the point of being advised to drop it half-way. He was determined to finish it, however, due to its increased energy autonomy and economic autonomy prospect for the entire continent of Africa.
He added that aside from the very obvious and clear-cut instances of Algeria and Libya, most of the African countries still have to rely on imports of petroleum even with vast crude oil reserves. This, he added, is the same reason why the continent has also served as a dumping ground for sub-standard and low-quality petroleum products. The refinery, in his mind, is not only a Nigerian success story but the best presentation of what can be achieved if African money is used to solve African problems.
Dangote went on to emphasize that economic freedom is the cornerstone of national sovereignty. As political independence is being celebrated across the continent, he cautioned that if one does not have financial independence, then most of the African countries are technically in dependence. He was categorical that governments and private enterprise alike need to keep their eyes on value-add industries, employment, and innovation.
In plain terms, he was expecting Dangote Refinery to act as a template for other countries in Africa to construct such a plant and break the culture of overdependence. He believes that with local investment being prioritized, Africa can realize its true potential and feel the promise of a good future for generations to come.
