How Obasanjo created A Billionaire at 4 A.M — The untold story of the Dangote empire
How Obasanjo created A Billionaire at 4 A.M — The untold story of the Dangote empire
Let me tell you a story many Nigerians have never heard — a story that started at 4 a.m, in Aso Rock, when a restless President couldn’t sleep because of one thing:
Cement.
According to Olusegun Obasanjo himself, he woke up in the middle of the night, troubled by one question:
“Why is cement so expensive in a country that has everything needed to produce it?”
He tossed and turned.
Sleep refused to come.
At 5 a.m, he picked up his phone and dialed one man:
Aliko Dangote.
“Where are you?” Obasanjo asked.
A sleepy Dangote replied, “Mr. President, it’s 5 a.m… of course I’m sleeping.”
Obasanjo didn’t laugh.
He said, “Can you meet me by 7 a.m in Abuja?”
Dangote joked, “Sir, it is wrong to call me at 5 a.m… but even more wrong to ask me to meet you at 7 a.m when the first Lagos–Abuja flight is at 7.”
Obasanjo asked, “When can you be here?”
Dangote replied, “By 9 a.m, Mr. President.”
And exactly 9:00 a.m, Dangote walked into the Villa.
THE CONVERSATION THAT CHANGED NIGERIA’S INDUSTRY FOREVER
Obasanjo looked him in the eye and asked:
“Why are you importing cement when you should be producing it?”
Dangote didn’t hide the truth.
“Mr. President, should I be honest with you?” he asked.
Obasanjo said, “If I call you to the Villa by 9 a.m, you MUST be honest.”
Then Dangote confessed:
“Sir, importing cement is more profitable to me than producing it.”
That answer struck Obasanjo deeply.
So he asked the next question:
“What can I do to make manufacturing more profitable for you?”
Dangote replied with one bold request:
“Stop cement importation. Make it illegal. When local production becomes the only option, I will produce.”
Obasanjo nodded.
“Okay. I understand. Go.
WHAT OBASANJO DID NEXT MADE HISTORY
The moment Dangote left, Obasanjo called his Works & Housing Minister and gave him a directive that would rewrite Nigeria’s industrial landscape:
“Prepare the policy. Within one year of Dangote beginning production, we stop ALL cement importation.”
And that was it.
Cement imports were phased out.
Local production became the future.
Dangote built factories across Nigeria.
Then expanded to Tanzania… Zambia… Senegal… Sierra Leone…
And from that 4 a.m insomnia,
from that 9 a.m meeting,
from that ONE bold presidential policy…
A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY WAS BORN.
This is how Dangote became Africa’s wealthiest man.
Not magic.
Not mystery.
Not luck.
A restless President + a 4 a.m phone call + a courageous policy decision = A Billionaire Was Created.
Credit/ Tunde Facebook page
