Opinion
Nigerian entrepreneurs – Aliko Dangote, Tony Elumelu and African economic integration
By Opeyemi Agbaje
In 2010 as I traveled across 10 African countries in west, east, central and southern Africa on some strategy and consulting projects, I realized that other Africans derived their worldview about Nigeria and Nigerians from unofficial, unusual and unexpected sources.
They looked at the Nigerian banks including: Access Bank Plc.; the United Bank of Africa (UBA); GTBank; Zenith bank etc., – that were spreading across Africa and judged the Nigerian “character” and “identity” from what they saw of those banks, concluding that Nigerians were “sharp”, “aggressive” and “dynamic”.
They watched Nollywood and came to the conclusion that Nigerians were diabolical and rich – and their “heroes” are not our politicians and leaders, but Nollywood celebrities like Rita Dominic, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Genevieve Nnaji, Ini Edo, Jim Iyke etc.
They listened and danced to Nigerian music and loved artistes like D’banj, Bracket, P-Square, Duncan Mighty and Nice; they attended religious crusades organized by Pastors of growing mega churches like Chris Oyakhilome, TB Joshua and Winners Chapel and defined our spiritual essence in those terms.
They loved our soccer playes including Obafemi Martins, Rasheed Yekini, Kanu Nwankwo, Daniel Amokachi and Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha.
Nigeria’s true ambassadors to Africa, I found, are mostly not the diplomats we send to our embassies and High Commissions, but these cultural, entertainment and economic “envoys” that define us and our country in the eyes of the world.
In addition, there are of course the crooked traders and businessmen. In both South Africa and Ghana, I was approached by hotel employees who hoped I could teach them “business” – which I later understood to be a reference to infamous “419” scams.
Happily, Africa is encountering another, more authentic model of the Nigerian businessman epitomized by Aliko Dangote, Tony Elemelu, Aig Aig-Imoukhuede, Wale Tinubu and others – an emerging group of pan-African investors with roots in Nigeria.
These were my reflections as I observed proceedings at the official commissioning of the Dangote Cement Plant in Ndola, Zambia. The significance of the event brought the Zambian president, Edgar Chagwa Lungu, Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and an array of Zambian and Nigerian economic and professional elite to Ndola in the Masaiti District of Zambia to the 1.5 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) with a 30MW coal-fired power plant on Tuesday, August 4, 2015. The investment cost the Dangote Group US$400 million all – according to Aliko Dangote – generated from its operations in Nigeria.
The Dangote Group had two months earlier, on June 4, opened a 2.5 MTPA plant in Ethiopia, and before year end intends to launch other plants with an ultimate objective of operating in 16 African countries. In virtually all of these places, Dangote Group’s Investments are the largest investments by African investors. Aliko Dangote in his remarks noted that the group at maturity intends to produce 40 million tonnes from other African economies and 40 million from Nigeria totaling 80 million overall, making the group a truly continental and global player.
