DANGOTE: if the head must roll
By Bolaji O. Akinyemi
Let me start with the fact that I have never met Dangote in my life, the closest I came to meeting with him was in the year 2014, I was the Chairman of the National Executive Council of the then Nigeria Association of Christian Journalists, NACJ. In company of Bola Alawode, the Principal Partner at Ebenezer Consulting, the outfit that was to make NACJ award for that year happen. We were scheduled for an appointment with Alhaji for 11:30AM at his Ikoyi office for a Friday. We got there for 11:15 but couldn’t get a place to park until 12:30. Sad to say, Alhaji who flew in from China we were told to keep the appointment had left for the mosque. We were prepared to wait but was informed that it was his first visit in a very long time. He works from anywhere in the world to keep his office running. That of course I can relate with. Years before then, a crisis had reached its crescendo for which something of course must be urgently done before Anambra State will go up in flames. It was the battle of the Ubas and Ngige, the grasses in the State were not just the ones suffering, the weight of the elephants involved was sinking the state.
An urgent intervention was needed and to the rescue came a Deborah, her influence was big enough to bring all the parties involved under the roof of the same hotel in Abuja. I was privileged to be on an unofficial reconciliatory Committee, put together by a mother of mine in the Lord I hold in high esteem, as a matter of fact I am a son to her in every sense of the word except biological.There were names that came up in the course of the meeting; Atiku Abubakar, Chris Uba, Chris Ngige, but a name I wasn’t expecting in that political discourse dominated it; Aliko Dangote, that was the point I became aware of how deeply Dangote was playing in the dynamics of Nigerian politics and the policy driving the economy. Details of the meeting let me save for now.
The little I have is enough for the point I want to make. The business world is one of cruelty, I can forgive the assertion of Abel Damina that referred to Abraham as a wicked business man. Much of love however was delivered by the father of faith who trained every servant of his house, by which he excused himself from the general assertion of Dr Abel Damina on the nature of business and the men in it.
The best a wicked man will do is give you fish, anyone training you how to fish is a good man like Abraham. Aliko Dangote is a natural businessman and there exists the propensity of carnality that comes with excelling in business. I may not agree with such strong words with which David Hundeyin described him; “a crony capitalist whose parasitic practices stunt the economy instead of growing it”.
However, I don’t have strong reasons to prove my disagreement. I will be comfortable with describing him as a tree being nursed by the government with under ground roots tentacles drawing on the nutrients of our Commonwealth away from the glare of our eyes. The Yoruba says; “isale oro legbin”, meaning at the base of wealth are incomprehensible irritants. This piece is not about digging for the irritants at the base of the man Dangote and the Dangote group, his group of companies. It is to state the facts of how dearly or badly we need Dangote now and the danger of treating undoubtedly the biggest conglomerate in West Africa and arguably the biggest on the shore of our continent like, “good riddance to bad rubbish”. Dangote group, through its government-enforced monopoly, has become so big. A “tree” whose branches are sources of survival to thousands of homes and families.
The group as a standalone organisation managing all its businesses portfolio has 30,000 Nigerians on its pay roll. Going down to its branches, Dangote cement provides 54,000 jobs to Nigerians, we can go on and on. The strength of Dangote Group is its diversified business portfolio, venturing into Sugar, Flour, Salt, Seasoning, Pasta, Beverages, Real Estate and lately Oil and Gas from where the contending controversy is streaming. Dangote possibly has more Nigerians on its employment than the Federal Government of Nigeria.
With its annual revenue generation averaging $4 billion. And a projection of $30 billion in revenue by 2025 as a result of its diversification into oil, viz a viz the Dangote Refinery. How many countries in Africa has a projection of $30 billion for the incoming year? Dangote by resources has become a country within a country.
The staff strength of the Dangote group on protest on Nigeria streets will have greater impact than what Kenya is presently experiencing. Aiming for the head of Dangote is calling for a protest from all the bread winners on Dangote’s payrolls and their dependents.This is a delicate time for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The earlier that is known the better. It was a sin for anyone with business acumen to invest a dollar in Nigeria under the Buhari led Nigeria economy, which Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency has confirmed, speaking through Chief Bayo Onanuga, “we inherited a dead economy from Buhari”. In that dearth and death years of Nigeria. Dangote planted in the Refinery an investment of $20 billion with an estimated refining capacity of 650,000 barrels a day. Now that it is harvest time, the men of “aromisa legbe legbe” have risen in envy against him like the men of Gerar rose against Issac, Pastor Remi Tinubu will do well to show Mr President in the Scripture that It’s Rehoboth time for Dangote. Nobody should “gbe mu”! Over God’s principle of seed time and harvest time.
If there was any hope to renew in the future of Nigeria away from the political slogan of BAT Campaign marketing, Dangote Refinery was a major pointer on which Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidency was sold locally and internationally.We are often taunted with Lagos as the 5th economy in Africa. Have they been able to establish the percentage of contribution of the Dangote Group to what we are priding ourselves off in Lagos? If the Igbos should leave Lagos as many “omo onile” who have sold their land to relocate under the bridge wishes; so that their offspring; Area boys whom they have failed to train to appreciate the dignity of labour can take over the stalls and businesses of the Igbos, can they manage what they wish for? Wishes they say, aren’t horses, so beggars have nothing to ride from their dreamland into reality.What a denial and folly of what we have become! Turning around and asking for the “head of Dangote” is the final summation that this administration has nothing to offer other than its tribal bigotry agenda of wanting everything in Nigeria for his awa lokan lazy movement of Nigeria, making clear the intent of Emilokan and his Awa lokan group of men philosophy.
I am a proud Yoruba man, properly brought up with the Omoluabi ethos; one of which is; “iya re le lowo lowo, baba re si le lesin leekan, ti o ba gbe oju le won, o te tan ni mo so fun e”! Shame, we were taught is the end of the child trusting in his/her mother’s money and father’s wealth. This philosophy of letting others go, so we can own what they have built is destroying Yoruba youths. Let there be a level playing ground even if we are going to go our separate ways. “E je ka ko awon omo wa ki won te ipa mo ise”! Let’s restore the value of hard work and dignity of labour to our children.Nigeria may not exist forever! what the Igbos and the Hausa/Fulani will leave behind is not what will sustain and keep us in the competition with other countries, if it so happens.
The reason Regionalism and Restructuring via Constitutional Democracy should be on the front burner of Tinubu led administration if this country will not break under his Presidency. The threat to Dangote in the last few days is a global threat, one targeted at every person and organisations that have as little as a dollar or as much as $20 billion to invest in Nigeria. The educated area boys around His Excellency in brigandage of power may not tell him the truth but the truth he needed has been spoken by Dr Akinwunmi Adesina who said; “This whole issue on Dangote is shocking and creating bad waves for Nigeria global”.Invariably, he seems to be saying, if a wet wood investor (being a Nigerian) is thus treated, what chance will a dry wood investor (foreign) stand in the furnace of such fire?Politics of 2027 is beclouding this administration.
The reason a wrong communication was sent out by LASPA in a letter written to the Pentecostal Churches in Lagos signed by one Ayokunle Akinrimisi, Head Operations for the General manager. Only for the General Manager, one Mrs Adebisi Adelabu to release a statement on Sunday afternoon, stating; “the information is inaccurate and does not reflect the intent of our communication”. A government official issued a statement in response to the Pentecostals on a Sunday? Whao! It is what it is, an efficient system once the anger of the people can be sensed. Adelabu should tell us, is there an Akinrimisi who is the head of operations in LASPA? It is not enough to deny a communication sent out on the letterhead of LASPA and duly signed. I leave His Excellence Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu to the duty of unraveling the drama. Bad enough that one of the areas of weakness of Mr President is in Communication, it is worse that he is surrounded by “Agberos”. The protest this government can’t afford, may be allowed by the uncultured mouths employed as spokesmen who with their speeches are fanning the embers of disintegration, men like Ironuga, Irostola and the hireling, Omo n kiri iro. They are apparently ignorant of the consequences of their propaganda. The trio will set this nation in war flames if they are not sacked and the contract of the hireling terminated.President Tinubu must as a matter of priority give executive standing orders to the DSS on hate speech made with the intent to smoke tribal bigotry to divide Nigeria by his appointees in particular and Nigerians in general. Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) must be saluted for stepping up on behalf of his principal; the President, to mediate in the crisis which began by Dangote’s declaration that NNPC Ltd no longer own a 20% stake in its Refinery, stressing that the Nigeria Oil Company now owns only 7.2% of the Refinery due to its failure to pay the balance of their shares which was due in June.
That was the bane of the disagreement between Dangote Group, Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.The mismanagement of it is what has brought to the public knowledge the fact that Dangote paid $100 million for the landed property on which his Refinery is sitting. How much was paid to the ancestral family that were vacated from the land only time will tell? Now that their offspring know how much their government collected for their ancestral land from Dangote. I doubt if the will continue to endure hunger pangs in the name of “awa lokan”. I only pray, may it not be the omo oniles and the area boys that will start the hunger protest long over due.Omo eni ki buru titi ka fi fun ekun paje, no one gives a bad child to the lion to devour.Dangote is a Nigerian but he is first of all a Fulani man from Kano whose grandfather went through the Almajiri system of apprenticeship to exemplify hope imbued in hard work and dignity of Labour. He is a brand the hope of millions of Almajiris can be renewed by this government. If the government can’t make a positive use of the Dangote’s brand. Let it not initiate a movement that may signal the need for Almajiri to identify with one of them that Allah has blessed. Dangote should make it social corporate responsibility to train the Almajiri for Productivity and other useful need like Abraham did with the servant of his house.If heads must roll, it should not be that of Dangote but of overzealous information officers and other appointees alike who in their bids to outdo each other in the bad book of helping the President to secure 2027 are annoying Nigerians!
Dr. Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. BoT Chairman, Project Victory Call Initiative, AKA PVC Naija. He is a strategic Communicator and the C.E.O, Masterbuilder Communications.
Email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com
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