Wednesday 20 September 2017

Dangote: Pray that Oil Prices Remain Low

Aliko Dangote
Rebecca Ejifoma
Nigerian business leader, Aliko Dangote assured investors that Africa would become the food basket of the world, and that five of the 12 million jobs needed in Africa soon must be created in Nigeria, as he urged everyone to pray that oil prices remain low”

According to Dangote at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, "Agriculture, agriculture, agriculture. Africa will become the food basket of the world."

In a packed room at the headquarters of global law firm Shearman and Sterling LLC  high level business leaders and international diplomats invited by the Corporate Council for Africa to hear Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, and Rwandan president, Paul Kagame openly converse on Africa's opportunities and challenges.

Both leaders underscored the ongoing movement to diversify African economies. In the case of  Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, Dangote added: "We should pray that oil prices remain low. This helps wean us off the dependency on revenues from petroleum. We must take oil to be the icing on the cake. We already have the cake.”

Besides agriculture, Dangote cited Nigeria's vast mineral resources and gas as well and the need to manufacture more goods locally for domestic consumption. Both he and Kagame called on continued need for heavy investments in education and connected the need for young people to be well trained for the jobs of tomorrow.

Dangote predicted that "Five of the 12 million jobs needed in Africa soon must be created in Nigeria”.

Accordingly, Dangote's fortune – which stems from cement, sugar, and other household commodities – has expanded into fertiliser and other processed high-value goods. "Technology of course helps us a lot and our factories are state of the art with the use of robotics but we shouldn't be overly tech oriented to create wealth," he told investors.


Labelled as one of the most inspiring business leaders in the world today and a model for young entrepreneurs, Dangote urged Americans who tend to rely on outdated news and wrong perceptions of Africa: "Don't be lazy. Go there and find the real story for yourself. Things have changed."

Dangote, however, noted the Rwanda success story where he has business interests as an example of positive change, good governance and leadership, and where corruption has been cured. He recounted a personal experience of offering a $100 US tip for services at the Kigali Airport to staff who refused to take money for work they were paid to do. Kagame was praised for delivering the environment for growth he promised. "There is nothing African about corruption," the Rwandan president added.

Former US Trade Representative and author of the AGOA (African Growth Opportunity Act), whose business consultancy is credited for helping both African governments and US companies develop commerce, Rosa Whitaker, moderated the session.

No comments:

Post a Comment