Billionaire Aliko Dangote has called for urgent investment in Nigeria's power sector, saying the country must design, fabricate and build its own electricity infrastructure to achieve economic independence. Speaking at the induction ceremony of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering Fellows in Lagos, Dangote revealed that he generates about 1,500 megawatts of electricity for his businesses rather than rely on the national grid. "We must build the power grids. I keep repeating, we must build it," he said, adding that Nigerians should work together to "engineer a Nigeria that works not just for some, but for everyone."
The call has triggered online debate. A popular social media post by Misbahu Abubakar summed up the concern many Nigerians have: "He is begging them now, but once Dangote builds the power grid, foolish people will start shouting Monopoly." The fear reflects a pattern in Dangote's business history. He transformed Nigeria's cement industry, then built a 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery that critics once said would never succeed.
The numbers support Dangote's argument. Nigeria took 11 years to add just 760 megawatts to the national grid, according to a June 2024 BusinessDay report. In less time, Dangote generated 1,500 megawatts for his own use. Charles Akinbobola, a senior energy analyst at Sofidam Capital, said the power sector's real problem is not money. "Several trillions of naira have been pumped into that industry," Akinbobola said. "The sector has been plagued by the shortcomings of its managers."
Dangote's track record shows a businessman willing to take risks others avoid. The government liberalised refinery licensing under President Olusegun Obasanjo, issuing 70 licences in total. Yet only a handful of licence holders invested serious money. At a 2018 foundation-laying ceremony in Bayelsa State, Obasanjo himself lamented the failure. "During my tenure, I gave 18 licenses but none were actualized," he said. President Muhammadu Buhari approved 22 more licences in 2015, but most remain dormant.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has spent billions of dollars on repair and maintenance of federal refineries with little to show for it. Now it talks only of signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese companies for a potential Technical Equity Partnership. That gap between talk and action explains why some analysts support continued fuel imports rather than wait for domestic solutions.
Dangote's power sector ambitions will likely face the same scepticism his refinery did. Whether he pursues this or not, his point stands: Nigeria has the money and licences but lacks the management and follow-through that private operators like him have shown. The question for government is whether it will clear the path for someone willing to bet billions on fixing what state institutions have not.
