Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has expressed frustration over the numerous obstacles he faces as an investor due to visa requirements. Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, the 67-year-old business magnate revealed that he needs 35 different visas on his Nigerian passport to travel within Africa.
Dangote lamented the time-consuming process of acquiring these visas, explaining that he cannot afford to drop his passport at various embassies to obtain them. He contrasted his situation with that of his counterparts in Europe, specifically noting that the Chairman of Total Energies, Patrick Pouyanne, does not face such hurdles with his French passport.
“I still complained to President Kagame. I told him that as an investor, I have to now apply for 35 different visas on my passport,” Dangote said. “And I told Mr. President, I really don’t have the time to go and drop my passports in embassies to get a visa. But you see, the most annoying thing is that yes, if you are treating everybody the same, then I can understand.”
Dangote highlighted the disparity in movement freedom, emphasizing, “You don’t need 35 visas on your French passport. This means you have a freer movement than myself in Africa.”
Discussing broader business issues within Africa, Dangote stressed the importance of effective regional markets as a precursor to the success of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He pointed out that Africa’s intra-trade rate is less than 16 percent, a figure he believes must be improved by Africans themselves rather than relying on foreign intervention.
“Our main job is to make sure the regional markets all work. Once they work, then we can now go to the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). But then, for AfCFTA also, we need to make sure that it works,” Dangote explained. “We Africans will have to do it. If we are waiting for foreigners to come and do it for the development of Africa, it’s not going to happen. So it can only happen to us Africans. We must risk our resources and make sure that we lead, then we will have people who actually trust and believe in Africa like Patrick to come and help us push to the next level.”
In a positive development, Dangote announced that Nigeria will stop importing fuel by June, as his refinery begins production. “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of litre,” he said. He added that the refinery’s output would address fuel shortages not only in Nigeria but also across West Africa and Central Africa.
“We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa. We have enough diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa,” Dangote concluded.
