Africa's richest man and Nigeria’s business mogul, Aliko Dangote, has lamented over the difficulties investors encounter while travelling across the African continent.

Speaking at the Africa CEO Forum Annual Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, Dangote stated that the strict travel policy within African countries is a big problem.

Dangote disclosed that he has to get 35 different visas on his Nigerian passport to travel within Africa.

The billionaire added that he did not have the time to move around the continent to drop his passport at embassies to get visas.

Dangote said: “I still complained to President Kagame. I told him that, as an investor, I have to now apply for 35 different visas on my passport, and I told Mr President, I really don’t have the time to go and be dropping my passports in embassies to get a visa.

“But you see, the most annoying thing is that yes, if you are treating everybody the same, then I can understand,” he said.

Dangote continued that, Patrick Pouyanne, chairman of Total Energies, does not need 35 visas on his French passport to travel across Africa.

“You don’t need 35 visas on your French passport. This means you have a freer movement than myself in Africa,” Dangote said.

Dangote continued: “Our main job is to make sure the regional markets all work. Once they work, then we can now go to the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement. But then, for AfCFTA also, we need to make sure that it works.

“We cannot have a very promising continent and our intra-trade rate is less than 16 percent. Okay, so we Africans will have to do it. If we are waiting for foreigners to come and do it, both the development of Africa, it’s not going to happen.

“So, it can only happen to us Africans. We must risk our sources and make sure that we lead, and then we will have people who actually trust and believe in Africa, like Patrick to come and help us to push to the next level.”

The business mogul also disclosed that Nigeria would not have to import petrol into the country by June, when Dangote refinery starts production of the petroleum product.

He added: “Right now, Nigeria has no cause to import anything apart from gasoline and by sometime in June, within the next four or five weeks, Nigeria shouldn’t import anything like gasoline; not one drop of litre.

“We have enough gasoline to give to at least the entire West Africa. We have enough diesel to give to West Africa and Central Africa."

BEB