Every Nigerian don turn oil magnate. Na wetin social media memes dey make people believe as investor fever catch di kontri.
Nigerians dey hungry to get small piece of di energy business wey di richest man for di kontri and continent, Aliko Dangote, build.
More than four billion shares inside him giant oil refinery – wey be just pass 3% of di company – land for market on Monday. Na di biggest sale of im kind for Africa.
Di minimum purchase na 10 shares for about $4, or £3. Even though dat one na tiny portion of di firm, plenty people dey celebrate and joke about dia new-found part-owner status.
One popular social media video show one Nigerian dey narrate how e stop one speeding Dangote company lorry driver, tell am say make e no dey reckless with company property.
Other memes show investors dey try phone Dangote to discuss business matters.
Di term Yangote – one pun for Hausa language wey mean say we all get share now – dey trend on social media.
On di first day of di Initial Public Offering, IPO, investment apps crash as dem no fit handle di high demand. Bamboo, wey dey run one of di most popular investor tools for here, later apologise, say: ‘We know we let you down.’
Public affairs analyst Jamil Ubah talk say e rarely see Nigerians as excited about something like dis. He argue say e feed di dream say e fit lead to greater riches for population wey dey often struggle to make ends meet.
‘I think di hope for di common man na say him money go grow into something big, and no forget dis one dey come at a time when many dey struggle as di economy no dey do great,’ na wetin e tell BBC.
Dangote want make dis one be ‘di people’s IPO’, with drivers, cooks, cleaners and servants get chance to be part of something big. And dem take am by him word.
Twenty-five-year-old clothes seller Idris Lawal Musa make him first-ever stock exchange purchase. He tell BBC say e happy after e invest 21,000 naira, about $16 or £12, in 40 shares.
‘It no longer be Dangote but Yangote, di company belong to us now,’ he talk while e dey laugh.
But he fit make quick sale. ‘I be trader by profession and when I see say di shares don increase for price I go sell,’ he note.
Di popularity also show growing investment culture among younger Nigerians wey don embrace mobile trading platforms, cryptocurrencies and digital savings products. But fear of missing out fit also push some people enter investment business.
In di build-up to di IPO, social media platforms full with financial conversations. People share subscription guides, debate valuation metrics and encourage friends and family to participate.
But inside di frenzy, experts warn say risks dey – shares fit go down for value, as well as up, meaning people fit lose some, or all, of dia investment.
Financial analyst Shuaib Uwais talk say prospective investors make dem no think of di IPO as guaranteed route to wealth. He urge people to consider factors wey fit affect di refinery future performance, including disruptions to crude oil supply, operational challenges, regulatory changes and fluctuations in demand for refined petroleum products.
‘If for any reason di company experience difficulty in sourcing him raw materials, there fit be challenges,’ na wetin e tell BBC.
Even so, di IPO don give people chance to be part of dis home-grown success story.
Dangote sprawling refinery for di outskirts of Lagos, wey start operation two years ago and now dey process around 700,000 barrels of crude a day, don transform di fortunes of Nigeria oil sector.
Until recently, Africa largest crude oil producer no get refining capacity and had to import di finished product. Now di Dangote refinery dey feed much of di domestic demand.
For Dangote, di share offer na about raising cash to fund di growth of di business, something wey di kontri mini-magnates fit now get behind.
