Alhaji Dangote is not one to mess around with when he has interest in a business or industry. More recently, he has taken serious advantage of the “Made in Nigeria” swan song of the Buhari led government to ruthlessly expand his business empire.
Just recently, The Nation quoted him telling group of business school students in Lagos explaining why Nigerians could “go hungry” if we do not make an effort to grow our own food.
“By 2020, it is estimated that the Nigerian population would have risen to between 207 million and 210 million. If we do not make efforts to grow and process our own foods, God forbid, we will go hungry,”
“We cannot solve all Nigeria’s problems, but at least we can embrace and add value to areas where we have comparative advantage,” Dangote
The article reveals he was referring to Dairy products which also make up a chunk of imports from Nigeria. According to The Nation, “Dangote stated that his company has been in talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on ways it could add value to local production, and that the company has marked massive dairy production for the next three years.”
It’s easy to understand why Africa’s richest man wants a foray into this industry. According to some reports, imported milk powder accounts for over 75 per cent of Nigeria’s dairy industry because domestic milk production remains low. Dangote has the backing of the government and the CBN to achieve his desire. After all, it’s a win win for ‘everyone’. He creates jobs for the government, reduces reliance on forex for imports and kills competition (especially imports), three things that may resonate with the current government according to its critics.
Say what you will about Dangote taking over the Nigerian business landscape, he seems to be the only person proactively attempting to resolve some of the problems that Nigeria will be facing in the future. I wish him all the best.