The refinery debate is not about Dangote - It is about Nigeria - Businessday NG

Introduction

For weeks, I watched the debate over the Dangote refinery and fuel import licences from the sidelines.

Then every day, I see another headline about ships arriving with imported petrol, fertiliser, and countless other products. It left me asking a simple but troubling question: what exactly do we still produce for ourselves?

At a time when a Nigerian investor has committed about US$20 billion to solving a problem the government failed to solve for decades, why are we still debating how to preserve an import-dependent system?

This article is not really about Dangote. It is about Nigeria. It is about whether we want to remain a nation that consumes what others produce or become a nation that produces what it consumes.