Key points

• Dangote says the refinery bought crude for as much as $124 a barrel in May and cannot sell products below sustainable market levels.
• He warned that no new refinery will be built in Nigeria “in our lifetime” under current downstream conditions and 30% interest rates.
• He said his three daughters are capable of leading the Dangote Group and that having a male heir is not his priority.

Aliko Dangote says Nigerians are still paying high prices for petrol despite large-scale domestic refining because local production does not shield the country from global crude prices and market disruptions.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Tuesday, the president of Dangote Group said the refinery buys crude at prevailing market rates and sometimes pays significant premiums. As a result, he said, it cannot sell petroleum products below sustainable market levels.

According to Dangote, “expensive” is relative. Fuel prices in neighboring countries remain 30% to 50% higher than in Nigeria, he said, which is why smuggling of locally refined petrol across the borders persists.

The refinery paid as much as $124 a barrel for crude in May, he added, and “we can’t go now and subsidize everything.”

Nevertheless, he offered a reassurance. “There will be no queues, and we’ll make sure we keep satisfying the market despite all odds,” he said.

Interest rates and policy gaps

Dangote also pointed to high borrowing costs as a major obstacle to new investment. “It is very difficult to industrialize with interest rates at 30 percent,” he said, adding that he could not see any “magician” who could industrialize a country at that cost of capital.

Furthermore, he warned that without policies deliberately protecting domestic investments, Nigeria is unlikely to attract another major refinery.

“Under the current things that are going on, especially downstream, I cannot see any new refinery in our lifetime,” he said.

In his view, importing goods amounts to importing poverty and exporting jobs. He also cited inconsistent government policy and poor electricity supply as persistent barriers to manufacturing, declaring that “you cannot manufacture goods with diesel.”

Meanwhile, Dangote criticized wealthy Africans who buy private jets without building factories. “They’re not actually helping in growing the economy, and that has to change,” he said. By contrast, he noted that foreign investors are increasingly interested in Africa but need large, “big-ticket” opportunities to commit capital.

Daughters and succession

On succession, Dangote said not having a son to inherit the business was not a priority. His three daughters, Halima, Fatima and Mariya, already hold senior positions in the conglomerate, and he said any one of them could lead it.

“I’ve been watching all of them, so I can definitely see one of the three that can actually lead,” he said. Moreover, he suggested they could surpass him, since they are highly educated and likely to be more creative.

Asked whether he still hoped for a son, given traditional expectations in Kano, he said a son might be the one to “tear down the name of the family,” and that “when God doesn’t give you something, don’t push.”

Even so, Dangote stressed that his plan is not simply to hand control to family. Instead, he wants the group run professionally with the highest level of governance, citing Microsoft and Apple as companies that thrived beyond their founders.

Separately, he revealed he has lived in the same home for 36 years and has no plans to move. His legacy, he said, is to help industrialize Africa.