Kelvin3028:
Its simple. They don't want progress.

Paretomaster:


in as much as I agree the siting of the sugar refinery will create more employment, and boost the economic well being of the state, it is still not worth throwing the farmers into perpetual slavery.

will you part with a hectare of land for a mare 100k, and later lobby for your children to seek employment in d same company?

besides, the proposal predates the present Govt...and it's not all over, it's a negotiations process like the Governor stated below

*“We hope to convince Dangote that there are other ways
this can be done to have better security for his investment,
like agreeing that our farmers become his out-growers and
he buys from them for production in his factory.”*

more investment will be coming to the state, as the state is proving it's mettle in rice production, and it enjoy abundant power supply.

Flyingngel:
Am the last person that will blame the North for what ever our leaders down south are doing with our money. But the North shld support resource control and also true federalism. Remember during the era of rice and groundnut pyramids the North control 100% of their resources thus paying tax to d central government.

Reference:


But this is what has been happening in the Niger Delta since oil was discovered and ordinary people question the agitation. Can you see how unfair Nigeria is. And to think that the population density down south is higher than in the north meaning more poor people per hectare of land. When Dangote is done they can still farm. In the Delta most areas are almost permanently damaged, never to be cultivated again.

babyfaceafrica:
Hmmmm...100k for an acre?..that's a joke

timi0103:


Land is very cheap in remote areas all over Nigeria. That's even on the high side trust me.

angels09:
he should buy Osun State up...... very unviable State.... Very intelligent governor Kebbi has. MNC's are evil.

Ayomel:
Good citizen. Thanks for investing in the country we know a lot of people that invest in other country.
Pls mr Dangote kindly look south they will offer u land.

Caseless:
I didn't say the whole Niger delta is lazy. Cross river is not an oil producing state, but it's more beautiful than most states down there.

Again, have you forgotten that Seriake Dickson told us that bayelsa people or probably ijaw people are lazy?

What bayelsa state gets from federation account every month is more than what the 6 northeastern states get in 6 months, yet you think your resources is being used to develop the north. What have you done with so much that you have been given?

Hold your leaders accountable, not blaming the north here and there.

Caseless:
I remember. There was no oil exploration in the ND then, so what was paid to FG was used to put some structures on ground in the ND. The north is not parasitic , we can survive without oil like we did in the past.

We all know what happened when tomatoes suffered Ebola last time.

authority2006:

God will punish [b]authority2006 entire household for this derogatory and unsavory comment[/b].

CXLVII:




Every investor thinks about the safety of his investment. Dangote will not do such considering his facility can be bombed or destroyed during one of those frequent agitations. Put yourself in the mas shoes.....

grandstar:


Beet is s temperate crop but sugarcane is tropical. You post is very confusing

agitator:


hmmmmmmmmmm, the Northerners are always smart. Education wise, they may not be at par with the South, but always think smart. If this had been in the south south, governors would have even used military to forcefully take the land. The exact thing Amaechi did in Ogoni land. The same people who are refusing to allow Dangote use farmlands for his business, want to use federal might and money take over fertile farmlands down south for cattle grazing reserves which is a personal biz. So, farmers will use their spittle to purchase beef to feed their families.

Flyingngel:
I knw the North can survive without oil. So every region go back to resources and control it 100% thereby paying tax to d central government. North go back groundnut and tomatoes, Southwest go back to Cocoa, Southeast to Coal and Cashew, Niger Delta to Oil and Cassava. I believe with this we will make a little step further.

ihimami:


What do you mean when you said "the Northerners are always smart. Education wise, they may not be at par with the South". I think there is contradiction here. How can you be smart without education!

hatchy:
You dey craze? Who will give out his one hecter of land for common 100k naira.In case you don't know land is expensive down south because there are more people inhabiting the land.So there is not enough land not to talk of giving out to a greedy capitalist whose aim is to make more money at the detriment of the people.
Why not create wealth by empowering the local farmers by buying the raw materials (sugar cane) from them,this will in turn drive the agro-industrial sector of that state.

Greedy people everywhere you go like MTN.

stonemasonn:
you did not read this part.

“When we came on board, there was pressure on us because all of those 24,000 hectares belong to farmers. And the proposal we met on ground was that those farmers would be paid compensation of about a hundred thousand naira per hectare.”

Juxtified:

I believe he should have sold some government land instead or otherwise played some bureaucratic hardball to keep that blessed economic crusader in the state.

Juxtified:
The state governor is right to an extent, you can't take away the lands of self employed farmers and convert them to perpetual employees.
But why didn't he source for another land area for Dangote? You know the massive investment opportunities a sugar factory belonging to someone like Dangote can attract to your sleeping state? The taxes, jobs, IGR? Look at what is going on today at the Lekki Free Trade Zone, a major source of confidence for investors trooping there en masse is the Dangote Refinery.
I believe he should have sold some government land instead or otherwise played some bureaucratic hardball to keep that blessed economic crusader in the state.

babyfaceafrica:
Hmmmm...100k for an acre?..that's a joke

realborn:
Such an interesting and very educative article.

It is better they lease the land at no cost to Dangote as equity to the business and all share profit annually.

God bless the governor for standing with his people. Very apt and intelligent questions posed to Dangote. 100k for an hectare? Damn!

sapiosexual1:
You want to buy a hectare of land for commercial use at 100k? Seriously? That's the worst form of penny pinching.
We appreciate Dangote for his investments buh he has to money to pay premium for the land.

The governor's analogy makes sense, those above me critiquing him should go retake Econs in WAEC. The governor has his people's best interest at heart, unlike some rogue southern governors who because they have received brown envelope would forcefully take away the land citing an obsolete land use act and then force the compensation down the farmers' throats.

MIKOLOWISKA:
rural land shïaman

mrvitalis:
Dangote is my mentor and I share his ideas... But with the level he is now... I don't think he needs to own farms again
Introduce this crop to this farmers and show them u will buy from them, u sign an agreement to he the sole buyer of the product at fixed price (that will be reviewed after very 3 years)
This way u have a constant supply and the farmers are independent.... And very happy
But the truth is am disappointed in dangote still trying to produce sugar from sugarcane... For real.. When we don't have the land... Men beets will give us all the sugar we need with just 200,000 hectares...
While am coming.... Just watch out for the name MRVITALIS