By Ajibola Olarinoye
Aliko Dangote, who is basically running the Dangote Refinery says he’s not exactly sugarcoating his thoughts on the Ajaokuta Steel Company. The man straight-up said it’s a lost cause.
He’s got this pretty blunt view: if you’re dreaming about a strong nation but your steel industry is basically a pile of old bolts, you’re kidding yourself. Building a country without solid steel? In his words, it just doesn’t add up.
There’s this video floating around on social media where Dangote’s laying it out, no filter. He’s all about moving forward, ditching outdated stuff before you end up as yesterday’s news. I mean, listen to the guy:
“No nation gets built without a real steel industry, and honestly, Ajaokuta just isn’t it for us.
“We can keep fooling ourselves, getting sentimental and all, but facts are facts.
“Remember those Volkswagen cars we used to assemble? The Igala? Put one next to a modern Kia and, come on, is there really any contest? Not even close.
“Times change, man. I was in Italy waiting for my driver—who, by the way, totally ghosted me that day—so my assistant just called an Uber. The driver, super polite, tried to hand me some mints (I passed). Turns out, we were in a Tesla. Dude tells me juice for the car costs about €20 and gets you 500 kilometers. Meanwhile, we’re still fussing over decades-old steel dreams.
“Change is coming whether we like it or not. If you don’t roll with it, you’re basically trying to drag a corpse out of the grave for a sprint. Impossible, right?
“And you gotta love Nigerians—we’re the only people who’ll rush to the airport, no ticket in hand, and then wonder why chaos breaks out.”
Honestly, you can’t say the man doesn’t know how to drive a point home.
