The President of the Dangote Group of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is a shrewd capitalist without a heart. What it means is that the billionaire Dangote parades himself as a philanthropist in Nigeria who doles out cash and material gifts to poor Nigerians in the name of alleviating their poverty.
In reality, Dangote does not engage in philanthropy out of his love for humanity. His philanthropy is a mere showmanship, a decoy to conceal the damage his companies are doing to the Nigerian economy in the name of monopoly in different sectors which receive the backing of the ruling class, some of them having invested hugely in his chain of businesses.
To demonstrate that Dangote rejoices in the sufferings of the citizens while his companies smile daily to the banks, is his approach to the energy crisis that has been haunting Nigeria since Bola Tinubu became the President.
Dangote is saddened that at the pump price of over N1,200 per litre, Nigerian citizens are still enjoying cheaper fuel pump price than the citizens of Saudi Arabia whose living standards are far better than what is obtainable in Nigeria.
Nigerians had expected that with the entrance of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery into the energy sector, fuel pump price would reduce drastically. But Like the crude oil itself, Dangote Refinery has become a curse to the citizens.
Dangote wants to be the man whose Refinery is the sole supplier of refined petroleum products in the country.
The African richest man would deploy desperation to its extreme to achieve this objective. He’s using subterfuge, the presidency and the law court to compel Nigerians to accept his refinery as the only one capable of meeting Nigeria’s energy needs.
Will he succeed in this wicked venture? Our Cover Story, “Dangote Refinery’s Monopoly’ll Destroy Economy,” provides answer to the question. Enjoy the reading.
