Sujimoto has urged Nigeria to produce 10 more industrial champions of Aliko Dangote’s scale, stating that the country needs entrepreneurs capable of transforming capital into factories, technology, exports, supply chains and millions of productive jobs.
The Group Managing Director of Sujimoto, Dr. Sijibomi Ogundele, made the call while celebrating Dangote’s industrial achievements and the planned N2.15 trillion Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.

Ogundele also projected that the refinery’s shares, being offered at N525 each, could rise to N5,000 before 2030.
He described Dangote as Africa’s “beast of industry”, stating that his achievement should inspire a new generation of industrial champions across Nigeria.
“My profound congratulations to Africa’s first son, a true beast of industry and a gift to our generation,” Ogundele said.

According to him, the refinery IPO goes beyond raising capital, as it could give ordinary Nigerians an opportunity to own part of a major industrial enterprise.
“Whether you are a gate man, janitor, driver, young graduate, general manager or billionaire, Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals is offering 4.1 billion shares at N525 each, targeting about N2.15 trillion,” he said.

He noted that with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, participation would begin at N5,250.
Ogundele said Dangote’s greatest contribution might ultimately extend beyond the refinery to the scale of possibility he had created for Africans.

Recalling his visit to the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki five years ago, he said he was struck less by the size of the project than by the vision and determination required to build it.
He said his description of Dangote as a “beast” was not about capital but “vision, audacity, and scale.”

According to him, the refinery project demonstrated how an ambitious idea could be pursued despite difficulties, describing the industrial complex as a “huge Rubik’s Cube.”
Ogundele said Nigeria should replicate such ambition across strategic sectors.

“Our nation needs a Dangote of steel in Kaduna, a Dangote of pharmaceuticals in Anambra, a Dangote of agriculture in Niger, a Dangote of technology in Lagos, a Dangote of manufacturing in Aba and Nnewi, and a Dangote of housing and infrastructure in every geopolitical zone, and that’s Sujimoto,” he said.
He argued that producing 10 more Dangotes should not be about creating more billionaires but building productive capacity.

“Ten Dangotes therefore cannot mean ten more names on a billionaire list. Nigeria already has wealthy people. What we need are industrialists who convert capital into factories, technology, exports, supply chains, apprenticeships, taxes and millions of productive jobs,” he said.
Ogundele urged the government to identify proven Nigerian industrialists across strategic sectors and provide them with patient capital, critical infrastructure and predictable policies, while demanding measurable outcomes in jobs, exports, technology transfer, Nigerian suppliers and local value.

He said Nigeria’s dependence on exporting raw materials while importing finished products had denied the country significant economic value.
“Our old economic habit has cost Africa dearly. We grow the yam, send it abroad to be pounded, then start looking for scarce dollars to buy our own pounded yam back.

“We pump crude and import fuel. We export raw materials and import finished prosperity, leaving the promise of abundance dissolving into a searing mirage in the psyche of every Nigerian. We owned the resource and surrendered the value addition.”
Ogundele said Dangote’s expanding industrial ambitions further demonstrated the need for Nigeria to think beyond individual projects.

He noted that Dangote was targeting 1.4 million barrels per day at the refinery, deeper petrochemical integration and a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Kenya.
He said if both ambitions were delivered, the combined refining footprint would approach 2.1 million barrels per day.

Ogundele said Dangote should therefore be viewed not only as an African industrialist but alongside global industrial empire-builders such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.
He said Nigeria could not expect entrepreneurs to compete globally while grappling with inadequate infrastructure and expensive financing.

“You cannot tie an entrepreneur’s legs together and then complain that he cannot run like Usain Bolt,” he said.
Ogundele said the next generation of entrepreneurs should not allow humble beginnings or lack of privilege to determine their destiny.
“The absence of a powerful uncle should never become the presence of a permanent excuse,” he said.

He said the real dividend of the Dangote refinery IPO should ultimately be measured by the productive capacity, industries and entrepreneurs it inspires.
“That is the greater dividend: a Nigeria where one Dangote becomes ten,” Ogundele said.