AT this perilous time when most of our political leaders and their allies in politics are working hard to give our country a bad name through political banditry, national greed that depletes national grid, unbridled corrupt practices that can’t be contained even within anti-corruption agencies, let’s this week celebrate the architecture we have noticed in our ruins!
Let’s begin to celebrate the Nigeria’s real brand ambassadors who are raising some glimmer of hope that Nigeria can actually rise to be the authentic tower of strength and pride of Africa and the black people of the world.
Interestingly, the political economy of a free press has become so unpleasant that significant citizens who are the real builders, dream makers of the country through big business success and entrepreneurship can’t be celebrated as much as the dealers who masquerade as leaders. Let’s begin deconstructing our insensitive leaders who have been made prominent by the media as they aren’t significant before God and man.
I have quoted Rick Warren several times here on the contrast between the significant man and the prominent man. Warren treats this contrast in his classic: “The purpose-driven life” in which he claims that in this world, there some people who are prominent but not significant. And in the same vein, there are some people who aren’t prominent but quite significant.
The cleric and author says that, in the main, God, the almighty isn’t looking for the prominent people who are all over the world but the significant ones who can partner with Him to remake the world.
Media operatives have unintentionally made some scoundrels and monsters prominent through constant and contextual reporting on them without reference to their backgrounds. And most times when some investigative reporters have some audacity to probe into some foundations for the optics, the political economy of press freedom becomes an obstacle and the consequences of that gap are glaring: a moron can be portrayed as a baron, a thief can be contextually reported as a chief while a mediocrity can celebrated as a celebrity.
This is where we celebrate dubious dealers who get into power as leaders who can’t recognise that their primary responsibility is “welfare and security of the people”.
So, let’s take a break this week and detour from too much political stories to financial journalism where we can find and deconstruct some of our country’s brand ambassadors. They don’t have to pay for this celebration all of the time because they are actually showing the world that out of the ashes of multidimensional poverty of ideas that political leadership represents now on all fronts, we can find some beauty, after all.
This week, the President and Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, said he had accepted his appointment to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, joining a select group of global business leaders tasked with driving investment and job creation in emerging economies. In 2023, the Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, co-chaired the Private Sector Investment Lab, which focused on attracting £1tn in sustainable investment to support the energy transition in emerging markets.
In a statement confirming his acceptance, Dangote reaffirmed his commitment to fostering sustainable economic growth through private sector-led investment, noting the transformative potential of such initiatives in developing markets. His words: “I am both honoured and excited to accept my appointment to the World Bank’s Private Sector Investment Lab, dedicated to advancing investment and employment in emerging economies”.
Dangote added, “This opportunity aligns with my long-standing commitment to sustainable development and unlocking the potential of developing economies. Drawing inspiration from the remarkable successes of the Asian Tigers, which have demonstrated the power of strategic investment and focused economic policy, I am eager to collaborate with fellow leaders to replicate such outcomes across other regions.”
The World Bank announced Dangote’s appointment on Wednesday April 23, 2025 as part of a broader expansion of its Private Sector Investment Lab, which now enters a new phase aimed at scaling up solutions to attract private capital and create jobs in the developing world.
Joining Dangote in the elite group are the CEO of Bayer AG, Bill Anderson; the Chair of Bharti Enterprises, Sunil Bharti Mittal; and the President and CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Mark Hoplamazian. The World Bank said the expanded membership brings together business leaders with proven track records in generating employment in developing economies, supporting the Bank’s sharpened focus on job creation as a central pillar of global development.
According to the World Bank Group President, Ajay Banga, “With the expanded membership, we are mainstreaming this work across our operations and tying it directly to the jobs agenda that is driving our strategy. This isn’t about altruism—it’s about helping the private sector see a path to investments that will deliver returns, and lift people and economies alike. It’s central to our mandate”. The global bank said over the last 18 months, the Lab brought together leaders from global financial institutions to identify the most pressing barriers to private sector investment in developing countries and to test actionable solutions. The statement said that the work had now been consolidated into five priority focus areas that were being integrated across the bank operations, including regulatory and policy certainty.
The statement added that the Dangote Group, founded by Aliko, is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. “With interests spanning cement, fertiliser, salt, sugar, and oil, the Group employs over 30,000 people and is the largest taxpayer in Nigeria, contributing more in taxes than all of Nigeria’s banks combined. It is also the country’s largest employer after the government.
“The $20bn Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, the Group’s flagship project, stands as the largest single private investment in Africa. In addition to his business interests, Dangote leads the Aliko Dangote Foundation, the largest private foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor. The Foundation primarily focuses on child nutrition, while also supporting interventions in health, education, empowerment, and disaster relief,” it was stated.
Meanwhile, before the World Bank’s recognition to Our Dangote there was a feather to the cap of our Tony Elumelu from the same Bretton Woods institution. The recognition was conveyed to the Nigerian entrepreneur in the last week of March, 2025 under the headline: “Elumelu joins IMF advisory council on entrepreneurship”. Here is the good news to Nigeria:
The International Monetary Fund has appointed the Founder and Group Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, to its Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth. The IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva constituted the Council. The Advisory Council of the IMF comprises global business leaders, policymakers, and academics dedicated to identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. Its mandate is to recommend policies that enhance resource allocation, stimulate innovation, and catalyse sustainable private sector-led economic growth.
“Elumelu, Africa’s leading advocate of entrepreneurship and whose Foundation has funded, mentored and trained over 25,000 African entrepreneurs since 2015, champions entrepreneurship as the engine for the economic transformation of Africa. This remarkable feat by a Nigerian has been recognised too by a significant world body. A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments, that deliver social and economic value.
“Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policymaking”, a statement on the appointment indicates. Other members of the Council include: Harberger Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, Professor Ufuk Akcigit; Saudi Ambassador to the United States, HRH Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud; Chair, CEO, and Co-Founder of Salesforce, Mr. Marc Benioff; Executive Chair, Banco Santander, Ms. Ana Botín; Chairman, Tata Group, Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran; Chief Executive, Vodafone Group, Ms. Margherita Della Valle; Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners, Mr. Robert Smith and Argentine Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Mr. Federico Sturzenegger.
At the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Council on Wednesday 26 March 2025, the IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, noted: “The Council brings together a group of leading thinkers and practitioners in business, finance, academia, and policymaking to share their views and experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity—key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth.” The story hasn’t attracted even human interest commentaries by even financial journalists so far since it isn’t about our prominent political dealers, sorry leaders.
Besides, shortly before the Dangote’s nomination, Jimoh Ibrahim Folorunso, PhD, too had taken a seat as a member of the University of Cambridge Senate in the United Kingdom. According to a brief to this effect, Jimoh is expected to cast his vote in the proposed election for the next Chancellor scheduled for this year’s summer. The university’s Returning Officer, Emma Rampton, communicated the information to Ibrahim two weeks ago. Dr. Jimoh is expected to serve in the Senate for life. Ibrahim, senator representing Ondo South Senatorial District was chairman/chief executive officer of Global Fleet Group before his election in 2023. He has also been named among keynote speakers for the upcoming Cambridge Africa Business Conference (CABC).
According to the organisers, since 2012, CABC has been the gathering place for Africa’s boldest thinkers, industry disruptors, and global power players. “The Black Continent will be defined not by the challenges it faces, but by the ingenuity, resilience, and ambition of those shaping its future. This year’s speakers are true powerhouses; leaders who have built (and currently building) the rails the continent depends on. The conference, which will be held at the Cambridge Jude Business School on May 17, 2025, will feature global business leaders and technocrats. They added, “This year’s theme, “Africa Tomorrow: Driving Innovation, Growth, and Global Influence,” is all about what’s next—how we push boundaries, scale solutions, and shape Africa’s role on the world stage. If you’re serious about the future of business in Africa, this is where you need to be.”
Jimoh is on record as the first person to obtain a doctoral degree in Business at the University of Cambridge (2022). Earlier, Ibrahim obtained M.Sc of the University of Oxford, MBA at the Cambridge before his doctorate in Business (DBus) in Cambridge.
And so, I believe that we should begin to identify and celebrate significant Nigerians the world is beginning to recognise instead of the prominent dealers, I mean leaders who have continued to under-develop the only country Nelson Madela said Africa and the black race have been waiting for as a source of pride and confidence. When will we begin to recognise real achievements?
- Oloja is former editor of The Guardian newspaper and his column, Inside Stuff, runs on the back page of the newspaper on Sundays. The column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Mondays.