money speaks pilot edition1.pdF

BY PAUL OKADE Jr
Alhaji Aliko Dangote epitomizes that
“go-getter” unstoppable Nigerian spirit
which is domiciled in every Nigerian.
That “can do” attitude that continues to
set Nigerians apart from the rest of the
African continent. Who would have
thought that a man who began his
business life as a relatively small
commodities trader in Kano, Northern
Nigeria 30+ years ago, would now been
ranked amongst the most influential
business leaders of modern times? It’s a
shame that the Nigerian media do not
report positive fetes such as this, instead
of the scandalous news they fill our
airwaves with.
On the 10th of April 1957 a baby was
born to the families of Dangote and
Dantata in Kano state Nigeria who would
one day dominate the African business
landscape and make a mark in industry
and entrepreneurship that would cause
global business giants to sit up and take
notice. His name is Aliko. At the tender
age of 21 he returned to Nigeria after
completing a business degree at the
prestigious Al Azhar University in Cairo
Egypt and started a small commodities
trading company with the N500,000 loan
he received from his grandfather the late
business mogul Alhaji Dantata.
As Nigerians we should be proud to
have one of our own listed on Forbes and
ranked as the 43rd richest man in the
world. This is one of the main reasons
why I decided to become a player in the
fourth estate (that’s the industry name
for the “media” by the way), because I
wanted Nigerians to have access to some
positive news other than the usual
negativity such as Boko Haram and
election rigging that they’re bombarded
with. Do bad things happen in Nigeria?
Sure they do but so do good things, the
only difference is that only the “bad
news” gets reported.
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