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Fortune Magazine Names Dangote 11th Greatest Leaders on Earth
Foremost philanthropist and richest man in Africa, Mr Aliko Dangote, has been rated 11th of the 50 World’s Greatest leaders for 2019.
The rating carried out by the Fortune Magazine, an American multinational business magazine headquartered in New York City, United States, was released recently and focused mainly on the businesses run by the men and how they have used it to impact their society positively.
The time-tested magazine, which first edition was published in February 1930, said the world’s greatest leaders both men and women are transforming the world and inspiring others to do so in business, government, philanthropy and the arts.
“These thinkers, speakers, and doers make bold choices and take big risks- and move others to do the same”, the magazine declared.
This is the first time Fortune magazine is recognizing and including Aliko Dangote in the annual ranking. Specifically, Dangote having popped up in the magazine’s radar earned nomination after being adjudged as having used business to acquire wealth and who is now converting his wealth into impactful philanthropy through his Aliko Dangote Foundation.
The top 10 greatest men and women, according to Fortune are: Bill and Melinda Gates, Jacinda Ardem (Prime Minister, New Zealand), Robert Mueller (Special Counsel, Department of Justice), Pony Ma (Founder and CEO, Tencent), Satya Nadella (CEO, Microsoft), Greta Thunberg (Student and climate activist, Sweden), Margrethe Vestager (Commissioner for Competition, European Union), Anna Nimiriano (Editor-in-Chief, Juba Monitor), Jose Andres (Chef/Founder, World Central Kitchen), and Dough Mcmillon and Lisa Woods (CEO; Senior Director, Strategy & Design for U.S. Benefits, Walmart).
The ranking of Mr Dangote as one of the greatest business leaders has attracted comments by eminent persons around the world who described him as worthy of the nomination going by his business acumen and philanthropic gestures.
Global business giant and founder of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Mr Bill Gate extolled the efforts of Mr Dangote in making businesses play roles in provision of sound public health through his various interventions in health care issues especially in the fight against malnutrition and routine polio.
Mr Gates, who himself was ranked along with Dangote, said “Aliko Dangote, through his leadership at the Aliko Dangote Foundation, is a key partner in the Polio eradication effort, strengthening routine immunisation and fighting malnutrition in Nigeria and across Africa. Aliko bridges the gap between private business and public health in a unique way and our shared belief that Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive drives our partnership.”
Renowned activist and co-founder of ONE, Paul David Hewson, popularly called Mr Bono said he was not surprised at Mr Dangote’s feat globally, saying his vision is as big as the African continent.
Mr Bono, a global campaigner on taking action to end extreme poverty especially in Africa said: “Aliko has a vision just the size of his continent, but with humility of somebody who has just started his first job. It’s no surprise to me that Fortune would recognise his leadership because we have seen first-hand, through his service on ONE’s Board, the benefits of his wise counsel and grace.”
Also, the popular Economic analyst, Mr Bismark Rewane stated that “Aliko remains understated but very potent and Africa’s most successful and decorated entrepreneur. He is a global financial and managerial behemoth.”
Mr Dangote as the Africa’s richest – worth $16.4 billion, according to Bloomberg – and the four publicly traded companies under the umbrella of his Dangote Industries now account for about a third of the value of the Nigerian stock exchange.
That wealth is based on a big bet on Nigeria’s economic independence: Dangote’s peers give him credit for helping the country become self-sufficient in the sectors in which his companies compete (cement, agriculture and mining).
The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) is the Philanthropic endeavor of Aliko Dangote. The main objective of the Foundation is to reduce the number of lives lost to malnutrition and disease.
The Foundation is poised to combat Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) in children, as the core of its programming. It has also resolved to use its investments in health, education, and economic empowerment to help lift people out of poverty.
It would be recalled that Dangote was last year ranked among 75 most powerful persons on the planet, ahead of the Vice-President of the United States of America, Mike Pence.
Aliko Dangote has been named among most powerful persons in the world for the past five consecutive years. According to the Forbe’s 2018 ranking of the World Powerful people, Dangote ranked among world leaders like Xi Jinping, the Chinese President, Vladimir Putin the Russian President and Donald Trump, the President of the US, all of whom were ranked first, second and third respectively.
He was the only Nigerian on the list and one of the only two Africans who made the list with the other being the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was ranked 45thmost powerful.
In the same vein, he was named among the 100 most influential personalities in the world in 2018 by Time Magazine, leading business broadcast organisation. The CNBC had earlier in same year ranked Mr Dangote as one of the 25 people which have had most profound impact on business and finance worldwide.
He was rated the most influential African by Jeune Afrique in their classification of the most influential 50 Africans in 2018, and was also named the 6th most charitable person in the world in the same year according to Richtopia, a United Kingdom-based digital platform. He is, in addition, the richest African, according to Forbes.
Mr Dangote stepped up his humanitarian activities recently spending billions of Naira to build hospitals and critical hospital equipment, the lack of which has forced Nigerians of means to seek medical attention abroad.
He also donated a N1.2 billion Business School complex to Bayero University in Kano and another one for the University of Ibadan Business School. Last month he donated 10 blocks of hall of students’ hostel that can accommodate 2,160 beds to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna state.
The business mogul has continued through the Foundation by disbursing N10 billion to vulnerable women across the 774 local governments in the country.
Mr Dangote made a donation of $2 million to the World Food Programme as part of efforts to help Pakistani nationals devastated by floods in the year 2010.
Mr Aliko Dangote was made the chairperson of the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief, which raised in excess of N11.35 billion, of which Dangote himself contributed N2.5 billion, an amount higher than the entire contribution from the 36 state governors in Nigeria.
So far, the Foundation has spent over N7 billion in the troubled North Eastern part of Nigeria to see that the Internally Displaced Persons as a result of the activities of insurgents, are re-integrated back to the bigger society.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Young bloggers, online content creators and digital influencers have been charged to embrace ethical journalism, responsible storytelling and fact-based reporting as they shape public opinion in the digital age.
This task was given by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, during the Niger State Bloggers, Online Publishers and Content Developers Forum on Monday in Abuja.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim, the Minister said digital platforms offer enormous opportunities for innovation and civic engagement but must be used responsibly to promote truth, national unity and constructive public discourse.
He urged bloggers and content creators to verify information before publication, reject misinformation and disinformation, avoid sensationalism, and use their platforms to educate, inspire and promote national development.
Mr Idris also encouraged young Nigerians to see digital content creation not only as a source of income but also as a tool for civic engagement and nation-building, stressing that ethical communication is essential to strengthening democracy and public trust.
He further encouraged aspiring bloggers and digital entrepreneurs to continue developing their skills and uphold professional standards that will strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s online media ecosystem.
“There is no democracy that can thrive without a responsible media. You cannot carry freedom and abandon responsibility,” he stated, adding that the government remains committed to protecting press freedom while encouraging ethical journalism.
The Minister also highlighted the establishment of the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI), the world’s first UNESCO Category 2 Institute dedicated exclusively to Media and Information Literacy, describing it as a major step in promoting digital literacy and responsible online engagement.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso, disclosed that Mr Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, signed agreements committing himself to serving only one four-year term if elected in 2027.
Mr Kwankwaso explained that the documents comprised a formal agreement involving the political party and a separate personal accord between himself and Mr Obi.
According to Mr Kwankwaso, the deal stipulates that the presidency will return to Northern Nigeria in 2031 upon the completion of an Obi-led administration’s four-year tenure, if elected next year.
“We have agreed to formalise it in writing,” Mr Kwankwaso stated. “We have executed one document for the party and another between the two of us,” he revealed during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today late on Monday.
He reiterated that Mr Obi would honour his pledge and resist pressure to seek a second term, expressing confidence in the former Anambra State governor, noting that his interactions had convinced him that he would respect the agreement.
“I personally believe him, and, based on what I now know about him, I do not believe he will change his mind when the time comes,” he said. “We are all gentlemen.”
Mr Kwankwaso added that he and Mr Obi would continue to collaborate after the proposed administration completes its term.
“The agreement is that after four years, we will continue to work together as a group, as a party, and as friends and brothers,” he said. “After our four-year term, from 2027 to 2031, power returns to the North. That is the consensus.”
The former defence minister did not state that he would be the NDC presidential candidate in 2031; his comments referred broadly to the presidency returning to the North, rather than to his personal political ambitions.
Mr Obi has repeatedly pledged to serve only one term if elected; however, he has yet to publicly confirm the specific details of the documents described by Mr Kwankwaso.
In the 2023 Presidential polls, Mr Obi was the Labour Party presidential candidate while Mr Kwankwaso contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 1.14 million hectares of degraded land have been restored by the Nigerian government, with more than 1.5 million trees planted across the country in the past year.
This information was revealed by the Minister of Environment, Mr Balarabe Abbas Lawal, at the 2026 Top Management Retreat and National Tree Planting Campaign in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He said these achievements were made through initiatives of the federal government like the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
According to him, the restoration of the land and the planting of trees demonstrate a clear national commitment to securing environmental sustainability while advancing economic growth.
The Minister reemphasised that the environment is not an abstract concept, pointing out that “it is the air we breathe, the land that feeds us, the rivers that sustain communities, and the climate that shapes the future.”
He praised Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State for his giant strides in the environment sector in the state, urging other state governors to emulate him by providing sponsorship for their students to the various Federal Colleges of Forestry Resources Management institutions located across the six geo-political zones of the country to encourage and boost Forest education in the country.
He described the decision of Mr Zulum to sponsor 540 indigenes of the state to a forestry college in Maiduguri as commendable.
Mr Lawal also informed the participants of the programme that the Presidential Executive Order on the Prohibition of Exportation of Wood and Allied Products, 2025, is a key policy instrument under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it protects Nigeria’s forest resources, curbs illegal logging, and encourages tree planting as a national duty.
He pledged the Federal Ministry of Environment’s continued partnership with state governments on afforestation, ecosystem restoration, and other interventions tailored to their needs.
“Nigeria’s environmental future can be secured by protecting natural heritage, strengthening climate resilience, and advancing inclusive and sustainable development for present and future generations,” he declared.
