The Lagos Business School (LBS) has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a model of visionary leadership and a blueprint for Africa's economic self-sufficiency during a recent visit by participants of its Global CEO Africa Programme.
Led by the Dean of the School, Professor Yinka David-West, and the Academic Director of the programme, Patrick Akinwuntan, the delegation comprised 24 senior executives from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Cameroon.
The visit formed part of efforts to expose African business leaders to large-scale private sector investments that can transform the continent's development landscape.
The CEOs were received at the $20 billion facility by the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, who used the occasion to urge African investors to retain their resources within the continent.
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He said the decision to embark on the refinery project was borne out of a desire to achieve energy independence for Nigeria and other African countries.
"People think building a refinery is like building a house, but it's not. If I had known the challenges ahead, I may not have started. But we pushed through because we believed nothing is impossible," Dangote said.
He explained that aside from Algeria and Libya, most African nations depend on imported petroleum products, a situation he described as unsustainable. He added that external interests were undermining Africa's industrial growth through the dumping of imports, citing the inactivity of refineries in parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
"If you go to Lome, you'll see many ships waiting to import fuel. This is how they attack our industries. Even in South Africa, only one refinery is functioning," he said.
Dean of LBS, Prof. David-West, said the purpose of the visit was to give African CEOs direct exposure to transformative infrastructure built by African visionaries. She commended Dangote for his commitment to development across the continent.
"We are here to thank you not just for hosting us, but for showing Africa what is possible. You have paved the way and reminded us that we must support one another to build the Africa we want," she said.
Also speaking, the Academic Director of the programme, Patrick Akinwuntan, described the refinery as a symbol of courage and enterprise. He said the Global CEO Africa Programme was designed to nurture business leaders capable of scaling pan-African solutions and driving sustainable development.
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"This is more than what you see; it's about what you can envision and build. Dangote's success with this refinery teaches us that audacious leadership can overcome the biggest obstacles," Akinwuntan said.
