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I am ready to let go, let the NNPC buy me out, run the refinery. They have labeled me a monopolist. That’s an incorrect and unfair allegation, but it’s okay. If they buy me out, at least their so-called monopolist would be out of the way.”
The statement of defiance above was made during the agitation for crude oil allocation by Aliko Dangote for his $20 billion ultra-modern refinery, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, reputed to be the biggest of its kind in the world.
The false alarm and uproar that Dangote Refinery was aiming to be a monopoly escalated into a frenzy, prompting Alhaji Aliko Dangote, owner of the mega refinery, to respond in the manner captured in the opening quote of this piece. The allegation was triggered when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, reportedly reprimanded Dangote for crying out for access to crude produced in Nigeria and alleged that he is angling to be a monopolist in the oil sector, thus he became a spokesperson of sorts for vested interests that seem to prefer Nigeria to continue importing refined petroleum products from abroad to the detriment of the economy and harm to Nigerians.
According to media reports, the CEO of NMDPRA, in response to Dangote’s loudly expressed frustration over the non-allocation of crude oil to his refinery by International Oil Companies (IOCs) for local refining, had alleged that the diesel produced by Dangote Refinery had a higher sulfur content than the imported type and, therefore, was of lower quality. This claim was not proven scientifically, and to disprove it Dangote Refinery has produced Europe 5-quality fuel, an upgrade from the Euro 2 grade previously imported into Nigeria.
Therefore, the claim is being viewed as an unpatriotic attitude from the NMDPRA chief, as it contradicts the expected patriotic behavior of a public servant who should be encouraging local refining, which Dangote Refinery has now made a reality.
After the tension, which was essentially a distraction, it was to the delight of the Nigerian masses when the good news arrived that the much-awaited flow of petrol from Dangote Refinery had finally materialized at the dawn of the 2nd day of September, 2024, when the announcement was made.
Although the refinery has been producing diesel, DPK, aviation fuel, and naphtha since January, this year—nine months ago—there was a one-month delay in its originally scheduled August start date for petrol production, which was postponed but finally commenced at the beginning of September.
Given the bated breath of Nigerians in their expectation of constant supply of petrol described above, the realization of the dream of locally refined Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, after an estimated 28 years of comatose local refineries can be compared to the excitement in the quote attributed to Mungo Park, the Scottish explorer, who, upon first seeing the River Niger, famously said in 1796: “Oh, that my dear friend Mr. Anderson could have been here to have seen this beautiful sight. The river is even more beautiful than I had imagined, and I can now account for the doubts of the ancients as to its existence.”
The joy of Nigerians that Dangote Refinery has commenced refining Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) —so central to their lives—is significant, especially since the withdrawal of the subsidy on the commodity 15 months ago had reduced many to a severe state of hardship, with food inflation ballooning to around 40% and putting a vast majority of Nigerians in a state of penury.
Previously, PMS had been so elusive to the majority of Nigerians that their relief over its production at Dangote Refinery can be measured through the lens of a people spared from wasting precious time at petrol stations—time that could have been spent on productive activities.
It is worth pointing out that although the presence of Dangote Refinery may not necessarily lead to a significant reduction in the pump price of PMS, it is reassuring that the search for elusive petrol to power vehicles and light up homes—an activity that has cost many Nigerians their lives—will no longer be such an arduous and sometimes deadly task.
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The constant availability of the commodity may also eliminate the crisis of crude oil theft driven by artisanal refineries in the Niger Delta zone of Nigeria where crude oil is being ‘cooked’ in the name of refining with huge collateral damages including loss of lives and ruinous effects on the ecological landscape of the hydrocarbon bearing region reminiscent of the damage done to the ecosystem of Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC, by precious stone miners under the watch of Belgium, the former colonizer of the country.
The epochal flow of petrol from Dangote’s mega refinery has an interesting twist: while former President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the refinery at the twilight of his administration on May 15, last year (his presidency ended on May 29), it is under President Bola Tinubu’s watch that the products refined in the ultra-modern refinery became available in the market.
This reminds one of the biblical narrative of Moses leading the Israelites to the Promised Land but not having the privilege of entering it, as punishment for disobedience to God’s instruction.
Without a doubt, Aliko Dangote is the richest African and the wealthiest black man, ranked the 132nd richest person in the world, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. He is comparable to a Korean chaebol in the making, if the Nigerian government chooses to elevate Dangote Refinery to that level for the benefit of the country.
In the event that Dangote Refinery is elevated to the level of a Chaebol—which is what this piece advocates and the strategy that South Korea applied in its developmental stage to make brands like Samsung, Daewoo, and LG global icons—it would serve as a counterforce to the IOCs’ efforts to maintain the status quo of exporting crude oil extracted from Nigerian soil to their home countries for refining. Dangote Refinery, by refining crude oil locally and exporting it overseas, is poised to reverse this trend and earn Nigeria higher income.
Evidently and commendably, Dangote’s bold initiative is disrupting and thwarting the over half-a-century-old business model of the IOCs, which has kept Nigeria a net exporter of raw materials, including commodities like crude oil, cocoa, and precious gemstones or solid minerals like lithium, copper, gold, and many others, without adding value. This situation amounts to ‘Africa: Exporting Wealth, Importing Poverty,’ which is the title and focus of my forthcoming book aimed at changing the negative narrative about Africa—that it is merely a source of raw materials.
Being relegated to being a mere source of raw materials is the reason that the trade balance between Africa and its industrialized partners has been consistently in deficit.
The situation of IOCs producing crude oil in Nigeria and resisting sales to local Nigerian refineries is akin to the African adage of someone living on the bank of a river but using spittle to wash their hands.
The situation was so dire that Dangote Refinery had to resort to importing its feedstock from as far away as the USA and Brazil, leveraging the platforms of global oil traders, Trafigura and Vitol.
The disturbing and inconvenient truth about the situation, wherein imperialists have perpetuated the ideal of Africa as a primary source of raw materials, would have continued unchallenged if not for the resistance mounted by entities like Dangote Refinery.
Even more disturbing is that it is Nigerians in strategic government agencies—nefarious ambassadors, if you will—who are tasked with managing our oil assets but collude with overseas oil/gas equipment manufacturers. What most Nigerians may not know is that these manufacturers that are contracted to carry out turnaround maintenance on our refineries are the same that are part of an international syndicate determined to prevent the revival of Nigeria’s four ailing refineries. The conspiracy to undermine is so sophisticated that it is beyond being comprehended by ordinary observers. In a situation where there is no one advocating as Dangote, Tony Elumelu have done in the oil sector, Mike Adenuga and Allen Onyema have done in the telecommunications and aviation sectors, respectively, the industry or organization can experience demise like the four NNPC Ltd state owned refineries, Nigerian Telecommunication company, NITEL, and Nigeria Airways. It is the void left by the erstwhile government owned corporations that the trio of Dangote Refinery, Globacom and Air Peace have stepped up to fill the void. The process of subterfuge can be very complex and sophisticated such that it would escape suspicion. To debunk any suspicion that the view above may be mere conspiracy theory, we only need to think of what happens in the society when a very big and powerful pharmaceutical industry wants to have its way with respect to the introduction of new products that they wish to force down the throat of consumers. For further conviction, we can also focus our minds on business espionage often carried out by competitors in similar industries in the industrially advanced societies.
One observation that I can make is that the Nigerians colluding with foreign firms to sabotage Nigeria in industries such as oil/gas, telecommunications, and aviation are nothing more than ‘useful idiots’, who as Webster dictionary puts it is: a naive or incredulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda.
