Aliko Dangote: Let me use this medium to show my public support in the sea where Nigeria has thrown you, publicly discounting one of its finest business leaders. Never in the history of the market system has someone done so much but got little respect from his nation. I mean, if you have used the $10b you invested in the Dangote Refinery, and piled it on CDs and other financial instruments, you could receive $500 million in returns every year. With that you can party as you want.
But you did not do that. You did not follow those Dubai investors. You did not follow the Swiss bank savers. You decided to risk that fund, and more, to help your country. Recall that when you started this, I wrote publicly that once you are about to succeed, Nigerians will forget how bad things were because everything is easy when someone has done it.
Your vision, tenacity, and can-do attitude are attributes worthy of emulation. In the Igbo Nation, it takes the killing of one leopard to be called a killer of leopards. Alhaji, you have killed many leopards in business, and we celebrate you.
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Sir, nations rise when GREAT entrepreneurs emerge. You have served your nation and continent in great ways. I salute you because Africa needs builders like you. That is not to say that you’re perfect. That is not to say you could not have done certain things differently. Who is really perfect in this world and who does not have privileges?
Being able to write this message is a privilege because I grew up in Abia State where literacy rate is above 90% (if I was born in some states with about 8%, possibly, I may not be in a position to even write and read). So, for all the little misses the obstructionists focus on, we admire you. In my village, we have young people take the nickname – “Dangote”.
I write to support you and challenge you NOT to be disillusioned. Nigeria is our land and we must continue to believe. This is not a tribal matter as everyone is a victim. Yes, Nigeria can happen to any person anytime. But the unalloyed commitment is what we need to redeem the nation.
Continue building, and you cannot be offended by cabals to phase out that steel project.
Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Industries Limited, announced that the company will abandon its plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry to avoid accusations of seeking a monopoly. This decision comes after the government raised concerns about the potential for a monopoly if Dangote were to invest in the steel sector. Dangote has called on other wealthy Nigerians to invest in the country’s steel industry, suggesting that they could contribute more than he could. The move has sparked a debate among Nigerians, with some expressing disappointment at the loss of potential industrial development and others supporting the decision to avoid monopolistic practices.
I’m no longer interested in going into steel development, I’m not the only Nigerian. The are Nigerians that may even have more cash than I do, they should go into that area of business — Aliko Dangote pic.twitter.com/fxzeozNY6L
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 21, 2024
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This is Nigeria, where if you don’t fall in line or lick someones ass, you are an enemy. It doesn’t matter if getting at you will be at the detriment of the whole nation. It’s simply a ego thing.
Dangote will succeed and the envious will run with their tails between their legs.