Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has disclosed that he purchased his first private jet at the age of 22 and a half, while urging wealthy Nigerians to channel more of their resources into productive investments.
Dangote made the disclosure on Monday in Lagos during the formal launch of the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals on the Nigerian Exchange.
Reflecting on his decades in business, the Dangote Group president said he had enjoyed his journey but had reached a point where he was more interested in seeing wealth deployed toward activities that create value.
Dangote said his experience with luxury had started early, revealing that he acquired his first private aircraft when he was just 22 and a half years old.
“My career as a businessman, I really had a great time. I was telling somebody that right now I don’t mind, I can take commercial, I can take anything. I had my first private jet at 22 and a half years old,” he said.
The billionaire subsequently called on wealthy Nigerians to reconsider spending huge sums on luxury aircraft when the same resources could be invested in industries capable of creating jobs, generating economic activity and strengthening the country’s productive capacity.
“I try as much as I can to encourage people who are riding $900 million aircraft to please go and put that into production,” Dangote said.
According to him, Nigeria cannot attain the status of a truly great nation without significantly increasing productive activities across the economy.
