Raheem Akingbolu
Talk of a brand that has endured consistent bashing and de-marketing by competitions and the fifth columnist and the Dangote brand will readily come to mind. In most cases, the Dangote Group is being accused wrongly or being abused for the ‘sin’ of others. It is either as a result of negligence on the part of the government or collective problems of the manufacturing sector. But as a big brand and market leader, the Dangote brand will carry the burden of others.
If it is not about tankers and the condition of Nigeria roads, it will be about the soaring price of cement. Rather than blaming the government for the bad roads, some armchair critics will blame the Dangote group as if the company owns all the heavy duty vehicles in Nigeria. Also, the blame of a manufacturing sector challenge that affects all is also often dropped at the doorstep of the Dangote Group.
Despite all these, one thing that has remained a mystery to even an ardent critic of the brand is that the company has continued to come out of every criticism stronger. According to a survey carried out by this reporter, one major thing that has continued to work in favour of the Dangote brand lies in the quality of each of the products from the stable of the group. It has consistently worked for the Dangote Cement and findings have revealed that it is currently working for Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Several studies have shown that petroleum refinement and production is key to nation building. For local production, the contribution is more because local production not only provides employment to the Nigerian citizens, it also contributes to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and to a reasonable extent conserves scarce foreign reserves which is constantly being depleted through unnecessary import of crude oil, especially when it can have local production capacity.
Dangote Industries Limited is renowned for the quality of its products across Africa. In all the countries where it operates, Dangote Cement stands out as the best in quality and a key change agent in the domestic market. In the case of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, it entered the Nigerian market with Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel. These products conform to the best global standards hence the demand from other countries.
During a recent engagement with experts on Dangote Petroleum Refinery, it was disclosed that the company operates a modern laboratory where rigorous testing is carried out on the products to ensure conformity to global standards. “That products of global standards roll out of the stable of Dangote Group is a plus to the nation. It gives Nigeria and Nigerians a psychological advantage that products from the nation can meet and surpass global standards. It implies that products from Nigeria can be exported to other countries which will create jobs, bring in foreign exchange and stimulate linkages in the economy.” Odunayo Ogunremi, a certified Petroleum Engineer, Odunayo Ogunremi told THISDAY.
Ogunremi further stated that Nigeria achieved self-sufficiency in supply of refined petroleum products with the coming on stream of Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Meanwhile, according to the company, the refinery has the capacity to meet daily domestic demand for products and still have excess for export. The nation became assured of energy security as the shortages of refined products were curtailed.
However, instead of focusing on meeting domestic energy needs through local refining, servile public officials preferred to issue import licenses for refined petroleum, thereby sabotaging domestic refineries.
Many observers have described as disheartening, the way these wicked elites adopt unpatriotic business behaviour after gaining a lot from the nation in their youthful days.
An Abuja based businessman, who is also into transport business, Sir Franklin Nweke, who described Dangote Group’s foray into the petroleum sector as a trailblazer. To this end, he has called on stakeholders in the transport sector to rally round the group to frustrate any effort by the company’s traducers to truncate the business. “Many of these leaders who are working against the interest of the masses attended schools via scholarships and are expected to make decisions that will be of benefit to the nation but the reverse is the case. To me, all hands must be on the deck to ensure that a few elites do not kill a brand that would benefit us all,” Nweke stated.
Meanwhile, the quality of Dangote Refinery’s fuel and diesel has been a topic of discussion in recent times. Largely, some drivers, who are the end users of the product, have supported the refinery on quality and fuel’s longevity. Some drivers have noted that the fuel has an impressive burn rate and the company has said that its fuel quality matches that of America.
For the diesel quality, the company has also stated that the quality of its diesel, especially its sulfur content, was as low as 88 parts per million (ppm). From the beginning, Dangote had assured consumers that it aimed at producing diesel with a sulfur content of 10 ppm, which is lower than the 50 ppm cap on West African imports.
Three years ago, the entire Africa continent celebrated with the group when Dangote Cement, the largest cement company in the continent, won the West Africa’s best quality cement brand of the decade award. The cement manufacturer won the award with its novel Dangote 3X (42.5) brand. The award was organised by the Institute of Brand Management of Nigeria (IBMN).
At the award presentation in Lagos, Dangote Cement was adjudged as Africa’s number one cement by all standards, as the company was said to have contributed tremendously to the infrastructure development not only in Nigeria but Africa as a whole through its offshore business units.
In response to the new award, the Group Chief, Branding & Communication, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Anthony Chiejina, said the Group remains at the forefront of African enterprise and that the brand since inception, has touched the lives of many by providing their needs and empowering the continent of Africa.
“People do not have relationships with products, they are loyal to brands and that is why we have designed a strategy that creates a purpose for our brand for long-term consumer and stakeholders’ engagement, this cuts across our manufacturing concerns like Cement, Petroleum, Agriculture food, automobile etc.,” Chiejina had stated.
In a similar development, the Group as a whole has been consistently named Nigeria’s Most Valuable Brand for seven years by TOP 50 BRANDS NIGERIA, a brand and marketing research firm. With this and various endorsements by stakeholders, especially the end users, it is obvious that Dangote Brand is a brand to beat in Africa and beyond.
