Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and industrialist, is dedicated to empowering Nigerian engineers and enhancing local capacity through major industrial projects.
While hosting the Nigerian Society of Engineers’ Lagos Branch at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, on Monday, Dangote assured that the refinery’s scale exceeded initial expectations.
“Honestly, if we had fully understood the magnitude and challenges involved, we may not have even attempted it, but it is because we didn’t know what we were into initially and the courage, or maybe, naivety that got us this far,” Dangote said.
Dangote mentioned the construction challenges of the refinery designed to handle large volumes, included working on swampy terrain, clearing land, and dredging 65 million cubic meters of sand from 20 kilometers offshore with minimal ecological impact.
“We had to uproot thousands of trees manually. Sand-filling alone took 18 months, but we made a deliberate decision to preserve the livelihoods of those living nearby, especially fishermen,” he said.
Dangote mentioned that although the project initially planned for up to 50,000 foreign workers, it eventually used only 12,000–14,000 expatriates. Most of the workforce, including fitters, welders, and engineers, were Nigerians.
“Eighty-five per cent of the commissioning work was done by Nigerians, they have proven to be among the best. Today, we are our own EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) contractors. We are building this country ourselves,” he said
Dangote said, we have many projects ahead, and we will keep building our engineering base. Even without enough jobs, we must train people. Skills are valuable assets locally and internationally. Nigeria should gain from exporting knowledge, not just oil.
He encouraged NSE branch members to view the visit as a move towards national self-sufficiency and industrial excellence.
