Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said Lafarge, the French cement company, opposed Aliko Dangote’s efforts to build a successful cement business and created repeated barriers to his expansion. Obasanjo made the comments on Wednesday during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Special Economic Zone in Lamu County, Kenya.
He said Dangote ultimately overcame the resistance and extended his cement manufacturing operations to two African countries, including Senegal. “Those who genuinely did not want Aliko to succeed in cement were the French company Lafarge, which placed every possible obstacle in his path,” Obasanjo said. Despite those challenges, Africa’s richest man has moved ahead with the Kenyan refinery project, which is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude per day and is expected to require $16 billion when fully completed.
