In what one would term advanced yahoo yahoo or creative 419, Africa’s former richest man has perfected the art of fooling Nigeria’s political leaders in Africa’s largest economy, and it has successfully allowed him to hold Nigeria’s economy to ransom.
The first observation is how every successive president would meet with him in advance of getting sworn into office, as if Nigeria’s future or economic well-being is in the hands of this highly sophisticated yahoo yahoo businessman.
His first move after every election is to invite his favorite American friend (pawn) to the presidency, Mr. Bill Gates who gullibly follows him to the Villa for presidential visits, it’s like a con man dropping names to build influence These political leaders are very impressed and influenced by the presence of one of the world’s most powerful men coming to visit them. Dangote then uses this to build both access and influence with the administration. Bill Gates is the pawn. Maybe it’s a game they are playing together. After all, when you walk one of the richest, most powerful, and smartest men in the world into the president’s office, backslapping each other like beer-drinking buddies, you are bound to be revered and trusted, even if you don’t know shit. My Dog Hercules can become a multi-billionaire if given exclusive rights to this and that in the largest economy in Africa, plus you top it off with access to unlimited dollars? Trust me the West Highland terrier is a very smart breed.
In any competitive economy, Dangote will not survive 24 months, his entire operation would be shut down. He milks the country like a pipe of money is run from the central bank of Nigeria to his private home. Buying dollars at 3 times lower rate than his competitors, and the fools sitting in leadership positions feel good because their decisions put one of their own in the company of the likes of Bill Gates, they enjoy the reference to one of their own as one of the world’s richest, all at the expense of the average Nigerian. Nigeria could have a thousand Dangotes in a market economy, all you need to do is look at who were the movers and shakers in the 60’s and 70’s, highly successful businessmen were everywhere from north to south, from west to east.
Dangote has engaged in clear sabotage and treasonable act by undercutting competitors who could have made our economy robust, for his own personal gain, he has requested and got governments to put in policies that kill competition. He buys dollars from Nigeria’s central bank sometimes at 3 times less than his competitors or everyone else, and the story of his shenanigan is endless. I must believe Bill Gates must have heard some of these stories but simply chose to continue the relationship that allowed Dangote to continue to milk Nigeria to the bone. Though there is no evidence of any benefit to or direct involvement nor participation by Bill Gates, one must consider Bill Gates as part of the scam destroying Nigeria’s economy as he is the pawn used. “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.”
Take for instance the boastful claim that he is building the largest oil refinery in the world, well except they will not tell you it is the largest modular refinery in the world. Nigeria invested 2142.5nl dollars in the refinery for a 20% stake when a similar refinery in the US is evaluated at a total cost of $2.5bl. You must scratch your head and wonder WTF is going on. It’s part of the scam, he gets the land for free and gets the government to indebt the nation with a loan that is used to buy a 20% stake for what the full value would be. What makes this most annoying is that Nigeria has 3 refineries that could be salvaged to produce more refined oil collectively than the Dangote personal oil refinery business.
Dangote tried to single-handedly control the tomato industry in Nigeria, the rice industry, the sugar industry the cement industry, and now the oil industry, (the type of monopoly the US Commerce Department would quickly break up) sabotaging any competitors who showed up along the way. The politicians we elect to office simply roll over and play dead. It was President Yar’dua who first rejected him, then “Goodluck Jonathan” rolled over like a dead man, Buhari sort of slowed Dangote down and breath life into Bua cement and now he is working Tinubu, he has already deployed his strategy and Bill Gates has made the maiden journey, the plot is unfolding, yahoo yahoo is now in play.
Dangote was the creation of Obasanjo and Nigeria has paid a price for it ever since. What the government must do is not shut him down but stop opening the Nigerian bank vault to one business “The Dangote Group”.
The government must provide a level playing field to other players, many international players have walked away from Nigeria because of Dangote and his political scheming, all at the expense of the well-being of Nigeria’s economy.
Over the last 8 years, Dangote was the de facto CBN director, except he never had an official title or office at CBN. The only thing the CBN directors did not do was wipe Dangote’s ass each time he went to the bathroom. Otherwise, how does anyone explain the Dangote Group and its influence on the economy of a country with 200 million people? Nothing in the world compared to this. This King with a fake crown must be unclothed.
The day Nigeria yanks the hold this man has on our economy is the day Nigeria’s economy will begin the climb to double that of South Africa and propel us to the top ten economies in the world, job creation will swell and the Naira will see good value (as will cease giving it all to one man) because we will see our GDP grow at a rate never imagined. Dangote and his shenanigans have for too many years clipped the wings of this amazing economy, it is time to stop him and his many minions.
Let’s not just blame the politicians, the media is also culpable as they never raise questions, It was as if they are also on the take, maybe they are.
If there is anything to warrant a national protest and noise it is the many special privileges accorded to this scam and this man who has held our economy back. We must let Bill Gates understand that his visit to our leaders in the company of Dangote is tantamount to yahoo yahoo scam, as he has been the pawn in the game of the Dangote Group.
It is time for us as a people to stand up and confront our government for this stupid and crazy act of selling Dangote dollars at less than everyone else. Opening our vault and central bank to him on his whims and caprices. Creating economic policies solely for his private business and benefit. Dangote cannot equal our economy; he must be one of many competing to build our economy. This issue is worth a national protest ands shut down of the nation to effect change, it is more critical than the Lekki gate protest, this will impact lives, the economy will be opened to competition and the job creation our youth and children desire will begin to flow. This protest must come from the youth themselves, whose lives and future depend on it.