Dangote invests $25b in Nigeria’s oil, cement, sugar sectors in seven yrs

• ‘Transition to renewable energy will take time’

President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said his group has invested over $25 billion in the oil, gas, cement and sugar sectors over the last seven years.

Aliko stressed that the huge investment is on the awareness of the opportunities in Nigeria and the entire Africa. Dangote revealed this while speaking on the sidelines of the recently concluded 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) in the United States.

He emphasised the importance of job creation for the country and the continents.He pointed out that if he does not invest in the continent and country, it would be difficult to convince other investors to come in, noting that the challenges are solvable.

“To me, I think anytime people address me as the richest African person, I get a little bit uncomfortable or upset. I would rather be called somebody who creates the future of Africa. I invest a lot in Africa. Why am I investing? It is to show people that it is doable. And we Africans must lead in terms of this. We must make sure that we find jobs for our youths. That is the kind of legacy I want to leave. It is to make Africa self-sufficient for what we consume,” he said.

The business mogul pointed out that his dream was to make Africa self-sufficient, reducing the country and continent’s reliance on imported goods and services.

Dangote also argued that a full transition to clean energy would take a significant amount of time, noting that while the transition to renewable energy is inevitable, the challenge requires Africa to meet its electricity and energy needs through resources like natural gas and coal.

He reiterated his company’s commitment to investing in renewable energy and unlocking opportunities while emphasising that after establishing a refinery, fertiliser plant and other industries, it is only logical to expand into renewable energy.

“Transitioning doesn’t happen in one day. It will happen over some time. If we are going to move from where we are straight into renewable, we will die. Right now, we have 600 million Africans without electricity. We have natural gas, coal and other things. What we do is that we have to do both at the same time. Finding a replacement for oil will take a long time. Do you know what you can produce from oil? You produce over 6,800 items from oil.

“We need to address those issues. Right now, we are having several issues. We don’t have fuel. If we don’t have fuel, what do you do? We are transitioning from fossil fuel to compressed natural gas,” he said.