President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, on Monday criticised wealthy Nigerians for prioritising the purchase of private jets and luxury assets instead of investing in sectors that could generate massive employment for the country’s teeming youth population.
Dangote spoke during an economic and investment forum in Lagos, where business leaders and policymakers gathered to discuss strategies for boosting local production and industrial growth.
According to Africa’s richest man, Nigeria’s unemployment and poverty crisis could be significantly reduced if the nation’s elite redirected a portion of their wealth toward industrial projects and productive enterprises.
“It is painful when you see how much money is being spent on private jets, luxury estates and foreign assets while millions of young Nigerians who are willing to work remain unemployed,” Dangote said.
He noted that sustainable wealth creation should be tied to investments that grow the economy and create long term opportunities rather than consumption driven spending.
Dangote stressed that industrialisation remained the fastest route to economic stability, adding that Nigeria had all the resources needed to become a major manufacturing hub in Africa if capital was properly deployed.
Using the Dangote Refinery as an example, he explained that large scale investments in critical infrastructure had the capacity to change the economic direction of the country and reduce dependence on imports.
“The refinery alone is creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. Imagine if we had ten similar projects across agriculture, manufacturing and energy,” he added.
The billionaire businessman called on high net worth individuals, financial institutions and the government to work together in building industries that would drive exports, strengthen the naira and expand the tax base.
Economic experts at the forum also echoed his views, warning that capital flight and luxury spending were draining resources that could otherwise stimulate domestic growth.
Nigeria currently battles rising youth unemployment, weak industrial output and heavy dependence on imported goods despite having Africa’s largest economy by population.
