Africa’s wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has delivered a brutal verdict on Nigeria’s most infamous industrial project: the Ajaokuta Steel Company will never work.
Speaking candidly in a recent interview, the Dangote Group president didn’t mince words about the steel plant that has consumed billions of dollars and decades of government promises without producing a single ton of steel.
“There is no nation you can build without a steel industry,” Dangote acknowledged. “But honestly, Ajaokuta will not work.
We can keep deceiving ourselves and remain passionate about it, but it’s not possible.”
His analogy was particularly striking. Dangote compared reviving the dormant plant to “trying to bring someone from the graveyard to run 100 metres — it’s totally impossible.”
He also likened the situation to comparing outdated Volkswagen Igala cars with modern Kia vehicles, emphasizing how technology has moved far beyond what Ajaokuta was designed to handle.
The steel complex in Kogi State has become a symbol of Nigeria’s industrial struggles.
Launched with great fanfare in 1979, the project was supposed to transform the country into a steel-producing powerhouse.
Instead, it became a monument to failed promises, consuming enormous resources while never achieving full production capacity.
For over four decades, successive Nigerian governments have pledged to breathe life into Ajaokuta.
Each administration has made grand announcements about reviving the facility, yet the plant remains largely non-operational.
