Billionaire businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote does not court media attention needlessly.
Yet, almost every move he makes, either in his business or private life, has never escaped the attention of newshounds.
He is a delight to professional journalists and biographers across the continent.
If you choose to write about his uncommon feats as a businessman, you will come up with volumes of work that will most likely intimidate a bibliophile.
In the same way, if you choose to document his philanthropic acts, in black and white, your hand may grow tired.
Although he is not given to throwing elaborate parties on his birthday, the man whose name is synonymous with success was deservedly celebrated globally on Friday, April 10, when he turned 63.
His life in entirety is a compelling study in determination, focus, and ambition.
Like every creature, this amiable billionaire too has his humble beginning. But his humble beginning will inspire any ambitious soul, any day and any time.
As a young man, he had a clear vision of what he wanted to do later in life and he pursued it with unwavering doggedness.
While growing up, the only thing that caught his fancy was business and he refused to be swayed by any other interest.
Though he started as a trader at 21, he is today Africa’s leading businessman. His chain of companies is spread across 16 countries around the world and he has over 15,000 people on his payroll.
As an entrepreneur, he always sees opportunities, while others are bogged down by morbid fear of failure.
No wonder, he has always made a success of all that he has ventured into. From trading in commodity to sugar refining, cement manufacturing to petroleum product refining, it is all a success story.
Dangote was born into a wealthy family in Kano. But rather than being pampered, he was given a chance to pursue his love for business.
His uncle, Sanusi Abdulkadir Dantata, eventually gave him a loan of N500, 000 that has today turned into a mega fortune.
Today, the visionary businessman has built the largest sugar factory in the whole of Africa, largest cement factory in the continent, largest flour mill in the continent while his yet- to- be-completed refinery is said to be one of the largest in the world.
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Apart from his business acumen, he is also a philanthropist of note. He has collaborated with the Bill Gates Foundation to invest in the provision of health, especially the eradication of polio in Africa and other parts of the world, where the disease is still prevalent.
As if that isn’t enough, he donated a sum of N1 billion to the fight against coronavirus and spearheaded the Coalition Against Coronavirus Disease, CACOVID relief fund which has garnered over N10 billion from corporate organisation to support the Nigerian government in the fight against coronavirus.
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