Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian billionaire has narrated how he sold his bank for N1.2 billion and shut down his textile industry over bad policies from the government.
Dangote said he lost billions of naira in investment after he was forced to sell his bank, Liberty Merchant Bank, for N1.2 billion because the government failed to offer any protection through policy decisions.
Dangote spoke while sharing personal experience during his keynote speech at the 2024 Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) summit in Abuja.
He said he ventured into the textile business by opening a textile industry but ended up losing billions of naira in investment
He added that his textile plants were shut down because the government did not protect policy decisions..
“When textile businesses were booming, we set up our textile mills called Dangote General Textile Mills in Kano. Then, we massively invested billions at that time. We also went and bought the foreign shareholder of Nigeria Textile Mill, which was a textile mill set up for the Western Region by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. That was 1960. At the end of the day, there was no government protection. We had to shut both factories,” he said.
He spoke further: “Luckily for us, somebody now came and said he wanted to buy our bank, Liberty Merchant Bank. By the time we sold Liberty, I cashed out N1.2 billion. After cashing out N1.2 billion, the industry(textile) consumed N985 million to pay pensions and gratuities just to get out of the business. That is how we now got out of the business. We burnt our fingers.”
Dangote noted that former President Olusegun Obasanjo encouraged him to make another investment in the textile sector but he declined due to his past experiences.
