Dangote Refinery: Unveiling the albatross of colonial oligarchies

After Nigeria government’s numerous promises to give Nigerians a working refinery and her failure to fulfil it, notwithstanding, our status as the largest producer of crude oil in Africa, the current antagonisation of Dangote refinery, the largest private refinery in the world, is not a shock to me. I predicted earlier that it is likely that those who ensured Nigeria has no working refinery may not let Dangote refinery reign long and my prediction is gradually becoming a reality that I pray otherwise.

Dangote Refinery is currently facing hindrances and antagonists from external forces and their agents within the sovereign Nigeria. I feel like only one thing remained constant over the years, the realisation that some powerful people don’t want Nigeria to be liberated from their claws. Hence, the frustration and setup to ensure this new refinery owned by Dangote fails.

Recently, I have read many opinion articles and columns written by veterans giving credibility to the accusations of the NNPC leadership against Dangote. This writing mostly revolves around Dangote’s monopolistic business in Nigeria which I am also vehemently against. But you don’t say your child is bad and throw him out to be swallowed by enemies.

Regardless of the monopolistic ambition of Dangote and those administrative blunders committed by his team, it is my opinion that the sovereign Nigeria and Nigerians would be the losers if Dangote refinery is shut down.

Some people are of the opinion that Dangote wants all oil marketers to be diverted to his refinery to lift fuel, notwithstanding, its lack of capacity to feed Nigeria. But why not divert marketers to the refinery to buy whatever it has the capacity to supply? Is that not better for job creation and business consolidation than selling foreign-refined fuel to Nigerian oil marketers in dollars?

An article even stated that Dangote does not have a written agreement with the NNPC on crude supply. That was a blunder if it was true but it is funny that the NNPC prefers to sell our crude to foreigners than Dangote, and Dangote needs to beg for crude supply. It is a shame. What has happened to the policy of nationalisation and indigenisation of businesses? Is it not meant to be local entities first before foreign entities?

I am against Dangote’s idea of requesting marketers to pay for fuel in dollars if the allegation is true, but the Nigerian government is charging us $162 for passport renewal outside Nigeria when It costs #35,000 in Nigeria. The government should have allowed us to pay #35,000 with our naira card or deduct an equivalent of #35,000 from our card instead of $162. It is called leading by example. NNPC as an entity has run its businesses in dollars since the days of “medieval”. Two wrongs do not make a right, but what the government needed to do was to overrule Dangote and mandate the entity to sell in naira. Period. There’s no need for muscle flexing.

The truth being revealed now is that the colonial masters and their collaborators in Nigeria’s oil business appear not happy that for the first time in almost three decades, a refinery is now functioning in Nigeria. A realisation that should be a shame to Nigeria that despite being the largest producer of crude oil in Africa, this is the first time a move is made to snatch our economy back from external influence and manipulators. And it has enabled us to witness the glaring chokehold these international manipulators have on Nigeria as a nation. To these colonial Oligarchies, Dangote Refinery is an albatross to their continued hold on Nigeria and it must be crippled.

It is certain that these oligarchic masters are not happy with Dangote, an Oligarchy like them, and they wanted to render us in Nigeria dependent on them forever. Nigeria, before the emergence of Dangote refinery, is the major oil producing country without a refinery. It is more sad that they are trying to take advantage of naive Nigerians and recruiting our own people against our own internal development.

Any individual, either Nigerian or an external body working against the full operation of the Dangote Refinery should be seen as an enemy of Nigeria. I am not a Danogote fan, as I am also against his monopolistic ambitions. But as a Nigerian, this Refinery is beyond just Dangote and Oil alone, it is Nigerians snatching itself off the claws of the colonial masters and corrupt Nigerians who have kept us in the shackles for many decades.

It should be common knowledge by now if you are a “product of orientation” that it is profitable to the Politicians in government and those in the NNPC for Nigeria to keep importing fuel. If these people stop importing fuel, how will they make money to buy mansions all over the world or pay #1m per night hotel bill at Transcorp? How would they service their numerous private jets? And it is for this reason that this refinery is pertinent to Nigeria’s economic revival. Advocating against Dangote Refinery is an advocate for Nigeria’s continuous failing reliance on colonial masters to refine her crude.

Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye is a United Kingdom based Strategic Communications Expert and Real Estate Broker. He wrote via [email protected].