Can Dangote's Investments Save Nigeria?

     Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has announced that the size of his investment only in an oil refinery will be increased by more than a fifth to $11 billion. And this is not the first huge investment of the top-businessman…

Dangote states that he is planning an additional $2bn of investment on top of the $9bn he announced just over a year ago.

He is sure that new billions could eventually revolutionise Nigeria’s energy sector by slashing fuel imports, eliminating costly rackets associated with subsidies and crude oil swaps, and adding billions of dollars in value to petroleum exports. According to the information provided by Dangote to the Financial Times the refinery and petrochemicals project should be completed by the end of 2017 and thereafter have a lifespan of decades.

Mr. Dangote says: “Nigeria needs it and Africa needs it.” He also adds that the Dangote Group, has already begun laying foundations outside Lagos, the commercial capital, and had raised nearly two-thirds of the initial foreign currency requirement needed before the naira began to slide on weaker world oil prices.

“The devaluation will increase our dollar costs. But most people in the oil business have slowed down or suspended projects. So I think we will get very good deals in terms of building. That will compensate,” Dangote believes.

Despite of the oil industry Dangote is known for his investments in other spheres.

In August Aliko Dangote donated N150 million to halt the spread of Ebola in Nigeria. The N152, 956,250.00 from the Dangote Foundation used for the establishment of a National Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at Yaba, Lagos.

The choice of the emergency operation centre as an investment for Dangote Foundation was based on the fact that is the critical platform through which the government is coordinating all that is happening to ensure that the crisis is contained.

Some more Dangote’s money has been invested in rice farming in Nigeria. Dangote invested $1 billion (N165 billion) in rice farming, making it the largest single investment in rice production ever made in Africa.

The investment will see the establishment of two modern integrated rice mills. They will both have the capacity to mill 120,000 Metric Tons of rice daily. Dangote’s $1billion investment on rice farming will create about 8,000 new jobs and significantly reduce the price of locally produced rice.

According to Dangote the Dangote Group is poised to make an investment totaling $US 34.7 billion in the Nigerian economy by 2017.