Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has underscored the critical partnership between government policy and private enterprise, naming Oando Group Chief Executive Jubril Adewale Tinubu among the entrepreneurs who turned official frameworks into tangible economic results.
Speaking on Wednesday, September 30, at the groundbreaking ceremony for Aliko Dangote’s proposed $16 billion East Africa Refinery in Lamu, Kenya, Obasanjo reflected on the industrial policies of his administration. He stressed that well-crafted government measures only succeed when bold entrepreneurs respond with capital, innovation and risk-taking.
“I made policies, but my policies would have failed if not for Dangote and others like Wale (Wale please stand up) and others that took advantage of them,” Obasanjo said, directly acknowledging Tinubu in the audience.
The former president’s remarks offer a clear lens on Nigeria’s economic journey over the past two decades. Policies may create incentives and regulatory space, but it is private investors who build factories, expand energy infrastructure and create competitive companies. Tinubu’s work through Oando—an integrated energy group spanning key segments of the petroleum value chain—illustrates how that partnership can deliver results.
Obasanjo’s comments go beyond personal praise. They highlight a broader truth for African economies seeking to move beyond raw-material exports toward industrial capacity and value addition: governments set the framework, but entrepreneurs determine whether that framework produces jobs, investment and productive assets.
In Kenya, the former Nigerian leader placed Tinubu firmly within that narrative—entrepreneurs whose willingness to invest gave practical life to policy ambitions across the continent.