Dollar Will End Up At N500 if care is not taken – Aliko Dangote

In a recent interview the business tycoon Aliko
Dangote has revealed the biggest mistake a
businessman can make.
“The most dangerous thing that could happen
to an entrepreneur is for him to go into a
business he doesn’t understand. You need to
know the A to Z of the business you are doing.
“That’s the only way you can succeed. That’s
the biggest mistake most people are making. I
don’t think that most of the people that have
invested in power really understand what it is.
It involves three things; generation,
transmission and distribution and all the three
require heavy investment. There are a lot of
issues that we have to resolve and I think with
seriousness, we’ll be able to do them.”
Aliko Dangote said this in an interview with
newsmen a few days ago. Dangote discussed
the state of the nation while explaining some
details in his businesses that are geared
towards a better life for Nigerians.
He called on Nigerians to invest at home and
create jobs. “Five to 10 people can make
Nigeria a great economy,” he said.
Below is what he said on fuel subsidy, his own
words as captured by Onochie Anibeze:
“The issue with subsidy is that government
needs to block all loopholes. If there’s no
subsidy, it will affect our foreign exchange;
we’ll end up buying a dollar at N500, because
there’s no VAT on petroleum products. That’s
why the import of petroleum products is taking
about 30% of our foreign reserve. We just need
to make sure that there’s no siphoning of
money. The refining business requires volume.
If you don’t have a massive volume, there’s no
way you’ll make money. Most of the refineries
in Africa are running at a big loss. It’s not
possible for government officials to
successfully manage oil businesses. It’s good
enough if they remove the subsidy, but you can
check with neighbouring countries like Senegal.
If a poor person in Senegal can afford to pay
subsidy, why can’t a poor person in Nigeria
afford to pay. I think there must be something
for the masses, which should be in terms of
power, social insurance, good education
system, good roads etc.”