Aliko Dangote, president of the Dangote Group, received the title of “Personality of the Year” from management of Vanguard Newspapers over the weekend.
In honor of the men and women who have distinguished themselves as achievers of excellence in their respective disciplines, The Newspaper threw out the red carpet. At the yearly celebration of honesty, perseverance, and dedication to the country and humanity, governors, ministers, heads of organizations and parastatals, captains of industries, and the crème de la crème of Nigeria were there.
The Newspapers gave the following reasons why Dangote beat out other well-known Nigerians to win Personality of the Year: “No Nigerian today has demonstrated more utilitarian determination and unmatched ambition in business than he has. There is no individual referred to as president, whose persona dwarfs that of the presidents of many nations, yet, he is not the president of a nation. He has and continues to represent Africa very well on the global stage.”
Vanguard went on to say that he has been the richest man in Africa for eleven years running, according to both Forbes and Bloomberg, and that in order for him to run the biggest conglomerate in West Africa, he needs to have a certain set of skills, a high level of intelligence, and the ability to manage both people and resources.
The Newspapers added that the company he formed presently operates in 17 African nations and dominates the cement business there. The largest listed firm in West Africa and the first Nigerian company to make the Forbes Global 2000 Companies list is one of the group’s subsidiaries, Dangote Cement Plc. Two further subsidiaries of the company are the NGX-listed Dangote Sugar Refinery and NASCON Allied Industries.
“The Group is diversified and operates in major sectors of the Nigerian economy, including agriculture. Is it necessary to explain why Dangote was chosen as Vanguard’s personality of the year? Not necessarily, in light of contemporary achievements.
“Yes, whereas some may quickly insist and, therefore, say, his familial linkage to the Dantatas whose humongous wealth cannot be divorced from his achievements, there is a clear difference between latching on to the riches of others to grow and launching into an expanded universe with disruptive ideas that are, at once, unmatched and unique in content, context, and deliverables…”
The Newspaper concluded by saying: “In the spheres of commitment to serve, drive for excellence, utilitarian determination, philanthropic outreach to help, and contribution to national development, President Aliko Dangote deserves the honour of being named Vanguard’s Personality of the Year, 2022.”
