President of Dangote Group and Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote, has urged Nigerians to see the current challenges faced by the country as a passing phase which will further strengthen her economically in the future

Dangote, who has always expressed his abiding faith in Nigeria as an economically viable nation, told a delegation of distributors from across the country who paid him a visit in his office in Lagos that Nigeria remains the destination of choice for investors despite the security challenges among others.

His words: “I have always said Nigeria is a good place to investment. God has given us in Nigeria what many other countries are searching for. We have got fertile land for agriculture, we have the minerals resources and we have oil. All we need to do is to harness them for our good.

“The present challenges we face should not deter us from investing. It’s just a passing phase. Other countries in the developed economies started from somewhere. They all experienced some of these challenges in the past. So I want us to see these challenges as obstacles towards attaining greatness.”

Dangote, who explained his continued investment in Nigeria to distributors, said that it was only proper for Nigerians to champion the cause. “If Nigerians do not invest in their country, other people would not come. They will want to see our success story before they can come,” he stated.

He promised the distributors that his companies would continue to live up to expectation to ensure that their business interests are protected at all times and opportunities to strengthen its relation will be fully explored, including job creation opportunities.

Dangote used the opportunity to announce ongoing efforts to refine the services being provided by his Group, saying that going forward the customers would experience improved services across board and delivery of products would be seamless.

He took time to answer questions and observations raised by the distributors who commended the business mogul for his doggedness in investing locally as opposed to others who chose to take money away from the country.

Also speaking at the event, Dangote’s Honorary Adviser, Engineer Joseph Makoju, told distributors that Dangote Cement is more than ready to meet and exceed their expectations. He said the production capacity expansion is intended to make cement more available and subsequently bring down the price.

Makoju to the excitement of the distributors announced the completion of a 24-hour customer service escalation lines where distributors can reach management to lodge complaint and have their issues attended to promptly.

He said: “What we are trying to do is to ensure that you grow along with us. That is not a bad idea and I think we should commend him for that. Let us know what your problems are, we are ready to solve them immediately. With new production lines now on board in Ibese and Obajana, you can say bye bye to scarcity.”

News Express reports that Dangote Cement is adding additional two lines to the present 6 million metric ton capacity per annum at Ibese to shore up its capacity to 12 million while additional 3 million capacity line is being added to Obajana plant to bring total capacity to 13.25 million tons per annum.

Also as a part of initiatives to revolutionise agriculture under the transformation agenda, Dangote Group signed a MOU with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, a deal that will ensure the provision N165 billion for rice cultivation in five states across Nigeria.

•Photo shows Aliko Dangote.