By Joyce Ekeh
The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has thrown his weight behind the proposed Initial Public Offering, IPO, of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, urging Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunity to become shareholders in one of the country’s major industrial projects.
Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, also challenged those opposed to the refinery’s dominant position in the market to raise $22 billion and establish competing refining capacity.
The Emir spoke at the Dangote Refinery “People’s IPO” sensitisation roadshow in Kano, where he urged individuals, entrepreneurs and businesses across the state to embrace equity investment as a means of building long-term wealth and deepening local ownership of productive assets.
He said Kano’s long history of commerce, enterprise and investment positioned its people to benefit from participation in the capital market.
Sanusi said he had followed the evolution of the Dangote Group from its early years and described the refinery as the culmination of a long-standing vision to produce locally the products required by Nigeria’s large population.
Recalling his experience as a Credit Risk Management Officer at United Bank for Africa, UBA, in the late 1990s, he said he had interacted with Aliko Dangote at a time when the company was moving from trading and importation into large-scale manufacturing.
According to him, what initially appeared to some as an unusual strategy of using short-term financing to pursue long-term industrial investment reflected Dangote’s determination to build productive capacity and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
He said the underlying economic principle was to produce locally the goods Nigerians consume instead of relying on imports.
“Somebody needs to produce the petrol for your cars, somebody needs to produce the cement for your houses, somebody needs to produce the food that you eat. We are importing these things from Asia, Europe and America. Our strategy is to produce those things here,” he recalled.
The Emir described the Dangote Refinery as a major industrial project with the potential to alter Nigeria’s long-standing dependence on imported petroleum products despite the country’s status as a major crude oil producer.
Drawing on his experience at the CBN, Sanusi said petroleum imports had historically placed significant pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange position, with the country earning foreign exchange from crude exports while using part of it to import refined products.
“What Aliko has done is disrupt that model,” he said, arguing that increased domestic refining could reduce import dependence and create opportunities for Nigeria to export refined petroleum products.
Sanusi also pointed to the refinery’s growing international reach, citing reports of European airlines purchasing aviation fuel from the facility during disruptions associated with the Strait of Hormuz crisis.
On concerns over market dominance, the Emir said criticism should be accompanied by efforts to build competing productive capacity.
“There is no monopoly if a monopoly is not protected by law. Anybody who wants to build a refinery, anybody who wants to raise $22 billion, invest and go through what Aliko went through is welcome to do so,” he said.
He urged Nigerians to focus more investment on productive enterprises capable of generating jobs, creating value and expanding economic opportunities, rather than concentrating predominantly on speculative investments or assets held abroad.
On the proposed IPO, Sanusi described it as an opportunity for Nigerians to become part owners of the refinery.
“It is the shareholders who own it. It is the shareholders who take the returns. It is the shareholders who own the profits,” he said.
The Emir, however, advised prospective investors to exercise caution and take a long-term view, warning them against investing money needed for essential family obligations.
He urged Kano residents to participate in the capital market, saying broad-based ownership of productive enterprises could help deepen financial inclusion, create wealth and increase Nigerian participation in major industrial assets.
