A birthday message from Sujimoto Group Managing Director, Dr. Sijibomi Ogundele, to President Bola Tinubu has stirred widespread debate, after he called for a deliberate strategy to create multiple industrial heavyweights in Nigeria.
In the open letter, Ogundele argued that Nigeria’s economic transformation depends on intentionally developing a new class of billionaires capable of driving large-scale industrial growth. Drawing parallels with South Korea and China, he explained how both countries deliberately supported select entrepreneurs with favorable policies, access to credit, and protection from foreign competition to build globally competitive firms.
According to him, South Korea’s rise was not accidental but the result of a calculated “chaebol” strategy that produced global brands like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG. Similarly, China’s post-1979 reforms under Deng Xiaoping were structured to lift millions out of poverty while nurturing powerful domestic enterprises.
Ogundele noted that Nigeria has already experimented with a similar model. He credited former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s “national champion” approach for enabling the emergence of industrial giants such as the Dangote Group, which today contributes significantly to tax revenue, employment, and economic stability.
However, he stressed that relying on a single dominant player is insufficient for a country of over 200 million people. “One Dangote can stabilize a sector, but multiple industrial leaders are needed to stabilize the economy,” he argued, adding that scaling such success across industries could reduce prices of essential goods and strengthen national productivity.
Highlighting his company’s evolution beyond luxury real estate, Ogundele outlined Sujimoto’s expansion into agriculture, housing, and infrastructure. He revealed plans to deliver thousands of homes annually and scale agricultural production to hundreds of thousands of hectares, with long-term ambitions reaching one million hectares.
Despite these ambitions, he pointed to systemic challenges facing Nigerian entrepreneurs, including limited access to long-term financing, high interest rates, currency volatility, and weak institutional support. He disclosed that his company had previously faced debt exceeding ₦40 billion but has since cleared a significant portion.
Ogundele emphasized that many capable Nigerian entrepreneurs struggle not due to lack of ideas or talent, but because of insufficient access to capital and policy backing needed for large-scale growth.
He urged the federal government to identify and support 10 to 20 high-capacity industrialists across key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, energy, fintech, and housing. According to him, this approach would create jobs, boost exports, increase tax revenue, and strengthen the naira.
The proposal, which he described as a “value-chain capitalism” model, calls for targeted government support tied to measurable outcomes like production, employment, and affordability.
Ogundele concluded by encouraging President Tinubu to move beyond regulation and adopt a more active role in shaping Nigeria’s industrial future. He maintained that building national wealth requires intentional policies that empower capable businesses to scale and compete globally.
His remarks have since sparked conversations across economic and policy circles, with many weighing the feasibility and implications of a state-backed billionaire development strategy for Nigeria’s growth.
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