The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has been inducted as an honourary fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering.

Dangote received the ‘Distingushed Honourary Fellow of the NAE by the President of the academy at an induction ceremony in Victoria Island Lagos.

He was conferred with the honour by the President of the academy, Rahamon Bello.

The businessman was accompanied to the ceremony by his daughters, other family members, and the management of the Dangote Group.

Speaking shortly after receiving the honour, Dangote renewed his push for a self-reliant economy, urging Nigeria to prioritise local manufacturing and power infrastructure as the backbone of true economic independence.

Africa’s richest man stressed that the country must shift from consumption to production.

“True economic independence is impossible without technical sovereignty. We must design, fabricate, and build what we consume,” he said, reinforcing his long-standing advocacy for local content.

He described stable electricity as the linchpin of industrial growth, calling for urgent investment in power generation and grid expansion.

“We must build power. I keep repeating it—we must build it. Together, let us engineer a Nigeria that works not just for some, but for everyone,” he added.

Dangote pointed to the scale and ambition of the Dangote Refinery as proof of what is achievable, noting that its capacity surpasses many global counterparts.

He said the group’s broader vision remains focused on reducing import dependence and positioning Nigeria—and Africa—as a hub for large-scale industrial production.

“Our goal has always been clear: to make Nigeria, and by extension Africa, self-sufficient in goods we once imported, and to prove that this ambition is achievable at scale,” he said.

He also warned about the disruptive potential of artificial intelligence in engineering, saying that aspects of design could increasingly be automated.

Dangote, therefore, urged professionals to stay ahead of the curve and actively shape how AI is deployed across the industry. (Channels News)

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