In my banking days, I encountered Africa’s richest man twice from a close quarter; in his expansive Apapa office and when he personally came down to see my CEO and I was summoned to explain what we were doing to meet some of his foreign exchange needs. Congenial, humble but down-to-earth, shrewd businessman but extremely generous, Alhaji Aliko would awe any cynic within minutes of first interaction. Arguably the most detribalised Nigeria of his stature of achievement; his astounding knack to attract and retain talents on his payroll regardless of ethnic and religious affiliations in our clime where such rank far ahead of competence should interest management researchers.
And that complements his strict business consideration for locations of his entities. The third time I saw him was at the local wing of the Lagos Airport. As he emerged on a flight from Abuja, he simply hopped into the front passenger seat of a wagon car. No convoy, no hangers-on……I doubt if he still does that. His businesses are monumental successes creating billions of dollars of investment in Nigerian economy and putting thousands of Nigerian directly and millions indirectly to work. Simply put, Aliko Dangote is a successful brand.
Akin Osuntokun, Aliko’s self-confessed image-maker on leave of absence, the other day made a honest and altruistic (I want to assume) contribution to our search for competent helmsman in which he espoused how Nigeria would be the beneficiary of a Aliko Dangote presidency. Hear him as he passionately canvassed for his boss: “There is an Islamic admonition which enjoins that ‘power is best given to him who does not crave it’. I might include the qualification ‘to him who does not need it’. If there is one Nigerian who does not need the presidential toga that person is AlikoDangote . He has absolutely no need to neither fiddle with the public till nor allow anyone else to do so. He is incomparably driven and energetic to pull Nigeria up by the collar.
He can be unreservedly and honestly characterised as a detribalised Nigerian. The Nigerian economy will receive from him the best nurture we can ever hope for…..” I have no reason to controvert Akin’s surmise but is that all? What Akin failed to discuss, perhaps more important, would flaw his proposition. As I read his interesting piece, I almost screamed out ‘what about the politics it?’ Can Aliko afford to be partisan? Is he equipped for the brickbats and mudslinging that go with partisan politics? Does success as ‘Money-Manager’ guarantee a successful outing as ‘Politics-Manager’?
Beside all these ponderable drawbacks, Aliko Dangote himself recently confessed that favorable government policies (euphemism for preferential treatments and concessions) exponentially grew his wealth which landed him on a sweet spot on the Forbes’ list of world billionaires. So, the question is; will Aliko as President continues to provide such treatments for his own enterprises? How ethical will that be? I think the prospect of a President Aliko Dangote is worth discussing but I think there are just too many grey areas that we need to explore.llll,
For now, I’m a naysayer to President Aliko Dangote of Nigeria. I would rather he remains President of Dangote Corp. If he must join the political fray to contribute in that front, I would suggest he starts as Chairman of Kano Municipal Local Government. Did I hear you yell “WHAT???” Well don’t see that as uncharitable. If he does he will simply be following the example of Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg, with a net-worth of $27B is 13th richest person in the world compared to Aliko’s $16B as 43rd , has been Mayor of New York City for over eleven years now and he has rebuffed every suggestion that he runs for the US presidency. Not even being Governor of New York would appeal to Michael. Please don’t laugh or say well that’s in America. It’s all about service to your community.
Dapo Rotifa (daporotifa@gmail.com) lives in Los Angeles