Two recent events orchestrated by what I presume to be the j oil mafia in Nigeria, underscore the vicious plot to undermine the world acclaimed Dangote Refinery.

First is the spurious allegation levelled by the regulators represented by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the NNPCL. Head of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed had recently alleged in a television interview that Dangote Refinery was making substandard products with unsafe sulphur levels, and also trying to monopolise the industry. Ahmed made these remarks at the State House accompanied by the NNPC Group CEO, Mele Kyari, meaning that the two are working together.

The other is starving of the refinery of required crude oil for its operation. Before now, the general complaint in Nigeria was that there was no functional refinery to utilise the crude produced in the country, which explained the exportation of the product to off-shore refineries abroad for refining and re-importation into the country. Suddenly, with the coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery, the crude oil disappeared and is no longer available, thereby forcing Dangote to have to import crude from abroad for the operation of the refinery. What a dramatic irony of situation? There is no other way to interpret development other than to see it as blatant sabotage, except that in the heat of the problem, President Tinubu reportedly ordered the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote and other local refineries in naira for its operations. The unfounded and unproven allegation of making substandard products and starving the refinery of crude oil clearly show how the enemies of Nigeria that constitute the mafia work to frustrate any development project in Nigeria.

Fortunately, while Nigeria’s oil mafia are battling Aliko Dangote and his refinery, international bodies are showing unwavering confidence in the Dangote Refinery. A number of countries have queued up to purchase Dangote’s products. These include USA, Spain, France, South Korea, Angola, Togo, Guinea, Belgium, Israel and Singapore. These, according to reports, are the top 10 importers of petroleum products from Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery. Also, students from across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), have reportedly passed a vote of confidence on the Dangote Refinery.

And to buttress it all, Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in 2023, the other day, threw his weight behind the Dangote Refinery, advising the Federal Government to support the project rather than discourage it. According to Obi, Dangote Refinery should be fully supported, not vilified. In a series of tweets on his verified X page, Obi said the Dangote Refinery is purely an economic issue not political. He noted that the recent conflicts between Dangote and some government agencies are deeply troubling. The issue, he said, transcends political affiliations and personal grievances. It is fundamentally about Nigeria’s economy, future and well-being of Nigerians.

That there is a vicious plot to scuttle the Dangote Refinery is not in doubt. The other day, former president Olusegun Obasanjo said those benefiting from fuel importation will do all in their power to frustrate the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Speaking with Financial Times in an interview, Obasanjo said, “If those who are selling and supplying refined products for Nigeria feel that they will lose lucrative opportunity, they will also make every effort to get him frustrated.”

As it were, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, had stated that some government and non-government were making efforts to frustrate his $20 billion refinery. In that regard, officials of the Dangote Group recently cried out that international oil companies were frustrating the refinery by refusing to sell crude or by selling to them at a premium up to $4 above the normal price. This prompted the Federal Executive Council’s directive to the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other local refineries in naira and not in US dollar.

But the issue goes beyond frustrating and refusing to sell crude oil to Dangote. The underlying aim of the oil mafia, arguably, is to scuttle the refinery and ensure it does not work or see the light of the day. Nigeria has a history of critical development projects that have been stalled and rendered redundant. The Dangote Refinery is then latest target. The plot to undermine the refinery is not coming as a surprise. Over the years, the same mafia has succeeded in undermining a number of critical industrial development projects; projects that could have helped to bring Nigeria to the lime light turned out to become national liability rather than asset.

The catalogue of grounded industrial projects include the Ajaokuta Steel Mill, a massive industrial plant begun in 1976 but sabotaged and remains incomplete more than 40 years later. About three-quarters of the plant has been abandoned. Next are Nigeria’s four refineries, with two in Port Harcourt and one each in in Warri and Kaduna that are comatose. Most of the oil reserves in the Niger Delta are under the control of foreign corporations. There are also the moribund Jos Steel Rolling Mill as well as the sold National Fertilizer Company of Nigeria (NAFCON). All these and many more mega projects that could have lifted Nigeria remain dark spots in the chequered effort to industrialise Nigeria. The enemies of Nigeria succeeded in undermining these iconic projects because they were owned by government.

But the Dangote Refinery is a private endeavour belonging to a shrewed industrialist with a vision to leave a mark on Nigeria’s industrial landscape. And by divine ordination, Dangote happens to be the richest man in Africa. Consequently, the enemies of Nigeria, the mafia who have set out to frustrate the refinery are facing an uphill task. They are unable to penetrate. The $20 billion iconic refinery, the biggest in the world has put Nigeria on the map of global petro-chemical industry. Despite this unprecedented positive impact on Nigeria, the detractors are still bent on undoing the refinery but without success.

The Dangote Refinery is going through the same challenges Barth Nnaji of Geometric Power Plant is faced in Aba, Abia State. Recently, the Geometric Power Plant, an iconic facility built by Professor Barth Nnaji faced the same hurdles. Faced with intractable epileptic power supply situation, the patriotic and forward-looking Nnaji set out to build the Geometric plant to alleviate the epileptic electricity supply situation in Aba industrial zone. Rather than encourage and facilitate the operation of the plant, the enemies of Nigeria ganged up to put all manner of obstacles against the $800 million facility, which left the facility redundant for a long time until recently when the lid was lifted. It is the predicament that the Dangote Refinery is facing.

The question to ask is what really does Nigeria want? Is it really to develop industrially like its counterparts in other climes or to keep marking time and deceiving herself. It is ironic, indeed incomprehensible, how a country that pretends to be looking for investors from all over the world would be frustrating her indigenous investors who despite the hard business environment braved it to invest in the country against all odds. There is no doubt that the oppressive treatment meted to local investors scare foreign counterparts. It is high time that Nigeria changed gear on this very critical issue, for if all the grounded industrial facilities in the country were to be made functional, there would be no mass unemployment as the country booms.

Dr. Onyekakeyah, a public affairs commentator wrote from Owerri.