Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Industries Limited, has highlighted systemic corruption and a lack of investment in local refining infrastructure as the reasons behind Africa’s reliance on imported petroleum products. He warned that the continent has effectively become a dumping ground for substandard fuel.
Speaking at a recent media interview, Dangote stated that Africa’s inability to refine its crude oil, despite having vast reserves, stems from weak governance, corruption, and misplaced priorities that favour foreign interests over long-term national development.
“Apart from Algeria and Libya, which are self-sufficient, virtually every other African country is an importer,” Dangote said. “This is happening despite the enormous crude oil reserves available across the continent.
”He argued that Africa’s reliance on fuel imports exposes its citizens to inferior products and unnecessary economic vulnerabilities.
“The lack of local refining capacity means we are left at the mercy of exporters, many of whom dump substandard products into African markets,” he said.
Dangote stated that the decision to construct the 650,000-barrel-per-day Dangote Refinery in Lagos was motivated by the goal of reducing dependency on fuel imports and encouraging other African countries to do the same.
He also disclosed that the project encountered considerable resistance, particularly from individuals and institutions that benefit from fuel imports.
“People advised us not to do it,” he said. “They said even governments had failed to build such a refinery, and that it was a waste of time. But we pushed through, because we believed the status quo could not continue.”
He described the level of resistance and difficulty encountered as immense. “If I had known what we were getting into, I wouldn’t have started,” he said. “But we were already in too deep to turn back. It was either we cut our losses or fight to succeed.”
In a pointed remark, Dangote linked the failure to develop Nigeria’s refining sector to entrenched corruption, accusing political and business elites of prioritising personal gain over national interest.
“There is hardly any country without corruption,” Dangote said. “But the difference is that in those other corrupt countries, they invest the stolen funds in their own economy. Here, we stash them in foreign banks that have no benefit to us.”
