By Toba Owojaiye – Abeokuta
In a bold move that could reshape the industrial landscape of West Africa, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has formally submitted paperwork to establish Nigeria’s largest seaport at the long-dormant Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ) in Ogun State. The announcement, made during a courtesy visit to Governor Dapo Abiodun on March 17, 2025, is being hailed as a generational opportunity to reawaken a zone once left for dead and in doing so, elevate Nigeria’s global standing in trade, logistics, and industrial power.
”“We are back, because Ogun State is now ready,” Dangote declared, visibly optimistic about the investment climate after years of policy turbulence.
It is a comeback many did not see coming. The Olokola project was originally envisioned in 2004 as a special economic zone to house deep-sea port facilities, gas processing, and industrial hubs. Yet it was crippled by bureaucratic inertia, legal complications, and inconsistent government support. Now, with Dangote at the helm and Abiodun’s administration positioning Ogun as Nigeria’s next frontier for infrastructure growth, the Olokola dream is not only revived, it is supercharged.
Dangote’s ambitions are far from isolated. Alongside the seaport, the Group is investing in two new cement production lines in Itori, Ogun State, with a combined capacity of 6 million metric tonnes per annum. This is in addition to its massive 12 mtpa plant in Ibeshe, making Ogun the undisputed cement capital of Africa.
The Itori project, sitting on 533 hectares and costing approximately $800 million, is projected to be completed by November 2026. This dual investment strategy, cement inland, seaport coastal, reflects a deliberate move by Dangote to establish Ogun as the anchor of a self-contained industrial ecosystem: extract, process, package, and export, all without needing Lagos.
“We’re not just building factories, we’re building the future,” said one Dangote executive familiar with the blueprint. “Olokola is a port, but it’s also a signal. The signal is: industrial Nigeria has options beyond Apapa.”
Dangote’s proposed Olokola Seaport, if executed to scale, could rival or even surpass the newly operational Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos, which currently handles 2.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) annually. Analysts suggest Olokola could eventually target 5 million TEUs, potentially becoming Africa’s third-largest port after Durban and Mombasa.
More than infrastructure, this is a sovereignty play. Nigeria currently relies heavily on congested Lagos ports, with massive economic losses tied to delays, extortion, and logistics inefficiencies. A functional Olokola port, located just ~200 km from Lagos but in a different state jurisdiction, could fundamentally reset the dynamics of trade flow, port taxation, and federal-state economic negotiations.
Governor Dapo Abiodun’s role cannot be overstated. His administration’s investor-friendly posture and quiet diplomacy have turned Ogun into a magnet for industry. In contrast to the over-saturated Lagos industrial zones, Ogun offers space, speed, and now, serious scale.
This resurgence, however, sets up a subtle but significant geopolitical tension: with both Lekki and Olokola now commanding deep-sea access, which state becomes Nigeria’s true industrial gateway? The stakes are high—not just for economic control, but for the regional influence that comes with it.
Despite the fanfare, key questions linger:
Where will the port funding come from—sovereign investors, Dangote Group equity, or external partners?
Will the federal government support dredging, customs infrastructure, and security?
How will host communities be integrated or displaced?
There are also ecological concerns. The coastal stretch of Olokola touches sensitive mangrove ecosystems. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), community buy-in, and legal clarity must all align, or this project could go the way of its 2004 predecessor.
The Olokola project, once buried under files of failed ambition, is Nigeria’s second shot at seaport sovereignty. Dangote’s return is more than a business decision, it is a referendum on Ogun State’s readiness to shoulder the weight of Nigeria’s future.
If successful, Olokola will not only break Lagos’s monopoly on maritime commerce, but also reposition Nigeria as the commercial heart of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). At stake is not just Ogun’s destiny, but Nigeria’s legacy.
“History doesn’t give too many second chances,” said Governor Abiodun. “We must not waste this one.”
The Dangote Group’s re-entry into Olokola marks one of the most significant private-sector commitments in Nigeria’s modern economic history. But this moment demands more than ribbon-cutting ceremonies. It requires transparency, intergovernmental coordination, and local accountability.
Nigeria doesn’t just need ports, it needs port politics that work. And if Olokola succeeds, it will have proven that the future of African infrastructure lies not in power, but in partnership.