The Dangote Refinery was a dominant issue in Nigerian news during the past fortnight. Regulators in NNPC and its spinoffs felt it was open season for mud-throwing at the 650000 barrels-per-day plant, one of the biggest in the world. Africa’s richest man and most prominent industrialist returned fire, causing the intervention of Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for energy.
Dangote Industries director Edwin Devakumar accused the regulator and international oil companies of conspiring against the refinery by raising prices and erecting obstacles. Farouk Ahmed, chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, responded with a spear. He claimed that the refinery is unlicensed and that its output is inferior to imported variants. He also claimed that Nigeria could only rely on something other than the refinery for its fuel needs.
“The claim by some media houses that there were steps to scuttle the Dangote refinery is not so. The Dangote refinery is still in the pre-commissioning stage. It has not been licensed yet; we haven’t licensed them yet. They are still in the pre-commissioning. I think they have about 45 per cent completion,” Ahmed declared.
Citizens, high and low, responded on social and other media. They include Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, a former governor of the Central Bank; Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a retired minister; Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank; and Mr Femi Otedola.
Dangote refinery… my view – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
I do not think commenting on these issues is a good idea, but some comments surprise me, and I must say something.
Aliko Dangote did not fix the price at which the CBN sold dollars. Everyone who got dollars from the CBN got the same rate if they bought on the same day. So, we cannot blame him for buying dollars at a rate the CBN itself decided to sell to its customers.
The question for me is this. Let us forget the man, Dangote. If the Central Bank were to prioritise a single enterprise for forex allocation, how many enterprises would we think of that are worthier than a refinery like this one?
Consider the drain on our forex from importing petroleum products, the tens of billions of dollars of forex spent abroad, and the huge losses due to theft in the name of subsidy.
By the way, how much forex did Dangote buy from the CBN at this subsidised rate? How much forex did NNPC take from the Federation account in the same year to run and turn around its dead refineries? What are we benchmarking against?
If any Nigerian came to me as Central Bank Governor with a project like this refinery, I would immediately recognise its potential impact on the economy and give it all the support needed.
Let our views on forex policies not cloud our sense of priorities. Once the CBN decides to sell dollars below market, it will be forced to ration the limited dollars available.
Given the impact on the macro, giving dollars to construct a refinery is better than giving them to rice importers and almost every other enterprise, apart from education and health.
NNPC’s argument that relying on one refinery is terrible for our energy security is almost laughable. On the contrary, relying on a local refinery is far more secure than these imports.
It is a very rich argument from an entity that has taken billions of dollars in the name of turnaround maintenance and not produced a drop of product from four refineries because it is more profitable to continue extracting rent in the name of subsidy. If NNPC activated its refineries, there would be no monopoly. Then, we can see the sulphur content of its products and compare them to Dangote’s.
Until then, keeping quiet is the honourable option for it.
NNPC and its spinoffs have lost any right to talk until they fix the mess they have thrown us into.
These people in NNPC do not want to end their lucrative subsidy scam, and I don’t think they will. But as a nation, if we do not thank Dangote for what he has done as an African to deal a hammer blow to multinationals and the rentier system and for structural change in this economy through value added in various sectors, we should not condemn him.
Also, we tend to repeat stories without evidence. We hear about Dangote getting favourable taxation, but no one has said what this tax is, if he got it alone or if it was offered to a sector or pioneers, and if such a practice is expected to encourage investment.
Instead of killing Dangote, we should try to make more like him! Nigeria always kills its heroes and its best because of envy and pettiness. SLS.
1. Interpreting the N70000 minimum wage
Social media responded to the N70000 agreed minimum wage with various infographics and calculations. This one trended across many platforms:
2. The buzz around Mike Ejeagha’s 41-year-old song
The power of the internet manifested in recent weeks as a 41-year-old folklore song by 93-year-old Mike Ejeagha received its highest acclaim and global appeal courtesy of TikTok. The song is also threatening to spark a legal dispute and has raised three core issues.
1. The power of the internet and social media gave traction to the skit.
2. Nigerian and international copyright law.
3. Affirmation of the Global Village thesis as propounded in 1964 by Marshall McLuhan.
4. A Shakespearean dimension of “a tide in the affairs of men” with Ejeagha receiving accolades in old age for songs in his youth.
The song is Ka Esi Le Onye Isi Oche with the now popular refrain “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo”. Skitmaker Brain Jotter danced to it on TikTok to global appeal and a viral dance challenge. Nigerian youths embraced it, and it became international. It has reportedly fetched Brain Jotter 28 million views against his previous record of no more than 10 million.
Asisat Oshoala of the Super Falcons and FC Bay danced to it on Instagram with her teammates, as did BBNAija star Tobi Bakre. The Brain Jotter video has trended the most across platforms, making the skit maker offer N2m to Mike Ejeagha for the 1983 hit in appreciation. He also visited.
The Igbo folklore tune features the Tortoise and the Elephant (Enyi na Mbe). The tortoise cunningly sells the elephant to the king and wins the prize of marriage to the princess. Princess Adaeze threw a challenge that whosoever would marry her must bring an elephant. She would climb it for her marital parade. The tortoise convinced the elephant that he would be at the head of the table at the event. The elephant followed only for the tortoise to present it as a prize. The elephant chased him, and Ejeagha captured the steps of the elephant as “Gwo Gwo Gwo Ngwo”. This refrain now serves as the title of the song.
Tortoise is often depicted as cunning in Igbo folktales.
However, another X personality, a Foundational Nupe Lawyer, challenged Brain Jotter (Chukwuebuka Emmanuel Amuzie). He says N2m is a pittance.
Foundational Nupe Lawyer is also defensive about his stance and the state of the law on copyright—an exciting debate on intellectual property. However, Brain Jotter confirmed getting permission from Ejeagha’s label to use the portion.
