By Milcah Tanimu

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, has stated that the Nigerian economy cannot grow with the current 30 percent interest rate.

“Nobody can create jobs with an interest rate of 30 percent. No growth will happen. No power, no prosperity. No affordable financing, no growth, no development,” he asserted.

Dangote made this statement during the opening session of the three-day National Manufacturing Policy Summit organized by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

His comments follow the recent decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee to increase the Monetary Policy Rate for the third consecutive time, raising it from 24.75 percent to 26.25 percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee held its 295th meeting on May 20-21, 2024, to review recent economic and financial developments and assess risks. Following the meeting, CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso announced the rate increase.

At the summit, Dangote emphasized that economic growth is unachievable under such high-interest rates. He urged the government to protect existing businesses, especially manufacturers, by creating an enabling environment.

Dangote argued that to address unemployment, poverty, and insecurity, the manufacturing sector must be empowered to function optimally. He concluded, “Nigeria has all it takes to develop and sustain a globally competitive manufacturing sector. But to do so, we must rethink our industrialization policy.”

He called for policies to protect domestic industries, mirroring leading countries in the West and East. “We must enact policies to protect our domestic industries and nurture them into homegrown champions that will create the jobs and prosperity we desperately need,” he said.

Dangote noted that while various factors contribute to the underperformance of the manufacturing sector, the crucial issue is government policy and its approach toward investments and investors.

He highlighted that manufacturing entities need time and a conducive environment to mature, build capacity, and scale to become competitive against older markets. He criticized the trend since the mid-1980s, where non-industrialized countries have been discouraged from protecting such investments and exposed to unfair competition prematurely.

“But since the mid-1980s, non-industrialized countries and their leaders have been discouraged from protecting and supporting such investments and forced to expose them to unfair competition from stronger, older competitors in their own internal market, even before the newcomers are commissioned. Yet these same older/bigger players are well supported in their home markets,” he explained.