₦airaland Forum

I saw this comment on a post about Dangote reorganizing his company by sacking all Nigerians who joined a union, so I wrote this article.

donleo92:
Dangote is really on a dangerous part.....

This man wants full monopoly on oil and gas in Nigeria. And most people ain't seeing it that way.

See union has to be formed. The government should call Dangote to other

Why I Support Monopoly in a Developing Country

In advanced economies, monopoly is strictly discouraged because it stifles competition. But in developing countries, monopoly can serve a very different purpose—it can act as a catalyst for competition.

Take Nigeria as an example. For decades, no individual invested in building a refinery. Then along came Dangote, who built one. Suddenly, people labeled him a “monopolist.” But in reality, he is not a monopolist—he is a competition instigator.

Here’s how it works:
When one person dominates an industry, others—especially the wealthy—eventually grow frustrated with the control and the pricing power of that player. That frustration fuels ambition. Some rich men will rise up and say, “Enough is enough. We will build our own refinery—bigger, better, and cheaper.” Soon, you don’t have just one refinery, but 10 or 15. And what happens when multiple players enter? Prices drop, efficiency rises, and the consumer benefits.

Without Dangote’s step, many billionaires in Nigeria would have remained passive, never daring to enter refining. His dominance triggers competition that would not have existed otherwise. The same happened in cement and sugar, and the same logic can be applied to textiles, steel, agriculture, and more.

For instance, Nigeria’s textile industry is currently weak—we rely heavily on imported second-hand clothes. But if one visionary builds the largest textile factory, producing all kinds of fabrics at scale, others will eventually rise to challenge him, driving prices down and creating a thriving competitive industry.

So, in developing nations, monopoly is not the end of competition—it is often the spark that ignites it. The initial monopoly builds the foundation, provokes rivals, and forces government oversight. Then, true competition emerges, and industries mature.

In this way, monopoly—though temporary—can be the seed of growth in a developing economy.

So the strategy is simple: find an empty or almost empty industry, build on it, dominate it, and monopolize it. Then wait. A decade later, others—driven by profit, pride, or the desire to break your hold—will rush into that same industry. Suddenly, competition explodes, prices fall, efficiency rises, and the industry begins to boom.

This is not just personal success—it is national progress. By pioneering and monopolizing a neglected sector, you set the stage for others to enter, and in the process, you help build the backbone of the country’s economy. This is what got America to where they are today.

Since the demise of Fela, no Nigerian took standing up for the masses seriously. Even the ones that tried, got bought over by the government or they ended up joining politic and started playing the same game they once spoke against until VDM came along and now, everyone is trying to be like him and if they don't succeed, they start abusing him out of jealousy.

It looks as if VDM has monopolized speaking up for the people. When he speaks, even the government takes action. He's the only trusted news channel Nigeria has.

Now, every youth wants to have a voice like VDM. Look at how one man has made millions on Nigerian youths become fearless to speak on camera and call out the government.

So, a developing country needs lots of monopolists to trigger jealousy and anger in the rest so that they'll build what is better than the original monopolist.

Even DeeOne has started going out just because he wants to be like VDM, the monopolist — the voice of the voiceless.

Your analysis may not be totally incorrect!

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Thankfully, Dangote does not appear to support monopoly. Monopoly is bad for any country, unless no one wants to compete.

hotseat:
After a careful analysis and forensic scrutiny, Dangote is not a monopolist as generally perceived after all.

Firstly - cement production: apart from Dangote Cement Plc, there are others namely: Bua Cement Plc, and Lafarge Cement Plc who are the major players in the cement industry.

Other players include: IBETO Group, Mangal Industries Ltd, and Mandugu Cement.

This also applies to other sectors where Dangote is involved and one doesn't need to bore you listing them all.

On petroleum refineries in Nigeria, the same applies.

So, it's therefore strange to tag Dangote a monopolist!

The difference between Dangote and others is his doggedness and can-do-spirit which makes him stand out.

Nigeria has four refineries which are programmed never to succeed due to the nefarious activities of blacklegs in the industry.

PENGASSAN, NUPENG, DAPPMAN, etc are economic saboteurs who are holding Nigeria/Nigerians by the jugular.

This is why they see Dangote as a threat and would do all that is possible to sabotage him by surreptitiously bringing unionism into the company.

Dangote pays like "White" and his staff are not complaining.

Ask PENGASSAN and NUPENG how their so-called unions have helped in transforming Nigeria's refineries.

Those who have been laid off should go seek employment with those useless unions.

Dangote: Nigerians are with you gidigba 24/7!

@hotseat

I saw this thread while I was working but I decided to finish up first. And then I finished up, and wanted to read it first, do some exercise, and take my bath before responding... but you came from another angle. I expected a reasonable take and you delivered.

But sir, don't you think that if a business monopolizes the market for too long, they become too powerful and large. Look at what Amazon is doing, even though competitors —aggregators and so on — have risen (just like you explained), they still control 70% of the market.

If I had the financial capacity to write, publish, and promote my book through the other platforms, I certainly wouldn't be complaining. Because the rest of 30% is enough to build something tangible. Look at Facebook and the rest of these big corporations, they sell people's information knowing the consequences. But because they have become too powerful and large, they know they can always find a way.

I don't use a lot of these social media platforms but I do know if Mark Zuckerberg's apps go down, it's going to greatly affect a lot of things.

I don't want to say too much because you do have a valid point. Every businessman wants to monopolize his niche, even if he has to do it with different companies. If someone starts something and monopolizes for some time, others want to come in and take their share (e.g. POS, opay, etc).

Monopoly is a phenomenon that will always arise in sectors within the economy. It is the responsibility of government to create an enabling environment to encourage competition in a sector that is tending towards monopoly.

The disadvantages of monopoly to developed, underdeveloped and developing countries are more than the advantages.

If Dangote Refinery runs its monopoly agenda u checked, we will create another problem like we had with NNPC over the years when it was just WRPC, PRPC and KRPC were the only refineries in Nigeria and were owned by NNPC.

There has to be more refineries and Dangote Refinery should be open to sell it's products to any retailer or reseller who doesn't violate the rules and has the capacity to buy and resell without diverting the products to neighboring countries.

Ultimately, government must encourage and support other refineries to come on board so there can be competitive pricing and competition to orovide viable options at varied prices.

In advanced economies, monopoly is strictly discouraged because it stifles competition. But in developing countries, monopoly can serve a very different purpose—it can act as a catalyst for competition.

I stopped reading from this part.
It's obvious OP doesn't know what monopoly mean.
Monopoly stiffles and kills competition

Nah, bro.

richmond500:
I stopped reading from this part.
It's obvious OP doesn't know what monopoly mean.
Monopoly stiffles and kills competition

In a developing country, monopoly makes everyone, including the wealthy upset and starts competition to dismantle the current monopolist.

Can't you see individuals are teaming up to build refineries just because they fear Dangote will control that industry? It's been more than 55 years, they didn't think of building refineries, but now, they want to. Isn't that competition?

If not for Dangote, they wouldn't have bothered. You just chose not to pay attention to the context of my post — you're more focused on the meaning of monopoly, not what it can trigger — competition to end it.

True, it was Rockefeller who modernized the oil industry and he was accused of being a monopolist in his time.