At this hour, Aliko Dangote is an Ovim (Abia State) son. In my village, there are many young people who go by the nickname “Dangote”. So, my support for him is simply based on my admiration of what he has done for Nigeria. In the Igbo Nation, you do not throw a baby with the dirty bathwater; if you have any issues with him, as many posit with the “monopoly” tag, these are things which could be resolved.
But we cannot wish for his businesses to go down. If he fixes about $10 billion he contributed for the refinery in certificate of deposit in America, he will get $500 million yearly as interest at largely no risk! But he does not do that, preferring to create companies and provide jobs. Others like him prefer Swiss banks, and never have a pin invested in Nigeria, but only to harass us.
We tend to ignore the power of having a job. One of Nigeria’s major problems is that the way we earn foreign earnings does not create a lot of jobs. Yes, you pump crude oil with say 10,000 well paid workers and you earn $100 million at the end of the year; GDP $50 million. But another country uses 200,000 people, on textile and agriculture, and earns $10m at the end of the year but with a GDP of $200m. In basic economics, that second country has a better position to advance the wealth of all people because the economic activity is huge.
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So, when we see job creators, we need to support them. The Fitch Ratings’ note is a huge message not only to Dangote but to Nigeria: “According to Fitch Ratings, Dangote Group plans to divest 12.75% stake in Dangote Petroleum Refinery over liquidity concerns. In a statement on Monday, Fitch said Dangote Group plans to use the proceeds from the stake sold to service a sizable syndicated loan that matures on August 31, 2024.”
That time is about three weeks from today. I am confident that he will be fine. And he deserves our best wishes. If he thrives, most of us here will benefit. At least even if that helps the Naira. In the Igbo Nation, when the yam is well cooked, the ants benefit because pieces of the yam will scatter as it is being eaten. If Dangote Refinery works, everyone will benefit. I recommend him for maximum support!
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But witches don’t care about benefits, they eat others and themselves up; there are too many witches in the land. It’s a suicidal thinking to wish Dangote failure. What distinguishes a martyr from a suicider is that, the former is willing to die for something greater to stand, while the latter wants everything to end. Nigeria has many suiciders, and few martyrs.
Those who become emergency activists don’t care about those they tell you that Aliko Dangote suppressed and oppressed, if those people are doing well today, the same loathsomeness will still be extended to them. Their hatred for Dangote has absolutely nothing to do with justice or equity, but it’s about the destructive envy they carry about, it spares no one, except you are miserable like them.
Which normal human will not want Aliko Dangote’s sprawling businesses to be successful? Those who only feed on destruction and hate cannot hide, because they will always give themselves away, since it’s impossible to contain hate.
The good people of Nigeria are solidly behind Aliko Dangote, our ultimate OG; anyone who is not happy with that, we will be ready to attend his/her funeral. There’s no diplomacy when dealing with witches, if you don’t vanquish them, they will ruin you.