Dangote Blames Erratic Power, Unstable Policies for Africa’s Economic Setback

Aliko Dangote, africa’s richest industrialist and chairman of the dangote group, has identified chronic electricity shortages and inconsistent government policies as key obstacles to industrial growth across the continent.

Speaking at the afreximbank annual meeting in abuja, dangote criticised african governments for policies that turn the continent into a dumping ground for foreign products while exporting much-needed jobs.

“Industries cannot thrive without stable electricity and clear policies,” he stated. “as long as we keep importing, we are importing poverty and exporting jobs.”

He explained that backward integration and industrial protection policies had transformed nigeria’s cement industry into the continent’s largest exporter. dangote said that upon completion of his new cement plant, nigeria could generate no less than $500 million annually from cement exports alone.

He recalled how former president olusegun obasanjo’s ban on cement importation spurred massive investments in local production. “we moved from 1.9 million metric tons to over 60 million tons,” he said.

Dangote also advocated for an “africa first” strategy to emulate asia’s success, urging africans to invest their wealth within the continent instead of stashing it abroad. “asians build their economies with both legal and illegal funds, but africans prefer to hide theirs overseas,” he said.

He noted that corruption exists everywhere but africa suffers more because stolen wealth is taken out of the system. “if the money remained in africa, our economies would be much stronger,” he said.

On policy solutions, dangote called for import restrictions and strategic investments in agriculture, manufacturing, and finance. he noted that nigeria’s fertilizer production would soon exceed qatar’s, and announced plans to list dangote fertilizer on the nigerian exchange this year, followed by the dangote refinery next year.

“We are on a trajectory to stop fertilizer imports in africa within 40 months,” he declared.

Dangote also called for the creation of strong financial institutions and a stable manufacturing base, stating that once those pillars are in place, technologies like artificial intelligence would naturally follow.

He praised institutions such as afreximbank for supporting the private sector and reiterated that african nations must focus on adding value to raw materials locally to boost job creation and economic self-sufficiency.