Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Industries Limited, has called on wealthy Nigerians and African entrepreneurs to invest within their countries, stressing that it remains the only sure path to real national development. Speaking in a recent interview with select journalists, Mr Dangote urged the rich to resist the temptation of keeping their wealth abroad, saying that African countries can only progress when domestic investments flourish.
The billionaire businessman criticised the common practice of exporting wealth out of the continent and hiding it in foreign banks, which he said brings no benefit to the home economy. According to him, while corruption exists everywhere, the difference in other countries is that corruptly acquired wealth is still often reinvested within their economies, boosting growth and development. “There is hardly any country without corruption, but the difference between there and here is that, in those other corrupt nations, they invest the stolen funds in their country and grow their economy rather than keeping it in foreign banks that will not in any way impact positively on the economy,” Dangote stated.
He insisted that sustainable national growth is impossible without significant local investments. “It is only through such commitment that we can drive true development,” he said. “No nation develops without significant investments. I appeal to all wealthy Nigerians to look inward and invest here, in Nigeria, for the future of our unborn children.”
Mr Dangote further stated that Africa’s major need is for bold and transformative projects that can address long-standing socio-economic challenges, especially the issue of job creation for the continent’s growing population. He noted that unemployment and underdevelopment can only be tackled when local investors take the lead in building critical industries and infrastructure.
Speaking about his decision to build the $20 billion Dangote Refinery, the business mogul said the project was borne out of a strong desire to make Nigeria self-sufficient in refined petroleum products. He explained that despite the abundance of crude oil in Africa, most countries on the continent still rely on imported refined products. “Apart from Algeria and Libya, which are self-sufficient, virtually every other African country is an importer,” Dangote said. He stressed that this overreliance on imports has turned Africa into a dumping ground for substandard petroleum products, which poses economic and environmental risks.
Africa, according to Mr Dangote, holds around 125 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, with Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Libya among the top oil-producing nations globally. Yet, refining capacity remains weak across the continent, forcing nations to export raw crude only to import refined products at higher costs.
He revealed that when he embarked on the Dangote Refinery project, many people doubted the capacity of his group to complete it. Some even advised him to abandon the project, noting that several sovereign nations had tried and failed to execute similar large-scale refineries. “People think building a refinery is like building a house,” he said. “But, as I always say, if I had known the scale of challenges we would face, I wouldn’t have started at all. We were fortunate as a group because we didn’t fully grasp what we were getting into, but we believed that nothing is impossible.”
Dangote admitted that the project was riddled with challenges, and the company reached a point where it had to choose between abandoning the effort and suffering huge losses or pushing through to completion. “We had to keep pushing to ensure delivery,” he added.
Mr Dangote expressed hope that the successful completion of the refinery will inspire other African nations to develop their refining capacities and invest in industries that add value to their raw materials. He argued that true independence for African countries is not just political but also economic. Without building industries and achieving financial self-reliance, he warned, African countries would remain poor and dependent on foreign powers for essential goods and services.
He maintained that Africa’s future rests in the hands of its wealthy citizens who must decide to invest locally rather than export capital. By doing so, Dangote believes Africa can break the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment and build a future of prosperity for generations to come.
