ALIKO MOHAMMED DANGOTE, World's Richest Black.

DEDICATION: This piece is written for and dedicated to all hardworking men and women across the globe. Those who toil day and night with the hope that tomorrow will be better than yesterday, those who fast today so that they can have their fill tomorrow, those who labour on in the face of the incredible hardships of life, those who struggle relentlessly despite the greatest travails and challenges thrown at them, those who manage to have a cheerful smile on a face full of sweat and tears, it is to those, Abiyamo dedicates this.
''Aliko Dangote deserves more honours than those of us holding political offices'.
-GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN, Nigerian President.

‘I am close to the people in power because I am one of the big businessmen in Nigeria. If we have the wrong people there, then all the money I have is useless. I do not want Nigeria to become another Zimbabwe so I am concerned about the political direction of my country, because if bad and inexperienced politicians control power in Nigeria, my wealth may turn into poverty and I am not ready to become a poor man.’ -ALIKO DANGOTE.

See link for full details and more scintillating pictures: http://abiyamo.com/aliko-mohammed-dangote-worlds-richest-black/


A prodigiously wealthy and luxuriantly blessed human, Aliko Dangote said that it took him 30 tortuous years to become a billionaire but youths of today want to become a gazillionaire faster than Usain Bolt. Many Nigerian youths are bitter (like bitterness will make one better), pointing accusing fingers at people like Dangote, Adenuga and generally seeing nothing good in what others do, believing the world is against them. For those, I leave you with the immutable words of JK Rowling, writer of the Harry Potter series: “There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.” That is not all. The legendary French writer and philosopher who rejected the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964, Jean-Paul Sartre also said: “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you to give life a meaning.” But perhaps, the most poignant advice of all is from the Wise One of China, Confucius, who stated thousands of years ago: “Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.”

In a nation like Nigeria where there is so much negativity emanating right from independence till date, Aliko Mohammad Dangote, the Kano-born billionaire with the Midas touch is a man who must be appreciated and celebrated -for good reasons.

You might well remember that nothing can bring you success but yourself.
-NAPOLEON HILL (1883-1970), American speaker and motivational speaker.

OVERVIEW
-ANCESTRY
-EARLY DAYS & GROWING UP/FAMILY
-SCHOOLING
-LOVE, HEARTBREAKS, CHILDREN, MARRIAGE & DIVORCES
-HOW HE STARTED
-ROMANCING POLITICIANS AND SUPPORTING GOVERNMENTS
-BECOMING A BILLIONAIRE
-THE PLANE CRASHES AND NEAR PLANE CRASH
-THE SECRETS OF DANGOTE'S SUCCESS
-INTERESTING AND FUN THINGS ABOUT DANGOTE
-CRITICISM
-THE DANGOTE GROUP
-APPOINTMENTS, AWARDS, LAURELS & HONOURS
-DANGOTE'S DONATIONS AND PHILANTHROPY
-REFERENCES

ANCESTRY
Young Aliko was born in the ancient city of Kano of the famed groundnut pyramids. Kano has been a commercial center for centuries with it being a focal point for all kinds of economic activities ranging from the sale of slaves in exchange for salt to the trade in spices, kolanuts, leather, cotton, sugar and gold. Alhassan Abdullahi Dantata (named for Tata, the nurse who raised him, Dantata means 'the son of Tata') was his maternal great grandfather and he also learnt the art of business and making money from his own father.

By 1913, he was the largest exporter of kolanuts in West Africa. The coming of the colonial masters with the railway was too good an opportunity for him as he took advantage of the rails to move his kolanuts along the Lagos-Kano route. With time, he became the sole distributor for the Lever Brothers (later Unilever) and add the profits of the groundnut boom, he was already super-rich, the richest in Nigeria, and by 1955 when he died, he was clearly the richest in West Africa.

The children of the late polygamous merchant swore to an oath by the Holy Qu'ran with their father on the deathbed to work together and not split the family's business empire. Till today, the Dantatas run things in Nigeria -without any noise. Groundnut trader, Sanusi Alhassan Dantata, Nigeria's first millionaire, was the eldest of the siblings and was the overseer of the family's business activities.

Dangote grew up in the loving care of his maternal grandfather, Sanusi who took Aliko, his first grandson, into his care after the untimely death of his father. Sanusi transformed the family business even beyond the wildest dreams of their late dad. This grand old rich man died in 1997, and left many children, one of whom is Mariya, his eldest daughter and Umm Aliko (the mother of Aliko).

Rewind back to the 1950s and we meet a man named Mohammed Dangote, a businessman, fellow Qadirriya sect member and ally of Sanusi Dantata. This man would later ko-enu-ife-si ('toast') Mariya, the daughter of his friend, through her father and his business associate, Sanusi Dantata. Mohammed Dangote dabbled into politics and was even a Member, Northern House of Assembly and belonged to the Northern People's Congress (NPC) of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello. By the mid-50s, the two lovebirds were joined together in holy matrimony in Kano. That was the fusing point of the Dantatas and the Dangotes.

EARLY DAYS & GROWING UP
On the 10th of April, 1957, a bouncing baby boy weighing just a little above three kilogrammes was born in Kano. The radiant mother was Mariya and the small baby boy of that day is the reason you are reading this. A week after, he was named after his father while his overjoyed grandfather, Sanusi Dantata gave him the name 'Aliko' which means 'The Victorious One Who Defends Humanity'.

FAMILY

From his own mother’s side, Dangote has three siblings: Sani, Bello and a younger brother who died in an air crash in Kano with Ibrahim Abacha in 1996 (read more about the plane crash here: http://abiyamo.com/sani-abacha-nigerias-most-enigmatic-ruler/). Dangote’s mother, who became a widow in 1965 is still very much alive, was honoured with a degree by the Bayero University, Kano (BUK), runs one of the largest charities in Nigeria but is protected from the public eye. When Dangote bought his recreational boat, he named it after his Abiyamo (Mother), calling it Mariya.

SCHOOLING

For someone who grew up in Kano, a city of knowledge, it was no surprise that Dangote took to educating himself. Like many of his peers growing up under the great influence of Islamic scholars of the old city, he took off to one of the oldest universities on earth, Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt.

-1964: Kano Capital Elementary School (during break time in the high-brow primary school with other schoolkids who wanted sweets, Aliko would bring out a handful and told his jolly good friends that they could have one for a dime. He was that sharp.)

-1964: Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa (Arabic School): He attended the Quranic school when he returned from the primary school, a pattern that is common with many Nigerian Muslims.

-1970s: Capital High School, Kano.

-1970s: School of Economics & Business, Al Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt, where he bagged a degree in business studies and administration. In addition to all these forms of formal education, he also got a great deal of informal education from his grandfather, which he makes use of till this day. Hear him: ‘All my business acumen and instincts I inherited from my maternal grandfather. As his first grandson, he poured his business wizardry into me. I would not have been where I am today without him; a very great man, loving and caring.’

LOVE, HEARTBREAKS, CHILDREN, MARRIAGE & DIVORCES

In any continent of the world, there are some ladies who would dump their wretched husbands in a microsecond and follow a moneybag like billionaire Dangote without hesitation. The poor husband will only console himself with Chief Ebenezer Obey’s Sisi kojale, a lo ba millionaire lo…lol! Handsome, dashing, calm and stupendously wealthy, it is no surprise that not a few women cannot resist the charm of Dangote. Like other men on earth, he also has his own share of the romantic sagas and Cupid-induced high blood pressure..lol. A serial monogamist, Aliko Dangote has 15 children even though three from his current marriage (Halima, Fatima and Sadia) are officially listed. His children include: