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Aliko Dangote

“I have always said it that Nigeria is a good place for investment. God has given us in Nigeria what other countries don’t have….We have…

“I have always said it that Nigeria is a good place for investment. God has given us in Nigeria what other countries don’t have….We have got fertile land… mineral resources and…oil. All we need to do is to harness them for good….The present challenges…..should not deter us from growing our economy…..If Nigerians do not want to invest in their country, other people will not come. They will want to see our success story before they come.” Aliko Dangote, GCON

There was the story of an Igbo chap who converted to Islam and wanted to take another name to reflect his new faith. The chap spurned every revered name like Ibrahim, Musa, Suleiman, etc., recommended for him until he was given the option to suggest one himself. He said: “What of Dangote? Is it not a Muslim name?” And he chose the name. Such is the kind of fascination with the brand name Dangote and the belief that the good fortune can rub off on all those who bear it!

I watched Aliko Dangote walk behind the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, as he and others approached the steps of the presidential jet waiting to airlift them from the Sultan Abubakar Sadiq Airport, following the wedding of the daughter of Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, the Governor of Sokoto State on Saturday, 31st December, 2016. Apparently, Dangote had not travelled on his $45 million Bombardier Jet and had settled for a ride with Saraki in a presidential aircraft. I couldn’t believe that Africa’s wealthiest man had just passed by me, smiling and just going his way. 

Aliko Dangote, 60 years old yesterday, marked his birthday with the planting of 60 trees at the site of his single most important project – the 650, 000 barrels per day refinery in the outskirts of Lagos. You cannot actually discuss Dangote without talking about his business, humility, philanthropy and love of country. Dangote is the biggest, boldest and brightest face of Nigeria’s national bourgeoisie. It is increasingly becoming clear that adequate supply of petroleum products in Nigeria is not going to be guaranteed by the government’s hesitant efforts but from the single-minded investment of Dangote in this giant refinery. The output of gas, petrochemicals and fertiliser from the refinery will surpass the current national levels several times over. Such is the promise held by this massive project that it has become a pilgrimage site for West African leaders including President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo. If I were Nigerian leaders, I’d provide Dangote all his requirements to ensure that this refinery comes into operation not in 2019 but 2018 in part because it is going to save us from the embarrassment of having to continue to import petroleum products!

It is not a coincidence that Africa’s and Black World’s richest man is a Hausa-Fulani, and from Northern Nigeria. It is very important that the sprawling factories and wealth of Dangote owe their origins to the N500, 000 seed money in form of a loan given to him by his uncle back in the 1970s to start business. This is so because I have heard Asari Dokubo, misguided as ever, saying that he was entitled to be as rich as Dangote because he (Dokubo) comes from oil-rich state. Coming from oil-rich land alone doesn’t make you rich, or sustainably rich, as there is always the human element of hard work and sagacious choices. By the way, Dokubo should note that Dangote is a multi-billionaire, courtesy of his trade in commodities, ever before he enters petroleum business.

Dangote has established business in 14 African countries, mostly cement plants, and is still counting. Just last month, President John Magufuli of Tanzania granted him a coal mining licence to help him supplement power supply to his $500 million cement company located in Mtwara. Hitherto, the company had depended on giant diesel plants to generate electricity. He is preparing to launch himself in Asia and Latin America; and by next year, he his companies will be quoted on the London Stock exchange.

Dangote has never discriminated against anyone in terms of employment and the last time he advertised vacancies for truck drivers, it was revealed that some of the applicants were PhD holders! I can’t imagine how the job market would look like if Dangote’s multinational, God forbids, were to collapse.

Aliko has also extended a large heart to humanitarian campaigns to bring succour to suffering people. He is collaborating with Bill Gates to eradicate polio through immunisation programme sponsored by the Dangote Foundation as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In January last year, the two billionaires jointly committed $100 million to tackle malnutrition among Nigeria’s children, especially in the North East where Boko Haram has disrupted normal life. Dangote is a member of the Presidential Initiative on North East, which he has hugely assisted, in cash and in kind. He has also supported flood victims in Nigeria with the sum of $16 million. The Dangote Foundation’s endowment is worth $1.35 billion. Neither is Dangote’s humanitarian assistance restricted to Nigeria: in September 2010, the Foundation had made a donation of $2 million to help survivors of the devastating floods that occurred in Pakistan and in 2015, the Dangote Foundation donated $1 million to the Nepalese government to aid relief efforts following an earthquake in that country. Nearer home, the foundation spent $5 million to help combat Ebola virus disease in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. 

Not many people know that Dangote is also a member of the National Peace Committee that helped establish communication between the Buhari and Jonathan campaigns ahead of the 2015 elections. 

Dangote is a blessing to our country and if we were to have a few more of him, Nigeria would be an industrial giant. Aliko doesn’t just make money, he spends it well. Aliko is a Nigerian patriot, fabulously rich but humble, no airs. Happy 60th birthday, Aliko Dangote.

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