Which Investor In Risky, Expensive Manufacturing Would Make a $19.5 Billion Investment And Want It Undermined?
The Oasis Reporters
July 23, 2024
By Nefertiti @firstlady
Like Aliko Dangote, “the men who built America” were hawkish-monopolists.
But they did America right! A country cannot truly industrialize, without people who will believe in it.
Building a nation from scratch requires Nationalists, those who will commit their time and money to country.
It’s unfortunate that Aliko Dangote is being treated like that. You may not like him, who would blame you?
But he was the pioneer industrialist in Nigeria. No one believes in that country more than that man.
In this photo, Aliko Dangote points the way to industrialization. Jonathan nods in appreciation.
You know me, I am one of his biggest critics, for obvious reasons. But my reservations are irrelevant in the matters arising.
1. JP Morgan. 2. Henry Ford. 3. Andrew Carnegie. 4. John D. Rockefeller 5. Cornelius Vanderbilt.
These were some of the men that built the United States of America. There’ll be no America without these men.
They were hated and feared, some of them used brute force to cut through native lands. There were shrewd businessmen who stamped their authority wherever they went.
They did what they wanted, and asked questions later. They were Crony Capitalists in bed with the White House as well. From the wastelands of the West, through the South, up to the North, they cut through rock and sand to build what you know today as the United States of America.
This was the time of the Reconstruction, America was coming out of a bitter Civil War, and people tried to move on. Vanderbilt built the railroads and shipping. The founder of Standard Oil,
Rockefeller made his money from monopoly in oil refining.
He dominated the gasoline and kerosene market. Carnegie made his money from steel. J.P Morgan’s fortunes mostly came from investment banking on Wall Street.
The founder of Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford built his wealth around automobiles. He was one of those that heralded affordable cars for “middle-class” Americans.
Most of them built universities and libraries. They funded scholarships and scientific research. Their philanthropy is unmatched till this day. Like Dangote, they were Monopolists.
You can’t escape market dominance, especially in a country like Nigeria (yet to greet its own Industrial Revolution). Anti-Trust will come in later (when Bua Refinery and others come on stream).
For now, the Dangote Refinery should be supported to grow and to thrive. I can’t believe that I’m even saying this. But it should be designated as a “National Strategist Asset,” critical to the growth of Nigeria. That’s a $20 billion investment for Christ’s sake! No country can industrialize without a steel industry. Nigeria imports all its steel, and Dangote has shelved plans to invest in steel production in-country.
The NMDPRA did not manage the PR well. That was a very bad PR, it left a bad taste in people’s mouths. The fact that Farouk Ahmed still has his job, is all the answer you need. I don’t care about the politics of “who gets what?” That’s not my business.
My business is Nigeria, and Bola Tinubu should know better! When you stifle Dangote and wear him down, you’ll be stifling future investments into Nigeria. Let sense and patriotism prevail.
Nefertiti is on X (formerly known as Twitter) @firstladyship
