by David Hundeyin,
In case the news flew under the radar, I’m gonna amplify it here.
Dangote’s proposal for banning refined petroleum importation includes a proposal that in the event that local refining doesn’t satisfy consumption, he should also get the SOLE LICENSE to import petrol to Nigeria. I repeat, while speaking to members of the National Assembly who came to visit Dangote Refinery on February 28, the company proposed that petrol import licenses should only be given to “licensed and active” refinery operators in Nigeria.
We know who that refers to.
In other words, in addition to being a government-backed monopoly making the world’s most expensive cement at 45% profit per bag – more than twice that of the next most profitable cement maker on earth – Aliko Dangote also wants to become NNPC.
NewsRescue– VIDEO: DANGOTE, THE NAME BEHIND POVERTY IN AFRICA AND HIS AREWA YOUTH COMMENT
Nigerians must never allow this.
People often mistake Dangote Group for merely a monopoly born out of being better than all competitors, like Amazon or Google.
Those are in fact, relatively benign monopolies which have economic benefits. Dangote Group is NOT a benign monopoly – it is an economic parasite. Nigeria would be significantly better off WITHOUT a Dangote Group than with one.
Its modus operandi is to leverage longstanding political connections to take entire sectors of Nigeria’s economy captive at literal gunpoint using state power.
Nigeria does NOT exist for Dangote. If Nigerians do not immediately shout down this attempt to kidnap their entire country’s energy market and gift wrap it to a robber baron, they can be sure that he will do it again with a different sector.
How about a Dangote telecom with sole license to operate in Nigeria? Or a Dangote digital satellite TV provider that pushes out everyone else via government fiat?
Dangote Motors maybe, with sole license to manufacture or import vehicles to Nigeria? (That’s already in the pipeline)
Or Dangote Food, with exclusive license to import food products? Where does it end? Does Nigeria exist for the sole purpose of enriching Aliko Dangote and his political backers?
Nigerians will have to answer that question by themselves. If they let this proposal get to the point of being debated in the House, then clearly the answer is yes. Screenshot source:
Article source: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1374324480311398403.html