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President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, argues that Nigeria's low electricity generation is unjustifiable.
He points out that his company alone generates over 1,500 megawatts for internal purposes, suggesting that the nation should produce significantly more.
During a recent visit to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, he emphasized the importance of increased private sector engagement in power generation.
He believes that Nigeria should not be limited to 4,500 to 5,000 megawatts but should aim for a capacity of 60,000 megawatts. Dangote remarked, “As a company, we are generating over 1,500 megawatts. Nigeria should be producing 50,000 to 60,000 megawatts.”
He asserted that the achievements at the refinery demonstrate the feasibility of large-scale industrial projects, including in the energy sector. “What we’ve accomplished here proves that nothing is impossible; this can be replicated in our power sector. There’s no reason for Nigeria to be limited to 5,000 megawatts,” he stated.
He added that constructing the refinery was less challenging than raising Nigeria's power output to 30,000 megawatts.
Dangote emphasized that developing the nation's power infrastructure should not solely fall on the government and highlighted the necessity and viability of substantial private sector involvement.
He noted that the power sector has already been privatized and urged affluent Nigerians to reinvest their capital domestically rather than taking it overseas.
“We have previously urged the government to relinquish control of the sector since it has been privatized. The private sector, particularly Nigerians, should stop transferring their funds abroad and instead invest here to foster our country and continent's development. Without our confidence in our economy and leadership, foreign investment will not flow,” he said.
He linked capital outflow to stagnated growth and criticized individuals who embezzle public funds and stash them abroad instead of using them for national development.
“I consistently maintain that corruption exists everywhere. Many countries experience greater corruption than we do, yet they are thriving. Our primary issue is capital flight by those who have embezzled funds,” he asserted.
“That money becomes useless to them and their families since they can’t publicly acknowledge their ill-gotten gains, and they fail to reinvest it domestically.” Furthermore, Dangote expressed his ambition to become the world's largest fertilizer producer within the next 40 months, aiming to boost production to around 12 million tonnes.
