News
Aliko Dangote celebrates African Young Global Leaders
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos, Switzerland, Aliko Dangote, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group, learned about the Forum of Young Global Leaders (YGLs) and the tremendous potential of this unique World Economic Forum community to develop the next generation of African leaders from all parts of society.
The Young Global Leaders programme is an accelerator for a dynamic community of exceptional young people from all over the world with the vision, courage, and influence to drive positive change in the world. This philosophy aligned neatly with Aliko Dangote’s vision for an Africa whose people are healthier, better educated, and more empowered through enhanced opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education and broaden empowerment opportunities for individuals and communities. He, therefore, through Aliko Dangote Foundation, (ADF)partnered with the Forum to establish the Aliko Dangote African Fellowship programme to guarantee the full engagement of young African leaders from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and non-business entities who might otherwise not be able to participate in the Forum’s Young Global Leaders Community. The fellowship covers the cost of their participation at World Economic Forum and YGL-led events for 6 years for each Fellow.
Now in the twelfth year of collaboration with the WEF YGL programme, the Aliko Dangote (WEF Africa YGL) Fellows continue to represent the continent on the global stage and give back to their communities in a multiplicity of impactful ways. The partnership has ensured a richness in the diversity of the YGL community – adding an important African perspective, inspiring impact, and making sure that all voices have a chance to be heard where global decisions are debated, discovered, and made.
Since the start of the WEF YGL programme 20 years ago, the World Economic Forum nominates up to two hundred exceptional young leaders under 40 for a six-year period of membership. Following the partnership with Dangote 12 years ago, the programme has included 15-20 young leaders from sub-Saharan Africa following a rigorous selection process. At any one time, the African YGL Community consists of around eighty active members, 75% of whom are eligible for the Dangote Fellowship.
Fatima Aliko Dangote, ED Dangote Industries, expressed pride at the diversity and high proportion of female fellows in the 2023 Cohort, where the nine chosen YGLs represent the media/arts/entertainment, technology & innovation, health, and government sectors.
The ADF-YGL Lagos Convening which took place on September 8th, was an excellent opportunity for the participating current and alumni YGL Africa Fellows to meet and interact with their patron, Alhaji Aliko Dangote at the site of his most ambitious project to date; the multi-billion-dollars Petroleum complex at Lekki. They were able to interact with Alhaji Aliko Dangote and senior executives of Dangote Group and be inspired by his vision and engage in informal conversation about their journey as YGLs and the impact the community has had on their personal and professional development.
After a tour of the Fertilizer and the Refinery complex, the immensely impressed alumni’ were full of praise for their mentor, describing him as “the best hope for Africa”.
Aliko Dangote YGL Alum and Executive Director, of African Youth Initiative Network, Victor Ochen from Uganda, said he was extremely impressed with what he saw at the refinery and that the aggressive investment in the project has shown how much faith Aliko Dangote has in the African continent. While lauding Dangote’s investment drive, he also appreciated him for his generosity in providing financial means for him to participate in forum events he otherwise would have been unable to do.
According to him: “I am so happy with what Dangote is doing in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. This is a man that is investing in the youth through his foundation and employing tens of thousands of Africans, in his various plants. I am so humbled to be here, and to learn from the expertise of this man whom God has blessed our continent with…I thank Dangote for his generosity, which has provided many young African leaders, regardless of the country, the much-needed financial means to participate in YGL events. Without the support of ADF, our active participation would not have been possible.”
In the same vein, Fatoumata Ba from Senegal, said this trip to the Refinery has further fueled her ambition to put in all it takes into what she does and make Africa proud the way Dangote is doing. Ba, a Tech Entrepreneur & VC Investor is currently the Founder & Executive Chair of Janngo Capital and Chairwoman of the Board of Auchan in Africa. Explaining what she does and how YGL has impacted her positively, she said her company, Janngo is Africa’s largest gender equal tech fund and is backed by top-tier African & International strategic and financial investors; a journey that was made possible through her participation in the YGL programme.
She said: “Being a YGL has not only been a great opportunity to amplify our dreams but also an opportunity to promote a culture of peace and growth. We are committed to developing and representing Africa with integrity.”
Managing Director/CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), Zouera Youssoufou, thanked Dangote for his continuous support of the YGLs, and assured him that his investment is not in vain, as the young global leaders are achieving exploits in their respective fields and living up to the expectations of being true African future leaders.
Dangote encouraged the YGLs to put in their best in their various fields and not be discouraged when setbacks occur, because those are to be expected. He encouraged them to continue raising their ambition for our continent because “Nothing is Impossible”.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: US-Nigeria troops slaughter 175 ISWAP fighters
-
Columns4 weeks agoDear General Gowon: That apology you’re running from is your nemesis
-
News2 weeks agoBREAKING: Terrorists strike Ibadan again! Abduct ex-Minister’s sister, twin children
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Wait over! Arsenal are CHAMPIONS! Win EPL after 22 years hiatus
-
Columns3 weeks agoSee Tinubu’s terrible damage on Option A4 and its precious memories
-
News4 weeks agoBREAKING: Jonathan emerges presidential candidate *Gets automatic PDP ticket!
-
News2 days agoBREAKING: Troops rescue wife of kidnapped General! *Terrorists flee scene
-
News4 weeks agoPresidency: Obi met all requirements – NDC *Cleared to contest primaries