In search of African inspiration? Aliko Dangote more than inspires

Leadership Lessons for Africa’s Ruling Elites

My search for African inspiration has landed me in Nigeria, where the visionary Aliko Dangote has established Africa’s largest oil refinery, an impressive $20 billion investment. The refinery is now operating at over 85% capacity in crude oil distillation. In 2023, the IMF doubted it would surpass a third of its 650,000-barrel-per-day capacity by 2025, yet it is already proving otherwise. At some point, Dangote considered buying the North London Football Club, Arsenal—a top-tier English team competing in the Premier League—for $2 billion, but instead, he chose to channel that money into this massive, transformative project that will now ensure Nigeria’s oil sufficiency, save billions in foreign exchange, and create thousands of jobs.

Some observers and political economy experts have attributed Aliko Dangote’s past business success in various sectors (cement, fertilizer, sugar, real estate, logistics, and rice, among others) to his alignment with past administrations in Nigeria. But where in the world do government and the private sector operate in complete isolation? The entanglement of political and business interests is not unique to Nigeria, what matters are the outcomes such relationships produce for different actors in a country, especially the ordinary citizens.

A great example is how U.S. tech billionaires, in a bid to cultivate close ties, flocked to Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and attended President Donald Trump’s January 2025 inauguration. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also been hosted for meetings at the White House. Elon Musk illustrates this dynamic further. Driven by his business interests, Mr. Musk has leveraged his political relationships with President Trump by pioneering the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) while maintaining extensive business dealings with the U.S. government.

Of course, caution is necessary. The relationship between billionaire entrepreneurs and political elites, whether in Lagos, Nairobi, Johannesburg, or Washington, carries risks. State capture is real and can undermine democratic accountability.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria. Pic Courtesy: Reuters, October 30, 2024.

Back to Dangote’s petroleum refinery in Nigeria. Here is a summary of insights from this game-changing investment.

• It’s the largest private investment in Africa.
• Located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone, Ibeju-Leku, Lagos State.
• Covers 2,635 hectares.
• A game change for Nigeria’s economy.
• The largest single-train refinery in Africa and the world (650,000 barrels per day).
• The project launched in 2013, but construction did not begin until 2017 due to community issues and other delays).
• More than enough capacity to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel needs and export surplus.
• Built with its own dedicated port.
• Generates its power supply (435 MW).
• Produces high-standard petroleum products for Africa and the world, including Euro-V quality gasoline, diesel, aviation fuel, and polypropylene.
• Directly employs 30,000 Nigerians on site (93% Nigerians).
• Expected to net at least $10 billion in foreign exchange due to the reduction in petroleum products.

“It feels really great. It is really a great achievement…it is something that 90% of the entire world did not give a chance. No one really believed we could pull it off, but we did, and it is a great satisfaction.” Aliko Dangote.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, Nigeria. Pic Courtesy: CNBC Africa, December 20, 2024.

Nigeria has several oil refineries, but for decades, its four major ones, built in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, have remained in a state of disrepair. Some argue this has been deliberate to discourage local production and extend subsidy benefits to a few, often, foreign importers. The result has been a persistent dependence on imported petroleum products, many times at higher costs.

In this context, Aliko Dangote’s successful establishment of a private refinery stands out as a significant milestone the entire African continent should be celebrating. Despite facing significant challenges at home and from the entrenched interests in the international oil market, Dangote has delivered a project of transformative scale. Now that he’s pulled it off, Nigeria and other African countries should support it by sourcing petroleum products locally. For a country of over 230 million people and a sharply rising population, the refinery is more than an industrial achievement; it is a strategic national security asset, one that deserves protection at all costs. There are valuable leadership lessons here for Africa’s ruling elites, particularly investing in projects that serve future generations and safeguard national interests.

This is the kind of example of what I want to see when I hear, “We are African, and Africa is our business,” not just the branding that so often accompanies the statement without material things for the masses. As a student of public policy and politics in Africa, I am more than inspired by this private investment. Long live Chairman Aliko Dangote! May current and future generations draw inspiration from your vision, efforts, success, and leadership.

Originally published by the writer on their social media pages and it is republished here with the permission of the writer. No changes were made to the original article.

Follow This Is Africa on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.