History is often written by champions. Sometimes they rewrite it. But very few champs excite the splendid tribute of a cheer in the wake of their most glorious feats.
Nonetheless, Aliko Dangote, strikingly commands the relentless tribute of a cheer; these days it reverberates as deafening applause for the extraordinariness of the man who taught Nigeria and the African continent to trust in the soul and entrepreneurial depth of man.
Yes, it is never easy keeping up with Aliko. Thus the president of Dangote Group carves his niche in gold where several others struggle to scribble their names or initials in wet sand.
Like white rose growing on concrete slabs or the daring mushroom that pierces the motionless eternity of earth, pushing clearly but obstinately, through faint form, till the hour of fertility strikes, Aliko sought to fluorish where many have cowed to defeat.
Interestingly, however, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has pledged the Apex Bank’s support for the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Complex in Lagos.
The CBN Chief, who paid a visit to the construction site for the 14 billion dollar project on days ago, said that such support would come through the provision of Forex.
He went on to laud the visionary leadership of Aliko Dangote for a project, which is aimed at making Nigeria an exporter of fertilizer and finished petroleum products.
“Indeed, people talk about allocating Forex to Dangote Refinery and I must say that we need to support companies like this.
“When he contemplated this project, he came with a bill of about four billion Dollars for the importation of the equipment before I got to CBN and the CBN said that, we want you to commit to the importation of the equipment and we will stagger repayment and support you by providing foreign exchange for this and that is what we are doing.
“That is the kind of support we can give to people like this, who are contemplating moving Nigeria from an importer of all these products to an exporter,” the Central Bank’s boss stressed.
In his speech, the CEO of Dangote Refinery said that the company, as at January 11, could serve all the West African markets.
“We are also filling up the gas, which is right there in the ground because we are doing a gas pipeline through the sea – 550km each two lines which is about 1,100 from Borno to Lagos and that will give three billion cubic feet of gas.
“At the moment, the entire consumption of gas in Nigeria is about one billion. So, we are going to triple that, all at a stretch,” he said.
Aliko’s best friend, Femi Otedola, the billionaire chairman of Forte Group, was with him at the event.
