The Dangote Refinery Makes Me Cast Envious Glances at Nigerians – Prof. Tagoe

2026-02-20 - 15:56

There is an unspoken rule in the great, friendly, and highly entertaining West African rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria: you never openly admit that your neighbour has done something great or better. So, when an internationally acclaimed Ghanaian professor stands on Nigerian soil and publicly admits to feeling a tinge of envy toward Nigerians, you know something truly extraordinary has happened. Something like the Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals FZE (DPRP), Africa’s largest refinery which sits on 6,000+ acres of land. Prof. Noel Tagoe, the Dean of the recently established Nile Business School (owned by Nile University of Nigeria), recently found himself in that exact position. Leading a team of Executive MBA students and faculty on a tour of the humongous facility in Lagos— which the highly accomplished CHRO of Dangote Group, Gloria Evelyn Byamugisha, brilliantly called “the 8th Wonder of the World”— Prof. Tagoe was visibly impressed. “As someone who is widely travelled, seeing a world-class facility of this magnitude in Nigeria, one that is repositioning not just this country but the entire continent in the global oil market, fills me with pride as an African. But I have to be honest: as a Ghanaian, it makes me cast envious glances at Nigerians,” he admitted. He continued, “Dangote, as he has done throughout his life, saw a big problem in Nigeria and, by extension, Africa, and fixed it. Africa needs more businessmen like Dangote if the continent is to fulfil its enormous potential.” A Classroom Without Walls Caption: Group photo of the Nile Business School (NBS) team at the Dangote Refinery For the Nile Business School team, the visit to the refinery was a deliberate part of a larger mission: moving business education away from predominantly theoretical learning and into the reality of the Nigerian and African marketplace. “One of the challenges facing the African continent today is that many of our business schools aren’t preparing students to solve the unique needs of Africa,” Prof. Tagoe explained. “You go to business schools all over the continent and see students studying case studies from Harvard about American businesses. There are almost no case studies about African businesses. There’s nothing wrong with Harvard case studies, but if that’s all you have, then the knowledge gained cannot be applied to our unique challenges in Africa.” This, he noted, is the gap the Nile Business School is working to fill. “This is an issue we’re already working to address at Nile Business School, where we’re pioneering a different form of business education that produces leaders who can solve Nigeria’s problems from an African perspective, using global best practices. We have adopted a practice-first teaching approach, supported by theory, rather than the conventional theory-first model. We consistently expose our students and faculty to the realities of the Nigerian business landscape through experiences like this industrial visit [to the refinery], to give them firsthand insights into the unique challenges, opportunities, and gaps in the Nigerian business environment so that they can start thinking of solutions to them.” According to the Professor, the visit was already paying dividends. “Just from this tour alone, I have visualized at least six case studies I can create to enhance business education in the Nigerian Oil & Gas sector. Through intentional Africa-focused educational efforts like this, we will produce business leaders who don’t just know how to talk the talk, but can walk the walk.” Dangote: “We Bet on Nigerian Talent” Hosting the Nile Business School team for lunch, after the tour of the facility, Alhaji Aliko Dangote echoed the Professor’s sentiments about untapped potential, sharing a powerful insight from the refinery’s construction. He admitted that when the project began, there were doubts about the local workforce’s ability to handle a venture of this scale. “When we were starting, we naturally assumed that most of our engineers would have to be foreigners,” Dangote stated. “You have to understand why: a project of this scale had never been done in Nigeria before. So, naturally, our own engineers didn’t have that experience or have a reference point.” Caption: Alhaji Aliko Dangote addressing the Nile Business School (NBS) team The outcome, however, was pleasantly surprising. “But when we put our Nigerian engineers with those from other parts of the world, they performed exceptionally well, on par with their foreign counterparts. We ended up using significantly more Nigerian engineers than we thought. And these were people who had never schooled outside the country or left Nigeria before. So, I can confidently say that Nigeria has very talented people.” He pointed out that Nigerian talent, especially among the youth population, is evident globally. “All over the world, you see Nigerian doctors and engineers doing great things. Even in entertainment, you see our young musicians like Burna Boy and Davido going to the US and Europe and pulling a larger audience than the musicians in those countries.” He further stated the commitment of the Dangote Group to contributing to nurturing this potential, through indigenous talent development initiatives like Graduate Trainee Programmes and the N1 Trillion Education Fund, to name a few. Our Collective Responsibility Expanding on his journey, Dangote urged the Nile Business School students to look beyond the narrative that only government can drive national development. “It’s not only the job of government to create prosperity for the nation,” he stated. He illustrated this by pointing to the very reason the refinery exists. He had looked around and noticed a glaring gap: Nigeria sat on vast crude oil reserves yet remained a massive importer of refined petroleum products, sending billions overseas for what could be done at home. Caption (L-R): Umar Yusuf (Entrepreneur; EMBA student, NBS), Prof. Noel Tagoe (Dean, NBS), Ijeoma Uche-Iteghete (Marketing Manager, NBS), Gloria Byamugisha (CHRO, Dangote Group), Oluwafemi Apena (Director, Nile Digital Business), Prof. Hauwa Lamino (Deputy Dean, NBS) According to Dangote, Nigeria and the wider African continent are littered with such gaps. He encouraged the students to actively look for those spaces where value is leaking out of the country (and continent) and build solutions around them. A Sweet Conclusion As the visit drew to a close, Prof. Tagoe reflected on the synergy between what Dangote had preached and what the Nile Business School is trying to build. He felt convinced that his institution was on the right path. By immersing students in environments like the Dangote Refinery, the Nile Business School is ensuring that its graduates are equipped with the knowledge, experience, and exposure to provide relevant solutions to the problems of Nigeria and Africa. However, as he expressed his final thoughts, the Ghanaian in him awoke. After all that praise for Nigerian engineering and industrial might, he needed to reclaim a sliver of national pride. So, with a broad grin, he delivered the perfect parting shot: “At least Ghana is going to the world cup.” About Nile Business School Nile Business School (NBS) is the business school of Nile University of Nigeria, located in Abuja. It offers a range of programmes including the flagship Executive MBA, Online MBA, Executive Development Programmes, and short professional development courses designed for working professionals and entrepreneurs. NBS is changing the narrative of what a business school should be. Its approach combines expertise, hands-on experience, and direct exposure to real business environments—developing leaders who can compete globally while understanding the complexities of African markets. Grounded in a commitment to Impact and Innovation, NBS helps learners become creators, problem-solvers, and purpose-driven leaders equipped with future-of-work skills. Graduates leave ready to apply what they have learned immediately, using emerging market insights to drive sustainable growth across the African continent. About Nile University of Nigeria Nile University of Nigeria is a private multidisciplinary university established in 2009 and located in Abuja, Nigeria. Nile University is committed to building future generations of professionals and leaders who can thrive and positively impact society by leveraging academic innovation, state-of-the-art facilities, and a talented team of faculty and staff. The university currently has eight faculties (Health Sciences, Law, Engineering, Computing, Science, Arts & Social Sciences, Management Sciences, Environmental Sciences) and a School of Postgraduate Studies offering over 100 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Nile University is owned by Honoris United Universities, the first and largest pan-African private higher education with 16 institutions across 10 African countries. About Honoris United Universities Honoris United Universities is the first and largest pan-African private higher education network committed to transforming lives through relevant education for lifetime success. Collaborative intelligence, cultural agility, and mobile mindsets are at the heart of the Honoris approach to educating the next generation of leaders and professionals to make a transformative impact on a global scale. Honoris combines the expertise of its member institutions to develop world-class African human talent with an entrepreneurial mindset and 21st-century skills to thrive in the world of work. Recognized as a New Champion by the World Economic Forum, Honoris comprises a community of 100,000+ students on 76 campuses in 26 cities. The network is formed of 16 institutions: multidisciplinary universities, specialized schools, technical and vocational institutes, contact, distance, and online institutions. Honoris has transformed more than 1.2 million lives to date with a legacy of 250+ years of experience in education, supported by exclusive academic partnerships and exchange programmes in more than 250 universities across Europe, North America, and Asia. To strengthen its employability mandate, students benefit from an ecosystem of over 1,000 employer partners. More than 490 degrees are offered in Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering, IT, Business, Law, Architecture, Digital and Creative Arts, Fashion and Design, Media, Political Science, and Education. Honoris United Universities. Education for Impact. www.honoris.net For Media information Ekezimero Eto Senior Communications Manager, Nile University of Nigeria eto.ekezimero@nileuniversity.edu.ng