Ooni of Ife Clears 19 Shrines for Dangote Refinery, Defies Gods….

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and founder of the Dangote Group, shared a striking anecdote about the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi’s pivotal role in kickstarting construction of Nigeria’s landmark $19 billion refinery in Lekki, Lagos. Speaking at the recent commissioning of the refinery’s Natural Gas Processing Plant on December 12, 2025, Dangote recounted how over 19 traditional shrines dotted the sprawling 2,500-hectare site, blocking access and halting early development efforts.

These shrines, sacred to local communities, had long rendered the land untouchable. “Nobody could go close to them,” Dangote explained, crediting the Ooni’s bold intervention. The monarch personally supervised their removal, declaring, “Let the gods come and talk to me.” This audacious stance cleared the path for engineers and workers, transforming a spiritually contested area into Africa’s largest single-train refinery, capable of processing 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Dangote’s revelation, captured in viral clips from the event attended by President Bola Tinubu and other dignitaries, underscores the refinery’s tortuous journey since land acquisition in 2012. Online reports from Premium Times and Vanguard confirm the site’s history of ritual significance, with initial delays linked to community resistances and environmental concerns. The Ooni, as a custodian of Yoruba traditions, leveraged his spiritual authority to bridge modern industrialization and ancestral beliefs—a move Dangote hailed as instrumental.

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The refinery, now 85% complete, promises to end Nigeria’s fuel import dependency, generate $10 billion in annual exports, and create thousands of jobs. Yet, the shrine episode highlights ongoing tensions in Nigeria, where mega-projects often clash with indigenous practices. No reported backlash has emerged post-removal, with the Ooni’s stature seemingly placating potential spiritual repercussions.

This collaboration exemplifies how traditional rulers can facilitate national development, blending cultural reverence with economic progress in Africa’s most populous nation.