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Nigerian businessman and founder of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has opened up on many battles he had to fight to complete the $19bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery project located in Lagos.
The business mogul, who spoke at the Afreximbank Annual Meetings in the Bahamas on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, said both local and international criminal organisations in the oil sector repeatedly attempted to sabotage the project.
Describing them as the oil mafia, Dangote likened the oil cartels, who are hell-bent on maintaining their grip on the industry, to a mafia stronger than even the dreaded drug mafia.
“Well, I knew that there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs. I can tell you that. Yes, it’s a fact,” he said.
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Dangote said he knew before embarking on the project that there would be challenges along the way but wasn’t prepared for what he encountered.
They “tried all sorts” to stop me, “But I’m a person that has been fighting all my life. You know, so I think it’s part of my life to fight,” the billionaire said while describing himself as a tough fighter.
Dangote says the West doesn't want a developed Africa
Speaking on what the African continent needs to achieve industrialisation, Dangote alleged that the West isn’t interested in a developed Africa.
He noted that the agenda is to continue the decades-long exploitation of the continent, which underscored why African countries need to come together to forge partnerships that will be mutually beneficial.
“As a matter of fact during the COVID period, some of the international banks really were looking forward to making sure that they push us into default of our loans so that the project will just be dead. And that didn’t happen with the help of banks like Afreximbank,” he added.