President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has called for urgent investment in local manufacturing and power infrastructure, stressing that Nigeria must design, fabricate and build what it consumes to achieve true economic independence.
Dangote, who has always advocated for local production, stated this on Friday at the Nigerian Academy of Engineering induction ceremony held in Victoria Island, Lagos, where he was inducted as a Distinguished Honorary Fellow.
The businessman, who attended the event alongside family members and company executives, highlighted the need for improved electricity infrastructure, describing it as critical to industrial growth.
“True economic independence is impossible without technical sovereignty. We must fabricate, design and build what we consume. We will remain the fiercest advocates for local content, which is key.”
“Distinguished fellows, our task is urgent. We must build power grids. This power is important; we must build it. I keep repeating, we must build it. Together, let us engineer a Nigeria that works not just for some, but for everyone,” he said.
The businessman noted that engineering innovation has been pivotal to the Dangote Refinery, which he said was designed with significantly higher capacity than many comparable facilities globally.
He added that the group remains committed to driving industrialisation across Nigeria and the African continent.
“Our vision has always been clear, to make Nigeria, and by extension Africa, self-sufficient in products we once heavily imported, and to demonstrate that this ambition is both practical and achievable at scale,” he said.
He also warned about the growing impact of artificial intelligence on the profession, noting that it could gradually replace aspects of engineering design.
He urged engineers to take an active role in shaping how the technology evolves within the industry.
Meanwhile, Dangote at a recent summit in Nairobi, Kenya, disclosed plans to expand industrial capacity beyond Nigeria.
At the summit attended by Presidents Yoweri Museveni and William Ruto, Dangote announced a proposed 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery in East Africa as part of a $40 billion investment drive. Dangote said the project, which is similar in scale to the Lagos refinery, would depend on the East African governments’ support but remains achievable in four to five years.
He lauded President Yoweri Museveni for stopping the exportation of raw minerals.