By Reno Omokri
As an individual named the most influential investor on the African continent by Business Insider, one of the world’s preeminent business and investing journals, I encourage every Nigerian, and those wishing to make their money work best for them, to invest in the Dangote Refinery IPO.
Not only will you circulate your money in Nigeria, but you will also enrich yourself and add value to the Naira, increasing your purchasing power. I have been at the Dangote Refinery. Nothing on Earth is quite like it, making it out of this. World: By putting your money into this IPO, you are not helping Alhaji Aliko Dangote and his family. Rather, the opposite is true.
Beginning this year, the Dangote Refinery became the world’s single largest exporter of jet fuel. As we speak, Europe relies on the Dangote Refinery for vital aviation services. And that is just the beginning. There is a massive expansion going on as you read this to make the refinery, which is currently the biggest single-train refinery on Earth, the biggest refinery bar none.
With my own eyes, I saw ships loading products to go from Nigeria to Europe, the Americas and Asia.
The place is like a mega city. Fifty thousand people work there. The facility has perhaps the most modern laboratory in Africa. From crude, Dangote produces twelve other products for local consumption and export. This does not include the urea fertiliser.
Nowhere in Nigeria did I see the youth, ethnic, and gender balance I saw there. Every geopolitical zone is represented at the refinery. And they are there based on merit, not quota system.
The place is like a megacity. Fifty thousand people work there. The facility has perhaps Africa’s most modern laboratory. Before building this laboratory, Nigeria and other West African nations had to send crude samples to South Africa for chemical analysis.
From crude, Dangote produces twelve other products for local consumption and export. This does not include the urea fertiliser.
Nowhere in Nigeria did I see the youth, ethnic, and gender balance I saw there. Every geopolitical zone is represented at the refinery. And they are there based on merit, not a quota system.
The facility has its own port and jetty, with the capacity to load products onto ships on the continental shelf without them needing to berth.
Their grades are of the highest standard. In Europe, the highest grade of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) is Euro 6.
This specification complies with European emissions standards, which require diesel to have a maximum sulfur content of 10 parts per million, while petrol must be below 10 ppm.
The Dangote Refinery delivers the Euro 6 standard for both petrol and diesel.
You have to see it to believe it, because words alone cannot convey the marvel my eyes were made to see.
You just have to see it to believe it, because words alone cannot convey the marvel my eyes were made to see.
I am perhaps one of the most well-travelled Nigerians, but nothing prepared me for the awe and reverent wonder that greeted me when I toured that facility. The Dangote Refinery is the most effective and efficient place in West Africa and probably in Africa.
Nothing, including the Ajaokuta Steel Complex or Nigeria LNG Limited, has come close to making Nigeria a medium to major power as this refinery does: it marks the beginning of Nigeria’s true Industrial Revolution.
As I said when Alhaji Aliko Dangote and I addressed the media last year, Nigeria has two Independence Days. October 1, 1960 is the first. The second is when the Dangote Refinery came on stream.
Thanks largely to this industrial marvel, Nigeria’s GDP has grown by $67 billion in just two years, and we have moved from being Africa’s top petrol importer in 2023 to the number one fuel exporter in West Africa in 2026. This has enabled us to overtake South Africa and become Africa’s second-largest manufacturing economy, with Egypt only slightly ahead.
As a result of these economic strides, the IMF listed Nigeria as the sixth-largest contributor to global GDP growth in 2025, a fact celebrated by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
This refinery has already helped Nigeria become the second-largest manufacturing base in Africa. Before this administration, we were struggling between third and fourth place. Now, only Egypt, with a manufacturing capacity of $59.6 billion, is above Nigeria’s, with $55.7 billion.
I also urge all envoys of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to consider promoting this Initial Public Offering. Nigeria’s Stock Exchange has multiplied by over 500% since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office.
The NGX is already the place to be. According to Bloomberg, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is the most profitable on Earth, bar none. The NGX returned a 68% year-on-year profit, overtaking South Korea’s KOSPI index.
Additionally, the Naira emerged as Africa’s second-best-performing currency in the first quarter of 2026, trailing only the Zambian kwacha, according to FXTM.
Our economy grew 4.43% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, and the Tinubu reforms are stabilising the economy, with the Dangote Refinery playing a major role in that economic miracle.
And with its entrance to the stock market, your finances can experience a contagious effect of that miracle.
If you don’t know how to invest in this IPO, that is not a problem. Just say so in the comments section of any of my social media platforms. It is my duty to help you make this connection.
Every Nigerian should stand up and be counted. Put your money where your mouth is. Sell unneeded items to raise money, because you will make money. But don’t just do it for that. Do it because you want to be financially invested in Nigeria’s second Independence Day, which has the potential to move Nigeria from a consumer nation to a prosumer country.
•Reno Omokri
Ambassador Designate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.