imported refined petroleum products and retaining more value within the African economies. You must have heard Britain is threatening to go to court on Monday because President Trump is banning the export of diesel. We want us in Africa to be self-sufficient, that nobody should come and threaten us about banning anything.
If you remember, and President Obasanjo can actually testify to that, we wanted to buy COVID vaccines. Every single country that were producing those vaccines, they banned the export. We can't as a continent be importing 94% of the drugs we are consuming. Mind you, your excellencies, gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, in 24 years, for every four people that you see, one will be an African. We must become self-sufficient. And please let's join hands together and become self-sufficient.
So for generations ships have actually arrived on the African shores carrying products manufactured elsewhere from our resources that our continent itself possesses. Our ambition is to help change the terms of trade. We must, I said we must, or we want to actually see more ships to leave the African shores carrying products made in Africa by Africans for Africa, consumed by the world. We want to reverse and make sure that we are not the dumping ground of the world. We also want to go and dump our products elsewhere.
So that's the Africa we believe in and that's the Africa we will build. Your Excellency President Ruto, I want to acknowledge your leadership and your commitment to creating an environment in which investment of this scale can be contemplated and undertaken within four months. I must congratulate your excellency.
I also want to thank, I want to state that His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR has actually championed policies and reforms that have given Nigerian companies like ours the confidence to continue to be bold on the continent. Thank you.
When you are talking about people who really care about Africa, you must mention President Obasanjo for the simple reason that President Obasanjo was one that when he left office within two weeks, he took me to Zambia. He took me to Congo Brazzaville. He took me to Tanzania. These three countries alone we have investment of over 1.2 billion producing cement. Without your courage, Baba, we wouldn't have been bold. You are the one who really pushed us to be bold by building one single 5 million tons plant. We will forever remain grateful to you.
Projects of this magnitude are never built by companies alone. They require partnership. They require trust. They require infrastructure. They require institutions that understand that private investment and national development mutually reinforce one another. And that is the reason why when you look at it, we are scratching our head. One time it was just over dinner. Prime Minister, my brother, Prime Minister Abiy said that a little gas, now we have, you know, gas, what can we do with gas? But you know, my brother, he's always very, very forceful. He kept me there until when I promised him that we'll build three, we'll build one and a half million. And you know how aggressive he is, he said, no, no, no, 3 million. I said, no, no, 3 million is too much for your market. He said, no, no, I'm developing a lot of land. So, you know what? I will buy all the 3 million from you for 10 years. And that's what we did. I must thank you for your leadership.
So, we thank really the government of Kenya and the good people of Lamu County, the relevant agencies and all those who have actually worked tirelessly with us to bring us to this moment. But our most important partnership must be with the people who live here. That is the people of Lamu County. I want to say this clearly. We have not come merely to build in your community. We want to build with your community.
We want the indigenous people to participate in the opportunity created by this investment and there will be many. Even for us, before we finish the refinery, we'll think of something else and we'll be very aggressive. We want young Kenyans and East Africans to acquire skills here. This project should employ around 60,000 people during the construction. We want the local businesses to become suppliers. We want the entrepreneurs to emerge around this project. We want the economic footprint of this investment to extend far beyond the boundaries of the refinery itself.
For me, the true measure of this project will not be the height of its towers or the number of barrels it processes. It will be the difference it makes in people's lives. A young Kenyan who acquires an engineering skill because of this refinery came here. A local Tanzanian entrepreneur or a Ugandan whose small company becomes part of our supply chain. Then a Ugandan or a Burundian whose earnings capacity improves because of the opportunities that emerge from this investment. A community that is transformed because industry arrived. A region that becomes more competitive because energy becomes more secure. Those are the numbers that will matter to us alongside the financial numbers.
Industrialization must have a human face. It must create dignity. It must create skills. It must create opportunities. It must create hope. And because Lamu is a place of extraordinary environmental, cultural and historical importance, development must come with responsibility. We understand that industrialization and environmental stewardship cannot be treated as competing choices. They must coexist. We will therefore work with the relevant authorities, communities and experts to ensure that this project is developed to high standards of safety, environmental responsibility and community engagement. We're here for a very long time and when we build for generations, you must build responsibly.
Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, one of Africa's greatest economic weaknesses has been our tendency to think within borders while the rest of the world thinks in markets. Kenya alone is a significant market but East Africa is an even greater opportunity. The refinery is therefore not simply about one country. It is about a region. It is about Kenya. It is about Uganda. It is about Rwanda. It is about Tanzania. It is about Ethiopia. It is about Southern Sudan. It's about DRC. It is also about Mozambique. It is Zambia and other markets that can benefit from the stronger regional energy ecosystem.
The refinery will not only provide security of supply but will also bring prosperity. We have marked up to 30% of equity for the East African countries to ensure that they will also share in the profit that will be generated from the supply and also export. I want to particularly commend both Kenya and Rwanda for moving very quickly to grab that opportunity and I'm sure the rest will come.
When I look, I see goods, I mean, I see products going, the sons and daughters of East Africa beaming with pride of a secured future. I see industries growing around reliable energy. I see young Africans acquiring skills that will remain long after construction is completed. I see a vast opportunity. I see change. I see a new dawn. And above all, I see confidence because Africa's greatest deficit has never been resources. It has never been talent. It has never been ambition. Too often our greatest deficit has been confidence to undertake projects equal to the scale of our possibilities. That must change.
We must stop asking whether Africa can build big. We must start asking how quickly Africa can build what it needs. We must stop believing that transformation will be delivered to us. We must build it by ourselves. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, a groundbreaking ceremony is an act of faith. Today we see earth, tomorrow we'll see foundations, then steel will rise. Pipelines will stretch, processing units will take shape, thousands of men and women will come to work. And where we stand today, an industrial city will begin to emerge. That is how transformation happens. First as an idea, then as a decision, then as work, and finally as a reality.
I must also thank the deputy president of Kenya for working round the clock under the leadership of His Excellency the President to make sure all our agreements are done and we signed the agreement yesterday.
We have actually traveled that road before. We know it will not be easy. There will be challenges. You must have seen one yesterday. But like what I said, we are not really scared of people taking us to court. Anybody who wants to cause trouble, we are ready for his trouble and we give him headache.
There will be people who say again that the ambition is too large. But we also know something else. Nothing transformative was ever built by people who were frightened by the size of the challenge. Your Excellency, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, today we break the ground, but more importantly, we raise our expectations of what Africa can become. May this project become an early branch of peace to us all as Africans. May it demonstrate that together as one, we stand to gain more. May it strengthen and unify our nations while creating opportunities for our people. May it inspire fellow African entrepreneurs to dream and be bold. And may it stand for generations to come as another monument to African enterprise, African partnership and African possibility.
To our excellencies that are here, our African leaders. Our group has actually earmarked $50 billion to roll out projects under our current plan which ends in 2030. Your excellencies, we have more capacity to take on investment across critical sectors, infrastructure, minerals, ports, power, petrochemicals. All you have to do is to tell us what you want and our team will be ready to work with you and deliver it.
I also want to send a special message of condolence to our sister, Her Excellency the President of Tanzania, as she mourns the passing of her dear husband. May the Almighty Allah bless his soul and comfort the family. My deepest gratitude goes to all the presidents, heads of states. My brother also, the prime minister, is a very special person to me, and representatives of presidents who took time from their very, very pressing state matters and decided to honor the invitation by His Excellency President Ruto and register their support. This is just to show you that we in Africa are together and we will build our continent by ourselves.
We are indeed humbled. I must again also extend my special thank you especially to former President Olusegun Obasanjo. Despite that Baba is almost 90 years, he came from London, 11 hours, and he is going back today. Baba, we thank you for cutting your trip short and attending this engagement. Baba, we are forever grateful to you. I will continue to say it anywhere with no regret. You are an inspiration to all of us. God bless the people of Kenya. God bless the people of Ethiopia, Tanzania, Togo, Benin, Burundi, Southern Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Zambia, and of course Nigeria. And God bless Africa.
