The Essential Aliko Dangote @ 60

BY OLUSEGUN ADENIYI

During the Christmas holiday in December 2010, I was with Alhaji Aliko Dangote in his Lagos office one afternoon when his phone rang. Given the way he was saying “Yes Sir, Okay Sir”, I knew the person at the other end of the line must be someone very important to him. The moment the conversation ended, Dangote said he needed to travel immediately to a particular state where a friend of his was governor. It was the father of the governor that he had just finished speaking to.

What was the issue? He said his friend, a second term governor at the time, and his father (now of blessed memory) were having a disagreement over the candidate to endorse as successor for the 2011 gubernatorial election in the state. Because it was an issue on which I had a fair knowledge, I tried to convince Dangote, who had apparently taken sides with the father, that the position of his friend made more sense, given the then prevailing political dynamics in the state concerned. But Dangote refused to buy my explanation because, as he argued, “this is not about who is right or who is wrong; we are talking about his father.”

Given the vehemence with which he spoke, I saw no point in any further argument. But just as I wanted to change the topic, Dangote held my hand and said something I will never forget: “Look Segun, let me tell you something today. All this wealth that I have, if it would cause a rift between me and my mother, let God take everything away.”

I was startled by the declaration and the solemnity with which he made it. And to the extent that the way we view the world and those around us says so much not only about who we are but also what we stand for, that episode made me to appreciate Dangote as a man who places family and human relationships above every other consideration. While he is not known for being very generous with his money, for which he has worked very hard, Dangote has enriched several lives with his uncommon commitment to friendship and enduring relationships.

As busy as he must be, given his enormous commitments, Dangote has not allowed his schedules to interrupt his relationships with those he considers as friends regardless of the standing of those people in the society. Whether it is in carving out time for catch-up calls or sending/replying text messages or visiting to attend important occasions, Dangote creates the time. I am sure there are hundreds of people in all strata of the Nigerian society who will readily attest to that.

For a man like Dangote, time is a precious commodity. Yet, he understands that his presence at important functions would mean more to the celebrants than his money. I am a beneficiary of this generousity of spirit as he has always identified with me whether in times of joy (like when he came to my Ajah, Lagos bungalow to attend the baby dedication ceremony of my son more than 13 years ago in October 2003) or in times of sorrow (like when I buried my parents in 2006 and 2011). I can also recall several other occasional visits to my house and I am aware he does that with several other people, regardless of whether they are rich or poor.

Mr Robert Ade Odiachi, who has known the man they call “Ali-Cash” since 1973, said what amazes him is the numbers of days Dangote spends in a year to fast and how he observes his prayers at every opportunity and with anyone and anywhere. “He stops the car at roadsides and prays with drivers and mechanics, looks for an open space in the middle of nowhere during trips and all incognito. For a man of his means, his humility can only be a gift from God”, said Odiachi.

However, what stands Dangote out in the national and international arena is his business acumen. For a man who started out as a trader in commodities in 1978, he has really done good. From sugar to salt to flour to fertilizer to frozen fish to baby food to poly bag to cement, Dangote was a major importer and trader of these commodities less than three decades ago. Today, he is a producer of those same commodities not only for our country but for the African market. What his story teaches is that there are enormous potentials in our country and that, even as tough as the business climate may seem, those who dare could still win.

Two weeks ago, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on behalf of the Federal Government, commended Dangote for making the country self-sufficient in cement production. Against the background that just six years ago, Nigeria was one of the world’s largest importers of cement, buying 5.1 million metric tonnes annually, one can only imagine the implications of what Dangote has done in terms of foreign exchange savings. Besides, in year 2016, Dangote Cement exported 208,720 metric tonnes to Ghana; 104,907 metric tonnes to Niger and 52,120 metric tonnes to Togo thus totalling 365,747 million metric tonnes of cement exported out of Nigeria by the company. That is aside the cement factories in 17 other African countries and the coming one in Nepal.

Where most people see problems, Dangote sees opportunities and that is the difference between him and many other business people in our country. Having consolidated his business, Dangote’s current efforts are targeted at two areas: job creation and being a net importer of foreign exchange. In January this year, Dangote Group floated a $100 million truck assembly plant in Lagos in partnership with SINOTRUK, a Chinese firm, ahead of a $17 billion refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser plants also located in Lagos that would, when fully operational by 2019, have the capacity to refine 650,000 barrels per day. For rice, Dangote started the out-grower scheme three years ago and will go into milling by 2019. I also understand that he will soon venture into dairy farming in a big way.

I have heard about the ruthlessness of Dangote when it comes to dealing with competitors so I am sure there are many people out there who have a contrary view about him. But I am also certain that even his most implacable foes would agree that Dangote has added considerable value to our national economy. By dint of hard work and personal sacrifice, he has successfully turned a Nigerian name into a global brand.

In a piece I wrote three years ago, I alluded to the common narrative, especially by critics, that Dangote is a creation of the Nigerian State. But I also highlighted the simplistic nature of such assumption as I explained the Dangote story within the context of the Biblical parable of talents as told by our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 25: 14-30 which centred on a certain rich man who, before embarking on a journey, entrusted his assets to three of his servants. To one servant was given five talents; another two talents; and the last servant was given one talent. The master in this parable obviously knew that his servants did not have equal abilities but the way each deployed the asset and the eventual outcome is a study in faithfulness and industry.

The lesson of the parable, as I explained it, based on the thesis of one commentator, is that while we all begin from different starting points in life, it is not always what we are given that determines our success or failure but rather how we deploy such talents. That point was eloquently underscored by the late global icon, Mr Nelson Mandela of South Africa, who said most memorably to Vyonne Chaka Chaka, “It is what we make of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”

Therefore, if we take the Nigerian state as the distributor of patronage which we can then describe as “talents”, and we agree that Dangote started off with five, the fact also remains that there are several others who received one “talent” each and I am not even talking of those who (by virtue of holding public offices), gave themselves multiple ill-gotten “talents”. Now, the question then is: What have the others done with all that they were also given?

Former Cross River State Governor, Mr Donald Duke, who said he first met Dangote in 1978 (the year he started his trading in commodities), told me on Tuesday that he could still remember many young men who were Dangote’s business contemporaries at the time in Lagos, including those who had better prospects by virtue of their family connections. After reeling out a few names that I was hearing for the first time, Duke muttered: “only God knows where those guys are today so that tells you something about Dangote’s resilience”.

What that suggests is that majority of the people to whom the Nigerian state had bestowed “talents” at different times “buried” theirs, probably in pursuit of personal pleasure without adding any value to themselves or our society. By investing his own “talents” very wisely and taking calculated risks along the way, it is no surprise that Dangote succeeded where others failed. Today, the symbolism of Dangote as Africa’s response to the rise of wealth ambassadors in different regions of the world is a testimony to what can be accomplished by those who dare to dream big.

As Dangote therefore attains age 60, he deserves all the accolades that will come his way. To my recollection, the last birthday Dangote celebrated was on 10^th April 2005, when he turned 48. Perhaps because the day fell on a Sunday, there was a birthday picnic at Alpha beach in Lagos that was organised by his staff (to which his friends were invited) where the poor and the rich mixed, played football and generally had a nice time together. I was there that day. As it happens, Dangote would be 60 this year on a Monday, so I doubt if there would be any such indulgence of a beach party. But wherever (and howsoever) he chooses to mark the day, he knows he has my best wishes. Always!