Dangote: His Truism About Developing Africa

By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi

One of the courses taught at an elite white suprematist institutions in one of the countries in North Europe is ‘How to Keep Africa in Perpetual bondage’. Very scary, to all Africans who actually care about the continent, wherever they may live.

In the classroom, the students were taught that because of the abundance of mineral resources on the continent, the developed world could not afford to let Africa become developed as well. The transformation of Africa into a developed continent would sound the death knell for the already developed countries of Europe and the US and its allies in North American, the all white students were further told.

And that is only half the story, because the other half speaks about the ominous rise of the white suprematist movements and or political parties in Western Europe such as the Skin Heads in the UK, the Marie Le Pen’s National Rally in France, and the Neo Nazis in Germany to mention some of the infamously far right groups operating in the Western Europe. They have a common goal in ‘getting rids’ of the black people in their midst.

Of course, there are the notorious white supremacist movements in the US known as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and The Base. These two are the most infamous ‘leaders’ of all white supremacist movements in the world. There is also the racist chants of some whites against blacks in the playgrounds, notably football pitches, a situation which led to the recent sentence of three Majorca Football Club fans to eight months in prison by a Spanish court.

Given all the above scenarios against the backdrop of racism by some white people against black people, it is little wonder that people like Alhaji Aliko Dangote are constantly reminding fellow Africans that the responsibility of developing the continent is nobody else’s but theirs.

This sentiment is equally shared by a host of other black people elsewhere, some of who, by the unfortunate accident of history, found themselves living in the white man’s lands. People like the American rapper, Lesane Parish Crooks, better known as Tupac Shakur, who died at the age of 25, once advised the black person “to stop thinking that the white person considers them as their equal”.

The even more legendary Muhammad Ali and Malcom X, who converted to Islam because they felt the society they were living in was very hostile to people of black colour. They all believed that Africa was destined for greatness, but only if the Africans decide to make that happen.

In a recent interview with Eleni Giokos of the Cable Network News (CNN), the world famous Alhaji Aliyu Dangote was very categorical that only Africans could DEVELOP Africa, because nobody would come from somewhere and develop the continent for them.

For the very few who do not know, Alhaji Aliyu Dangote, GCON, is not only Africa’s but the black race’s richest person in the world. He is the President of the Dangote Industries, a conglomerate that includes, but not limited to, Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, Dangote Flour, Dangote Spaghetti, Dangote Macaroni, Dangote Noodles and now, Dangote Refinery, Dangote Chemicals, Dangote Fertilisers and Dangote Sino Trucks West Africa.

In her second interview with him since the first in 2016 when he was reclaiming part of the ocean to build his playgrounds, the Dubai based anchor of CNN’s ‘Market place Africa’ and ‘Market Place Middle East’ shows, asked the Nigerian billionaire businessman what he thought about industrialising the (African) continent, he answered that “we have to make sure that we focus and say that look we are the only ones that can deliver.

“We Africans are the only people that can develop Africa. If we are waiting for foreigners or foreign investors to come and develop Africa, it will never happen”, he added with emphasis.

Of course, there are other very rich people on the continent who could, either individually or in partnership with like minded individuals, contribute towards developing Africa. But while many of them could not explain their sources of income, others prefer to not take the ‘risk’ of ‘taking the bull by the horns’ by investing in projects that would only yield benefits later, like Dangote did.

People who ‘made’ their stupendous money in government or those who are involved in unwholesome activities might not be forthcoming in helping to solve Africa’s industrialisation problem because they would rather the status quo remained the same, so that they would continue to reap where they did not sow.

They are the type who are not proud that they are Africans. These are those who would worship the devil and not worship the All Mighty God, if money was involved in the equation. A number of them collaborate with foreigners to defraud the African continent of its rich mineral resources.

The stagnation in many projects on these shores could be explained by the fact that not everyone is keen to see that this country lead the way in developing the African continent. If that should become a reality, not a few of those who live on the fat of the land in Africa would fall by the way side, overtaken by modernity.

And modernity means development, and development would ensure that ‘free meals’ would be no more free, as everyone would have to work for their money, including those who work underground to undermine the continent that people like Alhaji Aliyu Dangote, GCON, are trying to develop.

Malam Malumfashi wrote from Katsina