Dangote says that he wants every Nigerian to make money off him

 

In an interview with the press, Dangote gave an impassioned breakdown of the motives behind listing the $20 billion oil.

He noted that he intends to make every Nigerian a direct owner of the multi-billion-dollar facility.

According to Dangote, the listing is less about control and more about legacy, ensuring that ordinary Nigerians benefit from the refinery’s long-term success.

What Dangote said

“At the moment, our main interest is to list on the exchange, so that every living Nigerian can own part of the refinery,” he stated.

“Somebody asked me a question, is it 5 or 10 percent you want to sell, and I said that when we are going to sell the shares, we will not put a cap, if they happen to buy 55% and I own 45%, so be it,” he added.

When asked explicitly if the offer extended beyond Nigerians living in the country, Dangote simply said, "Yes."

Dangote described the refinery as a legacy project, emphasizing that widespread ownership will give Nigerians a direct stake in its success.

“The thing is about legacy, I want Nigerians to own this, and I want every single Nigerian, when the refinery does well, for them to always be able to rely on the profit of that refinery,” he said.

“The main point is for us to sell to every living Nigerian who has something, even if it's ten shares you buy or 20,” he continued.

Dangote provided another crucial assurance to potential investors by revealing that dividends will be paid in US dollars.

To him, this ensures that Nigerians in the diaspora also get a piece of the pie.

“We are going to make sure that we pay the dividend in dollars, because a major chunk of ourselves is in dollars.”

Dangote’s original plan to list the refinery

In July, Nigeria’s top billionaire announced during the Global Commodity Insights Conference on West African Refined Fuel Markets in Abuja, which was co-hosted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and S&P Global Insights, that he intends to sell shares of his 650,000 barrels per day refinery.

According to the billionaire businessman, plans are already underway to list the refinery on the stock exchange, allowing Nigerians, both people and institutions, to participate in and profit from the facility's potential long-term growth.

“Very soon, the refinery will be listed to give all Nigerians the opportunity to become shareholders. We are open to partnerships with African governments, private investors, and regional institutions. Our vision is simple but ambitious,” Dangote said at the time.

“Africa should refine all the petroleum products it consumes right here on the soil of Africa.”

By Chinedu Okafor, Business Insider Africa

Nigeria secures largest-ever military aircraft acquisition in West Africa with 24 M-346FA jets

Nigeria is advancing a major military modernisation initiative with a landmark procurement of 24 Italian-built M‑346FA fighter jets from Italian aerospace and defence firm Leonardo S.p.A., marking the largest single military aircraft acquisition in West African history.

The deal, valued at approximately €1.2 billion, includes long-term maintenance and support provisions through Leonardo and represents a strategic deepening of defence ties between Nigeria and the Italian manufacturer.

Business Inside Africa in an earlier publication, reported that Nigeria's cabinet approved a borrowing plan of $618 million from a consortium of financiers to purchase six Italian-made M-346 attack jets along with ammunition for the country's air force.

The first six jets are currently under production in Italy, with three expected to be delivered by early 2025 and full deliveries continuing through mid-2026.

This acquisition, alongside additional purchases of helicopters and support systems, is central to Nigeria’s effort to modernise and expand the Nigerian Air Force’s operational reach.

The timing of the procurement coincides with Nigeria’s persistent internal security crises. The country continues to grapple with a decade-long jihadist insurgency in the Northeast, widespread banditry in the Northwest, and complex communal violence across the Middle Belt.

These overlapping threats have strained governmental resources, displaced communities, and eroded investor confidence across West Africa.

The enhanced air combat, surveillance, and precision-strike capability offered by the M‑346FA fleet is designed to strengthen Abuja’s response to these entrenched security challenges.

Regional dynamics and Benin incursion

This military build-up is unfolding against a backdrop of increasingly volatile regional politics. Nigerian forces recently intervened in a coup attempt in neighbouring Benin, where mutinying soldiers briefly seized key installations in Cotonou.

Deployed at the request of Benin’s government, Nigerian air and ground units helped neutralise the threat and restore constitutional order, reinforcing the nation’s role as a security guarantor in West Africa.

The intervention, authorised by Nigeria’s Senate, highlights the country’s willingness to project force beyond its borders as coups and democratic backsliding spread across the Sahel and coastal West Africa.

Within this context, Nigeria’s shift towards sourcing military hardware from Italy reflects a broader recalibration of its defence procurement strategy.

Italian defence firms offer modern and reliable aircraft, armoured vehicles, and naval systems that are often more cost-effective than those of traditional suppliers.

The move also signals an effort to diversify away from heavy reliance on U.S., Russian, or Chinese equipment, reduce procurement delays, and deepen ties with European partners that provide technology transfer and long-term maintenance support.

As Nigeria inducts its new air combat platforms, the coming year is likely to be decisive for both its internal security posture and its standing as a leading regional security power.

By Soloman Ekanem, Business Insider Africa

Suicide bomber kills five soldiers in northeast Nigeria

A suicide bomber struck a military position in northeastern Nigeria near the border with Cameroon, killing at least five soldiers, security and local defence sources said.

The attacker targeted a military position in Firgi near Pulka, a remote town in Borno state, on Sunday, sources told AFP on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

“I counted five bodies lying in blood at the back of my house,” said Umar Sa’idu, a member of a community government-sponsored militia group, who helped transport the victims to hospital.

“After some hours, medical personnel at UMTH (University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital) confirmed that all five victims we gave escort to had died,” he told AFP by phone.

Suicide bombings, once one of the defining tactics of Boko Haram during the height of the insurgency more than a decade ago, have become less frequent in recent years as the military has made inroads against the group.

Lieutenant Colonel Sani Uba, the military’s spokesman in the northeast, confirmed the attack but not the deaths.

“Our gallant soldiers shot the attacker when he attempted to carry out the bombing in their own position,” Uba told AFP.

“Unfortunately, our gallant soldiers sustained varying degrees of injury and are currently receiving medical care.”

Sa’idu said the bomber was a suspected Boko Haram member thought to have come from nearby Mandara Mountains.

According to Bukar Aji, a local hunter, the assailant approached the soldiers and detonated an explosive device strapped to his body.

Pulka lies close to the Mandara Mountains, a rugged and sparsely governed border region that stretches between Nigeria and Cameroon and has long served as a refuge for jihadist militants linked to Boko Haram and its splinter factions.

AFP

Video - Nigeria, Benin vow to protect democracy after thwarting coup attempt

Nigeria and Benin have jointly pledged to counter any threats to democracy in West Africa after a weekend coup attempt in Benin was foiled. Nigeria sent hundreds of troops to assist, while the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) also deployed forces, with the swift response reflecting lessons from past delayed interventions.

CGTN Africa

Nigeria grows strawberries, but poor infrastructure keeps them from markets

 

As early as 5am, farmers in rural Vom in Jos Plateau state set out to their strawberry farms. With torchlights strapped to their foreheads, they pick the delicate berries while the air is still cool. The earlier they are done picking, the earlier the trucks can move. Strawberries are at their best when cold, and any delay risks bruising or rot.

But once the berries leave the farm, the real problem begins.

After a careful harvest, the journey out of the farm to the big city buyers is precarious. With no direct flights, farmers rely entirely on road transport to reach markets. What leaves the farm vibrant and firm often arrives softened, leaking, or outright unsellable.

Nigeria’s strawberry production is relatively infantile. Official production figures are unavailable publicly but market report from intelligence company, Essfeed shows that Nigeria produces around 3,000 tons of strawberries annually. The industry is valued at approximately $2 million, with local markets being the primary focus.

Tridge, a market intelligence company reports that strawberry harvest season in Nigeria begins to peak in December with over 70 percent of total production coming from Chaha district in Vom, Jos South Local Government of Plateau State.

The berry’s derivative is used in jams, smoothies, parfaits and fruit juices, and is also consumed directly.

Yet those in the business are meeting the season with more worry than excitement.

Bwai Grace, a local produce procurer in Jos, told BusinessDay that gaps in logistics and other infrastructure have “seriously” weakened demand. She now struggles to meet orders from Maiduguri, Katsina and even parts of Port Harcourt reachable only by rough roads.

With no cargo flights, farmers typically loaded their strawberries onto passenger planes, hoping the boxes are kept near the air conditioner. But when airlines such as Arik and Max Air halted flights to Plateau State, the chain collapsed, leaving them stranded and scrambling for improvised road transport.

“For years, Arik was the only lifeline. We paid more per kg in air cargo than we paid farmers per kg of produce. Logistics cost more than the fruit, and we still paid for it, because at least the berries arrived fresh and wholesome across the country,” said Deola Balogun, chief operating officer at Limlim Foods Production Ltd in a LinkedIn post.

“But overnight, it collapsed, Arik stopped flying into Jos in October. ValueJet is now the only carrier flying out from Jos, and they refused to carry strawberries,” Balogun added.

Grace explained the alternative. “I have someone with a deep freezer that uses an inverter. I wash the strawberry very well with water level at 11.5 pH to preserve the taste, then freeze them in kilos and cover with styrofoam so it doesn’t drip,” she said.

Her efforts could only do so much. Long hours on hot, uneven roads stress the fruit and a breakdown or checkpoint delay thins the line between a marketable carton and a total loss. “The weather outside Jos is really hot. And once you start changing the environment, the food will start becoming stressed and struggle to breathe,” she said.

Many of the cartons of strawberries eventually arrive “not looking like food” and clients demand refunds.

“At some point last year, in February, I had to even close business for a very long time. I just told them, let me just travel and clear my head,” she said.

Balogun also recounted losing 20 to 30 percent of her produce due to checkpoint delays and rough roads that broke the boxes.

“Road is not a solution today. It’s a controlled disaster. We’re not losing strawberries because farmers don’t know how to grow them, we’re losing them because a berry’s entire value chain depended on a plane we didn’t control,” she said.

Hopi Afrique, a Nigerian farm produce business based in Jos, does not hide the vulnerability. Under its listing on Flutterwave, it wrote boldly, “Some of your strawberries will bruise or melt in transit.”

According to Tridge, Nigerian strawberries are currently sold at $3.64 per kg in wholesale markets. Grace said she sells her strawberries sell for N18,000 per 5kg.

Hopi Afrique estimates a carton at roughly 5.5kg, which means losing even ten boxes wipes out close to N200,000 in addition to transportation costs.

Plugging the gap

The gap in prices ultimately tilts the market towards imports, keeping Nigeria on a costly cycle of bringing in the very strawberries it already grows.

In 2023, the country spent up N600million to import fresh strawberries, 80 percent of which came from Niger, according to data from The World Bank and the United Nations. South Africa, Belgium, Denmark were other major sources.

“If Plateau produces approximately 700 tons this season and we lose 50 percent due to lack of movement, 350 tons will rot in 120 days. By April, Lagos will import strawberries, puree and concentrate while fresh berries rot in Jos,” Balogun said.

The real fix, according to Grace, is reliable, temperature-controlled vans and cargo planes that are “very fast” to preserve strawberries during transit out of Jos.

However, the issue must first be resolved on the farm, she said.

Recently, security worries have altered the harvest routine. Instead of picking at dawn, which is the ideal time to retain firmness, farmers now wait until it’s safer to move around. That later start means the fruit hits the sun earlier, warming up long before it reaches any buyer.

The farms also require consistent water supply through boreholes and overhead tanks to replace the more tedious process of sourcing water from distant streams with pipes.

At the top of the priority for farmers is also access to affordable, high-quality fertilisers. Grace said that getting organic fertilisers is not cheap and farmers have to liaise with “someone abroad” to get the best and use them on their farms.

Balogun says without these measures, “[Nigeria] will keep planting pride and harvesting loss.”

By Bethel Olujobi, Business Day