President Muhammadu Buhari has saluted leading businessman and philanthropist, Aliko Dangote, as he marks his 66th birthday, wishing him a long, healthy life and a joyful year ahead.
The president, in a congratulatory message by his media aide, Malam Garba Shehu, on Monday in Abuja, commended Dangote for his numerous efforts towards nation’s progress.
“Hearty congratulations and best wishes to the illustrious businessman Aliko Dangote on his birthday.
”He has given new heights to Nigeria’s prestige and global reputation.
”May the Almighty give him the strength and wisdom to do even more for the nation,” he said.
Aliko Dangote, GCON was born 10 April 1957, a Nigerian business magnate who is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.
According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth is estimated at US$19.9 billion as of April 2023, making him the richest person in Africa and richest black person and 83rd in the world.
Dangote was born in Kano, Kano State into a wealthy Hausa Muslim family.
Dangote’s mother, Mariya Sanusi Dantata, was the daughter of businessman Sanusi Dantata and his father, Mohammed Dangote, was a business associate of Sanusi Dantata.
Dangote was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, followed by Capital High School, Kano. In 1978, he graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu.
He received a bachelor’s degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
The Dangote Group was established as a small trading firm in 1977, the same year Dangote relocated to Lagos to expand the company.
Dangote received a ₦500,000 loan from his uncle to begin trading in commodities including bagged cement as well as agricultural goods like rice and sugar.
In the 1990s, he approached the Central Bank of Nigeria with the idea that it would be cheaper for the bank to allow his transport company to manage their fleet of staff buses, a proposal that was also approved.
Today, the Dangote Group is one of the largest conglomerates in Africa, with international operations in Benin, Ghana, Zambia and Togo. The
Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to be the largest industrial group in Nigeria, encompassing divisions like Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour and Dangote Refinery.
