Dangote Urges Nigeria’s Elite: Build Nation Or Betray Future

President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has issued a clarion call to Nigeria’s affluent class (Elites) and African entrepreneurs, urging them to redirect their wealth towards transformative investments at home rather than stashing fortunes in foreign banks.

In a recent media interaction with selected journalists, Dangote lamented the outflow of African capital and stressed that no nation can experience genuine development without substantial domestic investment. He warned that failure to act now would mean continued economic stagnation and a bleak future for the continent’s teeming youth population.

 “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 kids,” He urged. “There is hardly any country without corruption, but in those places, the money is reinvested into their economy. Here, we send it abroad to rot in foreign accounts.”

The philosophist was unsparing in his critique of the African elite’s reliance on foreign economies, describing it as a dangerous trend that hampers local industrialization and perpetuates dependency. He argued that true development lies in building value-added industries, generating employment, and ensuring energy and economic self-sufficiency.

Citing his own example, the industrialist shared the herculean experience behind his $20 billion Dangote Refinery, now regarded as Africa’s largest. He disclosed that the idea was born out of a desire to secure Nigeria’s energy independence and break the continent’s reliance on imported petroleum products, despite having some of the world’s richest crude oil reserves.

 “If I had known the scale of the challenges we would face, I wouldn’t have started. People think building a refinery is like building a house,” he said. “We were naïve, but we believed it was possible, and we pushed through.”

Africa, he said, holds over 125 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, with major contributors like Nigeria, Algeria, Angola, Egypt, and Libya. Yet, most of these nations still import refined products, a paradox that has turned the continent into a dumping ground for substandard fuel.

Dangote revealed that critics, including advisors, had at various stages urged him to abandon the project, pointing to similar failures by sovereign governments. But his team chose to persevere.

 “We reached a point where it was either we stop and lose everything or keep pushing. We chose to move forward,” he said.

Now completed, the refinery stands not just as a symbol of industrial success, but as a challenge to other African nations: to build, to believe, and to stop exporting raw materials and importing poverty.

Dangote emphasized that economic independence must accompany political sovereignty if Africa truly intends to chart its own path in the global order.

 “Import dependency is economic slavery. Our freedom lies in what we produce, not just in our flags and anthems,” he concluded.

He called on Nigeria’s billionaires and emerging business leaders to join in building the nation by investing in industries that serve the people, grow the economy, and uplift future generations.

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By Lekan Olofinsusi