The chairman of Dangote Industries Limited and richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has announced that he is abandoning his intentions to join Nigeria’s steel sector.
Two months after his company announced that it was planning to engage in the steel industry, he made this announcement.
Speaking to reporters this past weekend at his refinery in Lagos, Dangote stated that the organization’s board had chosen to stay out of the steel sector “to avoid accusations of being branded a monopoly.”
You are aware of our announcement to begin a new line of business: steel. In fact, our board has determined that we shouldn’t pursue the steel industry since, if we do, we would be dubbed monopolies and other derogatory terms,” he stated.
Furthermore, imports will be promoted. Thus, we’d prefer not to discuss that.
“If you examine every activity we do at Dangote (Group), you will see that we create value by using regional raw materials to create goods that we then market.
“We have never, either intentionally or inadvertently, prevented anyone from operating in the same industry as us.
“Lafarge was the only company producing cement here in Nigeria when we started up. He remarked, “Nobody ever referred to Lafarge as a monopoly.
Saying that his group of enterprises is monopolistic is depressing, he remarked.
“Monopoly is the use of legal tools to obstruct people and stop them. No, there is equal playing field; for example, Dangote received no more cement than other people, some of whom received more than we did,” he continued.
Dangote urged Nigerians to put money into the sector in order to strengthen the national economy.
“Leave it to the other Nigerians. Here are other Nigerians besides us. The millionaire remarked, “Some Nigerians are wealthier than us.
“They ought to invest that money in our fatherland and bring it from Dubai and other parts of the world.”
