Connect with us

News

Aliko Dangote Makes TIME100 Most Influential Global Philanthropists

The prestigious list, published by TIME Magazine on Tuesday, features Aliko Dangote, whose Foundation spends an average of $35 million a year on programmes across Africa, alongside other global figures in charitable work, such as Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates, all of whom are recognised as Titans.

Published

on

16 Views

Aliko Dangote, the Chairman Aliko Dangote Foundation and President/Chief Executive, Dangote Industries Limited, has been named in the inaugural 2025 TIME100 Philanthropy list, which recognises the 100 most influential leaders shaping the future of philanthropy across the world.

Dangote is the only Nigerian on this distinguished list.

The prestigious list, published by TIME Magazine on Tuesday, features Aliko Dangote, whose Foundation spends an average of $35 million a year on programmes across Africa, alongside other global figures in charitable work, such as Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates, all of whom are recognised as Titans.

A total of 100 influential individuals from 28 countries have been honoured for their philanthropic efforts in four categories: Titans, Leaders, Trailblazers, and Innovators, with Dangote emerging as one of the 23 Titans.

TIME highlighted Dangote’s remarkable rise to wealth, having built a fortune of $23.9 billion through ventures in cement, agriculture, and oil refining in Nigeria.

However, his philanthropic efforts are equally noteworthy.

My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago.

In 2014, he endowed the Aliko Dangote Foundation with $1.25 billion, with the aim of giving back to the continent that played such a key role in his success.

The foundation spends on average of $35 million each year on various initiatives across Nigeria and Africa. “Investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success” – Dangote remarked, reflecting the foundation’s core priorities.

Among the foundation’s ongoing efforts is a $100 million multi-year initiative to combat severe childhood malnutrition.

Furthermore, an earlier vaccine programme in Nigeria, developed in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others, contributed to the World Health Organisation’s 2020 declaration that polio had been eradicated from Africa, Nigeria being the most populous country in Africa and the last country to eradicate the disease. Education is another area where Dangote is making a significant impact.

He recently announced a $10 million donation to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, based in Kano State.

The conglomerate has provided a wealth of infrastructural support to the country’s tertiary institutions.In 2019, the Federal Government revealed that the N1.2 billion hostel donated by the Aliko Dangote Foundation to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was the largest donation ever made by an individual to a university in Nigeria’s history at that time.

As a member of The Global Business Coalition for Education, the Aliko Dangote Foundation has also focused on early childhood education.

Through the Mu Shuka Iri (Let’s Plant a Seed) programme, local women – affectionately known as “Aunties” – are trained in Montessori-style education to become community educators in Kano.

The foundation’s investments in education include providing vocational training and providing scholarships at the secondary and tertiary levels, in addition to offering annual fellowships through the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme.

“We need to create the next generation of African leaders,” Dangote says, underscoring his commitment to long-term societal change.

“My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago.

I trust my three daughters will continue this legacy, just as they will continue to grow our business and impact. I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.”

News

Why Dantata will be buried in Saudi Arabia tomorrow

Dantata, 94, an uncle of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is survived by three wives, 21 children and 121 grandchildren.

Published

on

By

12 Views

Business mogul and philantrophist Aminu Dantata, is set to be buried tomorrow (Tuesday) in Medina, Saudi Arabia after he died on Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.

Sources closed to the family disclosed that it was Dantata’s wish to be buried in a city he adored and where Islam’s prophet Muhammad lived and died.

Dantata, 94, an uncle of Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is survived by three wives, 21 children and 121 grandchildren.

His body was set to be transferred from Abu Dhabi, where he died, to the holy city of Medina after Saudi authorities approved his burial in their country.

Background and Wealth

He was known across Nigeria for his philanthropic activities.

Last year, he donated 1.5 billion naira ($972,000; £710,000) to victims of the devastating floods in north-eastern Borno state.

His business interests cut across agriculture, real estate, construction and manufacturing.

He first made his name in agriculture, starting trading kola nuts and groundnuts in the 1940s.

He came from a business family – his father Alhassan Dantata was once considered to be the richest man in West Africa.

Despite his riches, Dantata lived in one of the poorest areas of the northern city of Kano, like his parents before him.

His influence was also felt in politics, with politicians eager to seek his blessings before elections.

Continue Reading

News

ALLEGED DEFAMATION: ‎Court Grants Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan bail

Published

on

23 Views

… As Trial begins September 2

Nigerian Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has been arraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja, over alleged defamation of Senate President Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

This is the second arraignment for similar charges, as she was also arraigned on June 19, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.

‎Like in the previous arraignment, the Kogi Central Senator has pleaded not guilty to what she is being accused of.

A six-count charge against her stems from statements she allegedly made during a live television broadcast on April 3, 2025, and in a telephone conversation on March 27, 2025.

‎The Federal Government, through the Attorney General’s office accuses Akpoti-Uduaghan of claiming that Akpabio and Bello conspired to orchestrate her assassination.

She is also accused of making statements regarding the alleged use of organs from a deceased individual for Akpabio’s wife.

The government contends that she made these imputations knowingly or with reason to believe they would harm the reputations of Akpabio and Bello, an act deemed to be criminal.

‎At her arraignment on June 19, she pleaded not guilty to all charges and was granted bail in the sum of N50 million with one surety. The prosecution had initially requested her remand in a correctional facility, which was opposed by her legal team.

‎At the Federal High Court, however, Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan has been granted bail on self-recognition, being a serving Senator. The judge, Muhammed Umar, then fixed September 22 for the start of trial.

‎Similarly, Akpoti-Uduaghan has also filed a suit challenging her six-month suspension from the Senate, and a ruling on that matter, along with contempt proceedings, is expected on July 4, 2025. Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court is presiding over that particular case.

Continue Reading

News

NDLEA nabs drugs trafficking Ex-footballer

Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.

Published

on

By

33 Views

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested an ex-international football player, Segun George Hunkarin, along with his business partner Ntoruka Emmanuel Chinedu, over an attempt to smuggle a consignment of cocaine into Nigeria through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,(MMIA) Ikeja, Lagos.

Chinedu, a frequent flyer known for transporting clothes from Turkey to Nigeria and foodstuffs from Nigeria to Turkey, was the first to be arrested upon his arrival at the Lagos airport on Tuesday, 24th June 2025.

Spokesman of the agency, Femi Babafemi, said, “A search of his carry-on bag revealed 37 wraps of cocaine weighing 800 grams were concealed therein.

“Investigation showed that the suspect was coming from Turkey on an Ethiopian Airlines flight but transited through Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he collected the luggage from another person before heading to Nigeria.

Further checks revealed that an accomplice, who turned out to be the former professional footballer Segun Hunkarin, was waiting for Chinedu at the airport carpark to collect the consignment from him.

“Hunkarin, who had stayed years in Brazil playing for football clubs, was promptly tracked and arrested at the carpark.“

In his statement, Hunkarin claimed that while playing professional football in the South American country, he had only trafficked drugs twice from Brazil to Ethiopia but had never brought any to Nigeria.

Continue Reading

Trending