Africa’s richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has called on wealthy Nigerians to channel more of their fortunes into productive businesses rather than spending huge sums on luxury items such as private jets.
Dangote appealed while reflecting on his business journey, revealing that he bought his first private jet when he was just 22 and a half years old.
According to the billionaire, he has since reached a stage where he is comfortable travelling on commercial flights, despite having once enjoyed the convenience and luxury of private air travel.
“In my career as a businessman, I had great times. 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 years and a half,” he said.
Dangote stressed that his concern was not with wealthy people enjoying the fruits of their success. Rather, he wants some of the enormous sums spent on luxury to be redirected into ventures capable of creating jobs and strengthening the economy.
He specifically appealed to Nigerians who can afford aircraft costing between $90 million and $100 million to consider putting similar amounts into businesses that could employ thousands of people and stimulate economic activity.
“So I try as much as possible to encourage people who are riding 90, 100 million dollars aircraft, please go and put that into business. We are not going to create a great nation without doing something productive,” he said.
The billionaire recalled an experience in Abuja that reinforced his concerns about the balance between luxury consumption and productive investment.
He said he once spent about 30 minutes searching for a parking space before noticing the large number of private jets in the area.
The sight prompted him to imagine what the same space could represent if it were instead occupied by factories producing goods and creating employment.
“It took me 30 minutes to find a parking space in Abuja. It was Wednesday or Thursday. And I said, ‘Oh, I wish this place was full of factories, not private jets,’” he recalled.
For Dangote, the experience highlights a wider challenge facing Nigeria, where economic growth depends heavily on increased investment in production and industrialisation.
His comments also reflect his own approach to business, with his group continuing to commit significant resources to large-scale industrial projects, including the Dangote Refinery.
He argued that greater investment in productive enterprises can create jobs, expand economic activity and help build the kind of industrial base needed to support long-term national development.
