ICYMI: Aliko Dangote accepts Bae U’s invite to curiosity made me ask

File photo: Aliko Dangote

Nigerian content creator Adebayo Ridwan, popularly known as Bae U Barbie, has invited billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to appear on his YouTube show, Curiosity Made Me Ask.

Bae U made the invitation on Monday during a visit to Dangote Refinery in Lagos, while asking Dangote a question about his media appearances and the need to engage younger Nigerians who are interested in his business and the planned investment in his company.

The content creator noted that many of Dangote’s interviews had been on platforms that younger audiences might not typically watch, despite their interest in investing in his business and participating in the company’s initial public offering.

“Most of the interviews we’ve seen you have been on platforms that my generation don’t watch,” Bae U said.

He added that young Nigerians were interested in investing in Dangote’s company and wanted to give him a platform to reach a wider audience.

“I’m not saying you should sack your media team. No, but you know, when you finish,” he said before asking when the billionaire would appear on his show.

Responding to the invitation, Dangote said young people represented the future and that older generations needed to share their experiences with them.

“Honestly, the future that we have is actually you, the youth. We, our own generation, really, we have not really done very well for Nigeria and also for Africa. That’s the truth,” he said.

Dangote said there was a need for conversations between older and younger generations to share experiences and discuss the country’s development.

“So we need to sit down with some of you and discuss our own experience with you,” he added.

The businessman noted that many young Nigerians had limited knowledge of some of the country’s past political leaders and historical experiences.

He cited former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an example, saying younger Nigerians might know more about him because he returned to power.

• I can sleep in the worst hotel, Aliko Dangote urges simplicity
• Hamzat was my bunkmate 49 years ago, says Otedola
• Govt’s petrol discount may cost 0.4% of GDP

Bae U interjected, saying, “Thanks to me. I gave him the platform, sir,” apparently referring to his own interview with Obasanjo.

Dangote agreed that younger audiences were an important group for him to engage.

“So really, you are right. Going forward, this sort of audience is the audience that we, somebody like me, should actually face,” he said.

He added that young people had continued to show him support and respect, including when he travelled abroad.

According to Dangote, people around him sometimes tried to prevent members of the public from taking photographs with him, but he preferred to oblige them.

He recalled an experience from his youth when he and his grandfather met prominent personalities in Washington and asked to take photographs with them.

Dangote said the experience influenced his willingness to take pictures with members of the public, despite his current status.

He also dismissed suggestions that a photograph of him shared on social media meant he was begging for more blessings.

“I wasn’t begging for anything. What I was saying, I was just saying that, God, you have overblessed me,” he said.

Dangote indicated that he was willing to sit down with younger people and share his experiences in an informal setting where they could ask questions about his journey.

“We will come,” he said in response to the invitation to appear on Curiosity Made Me Ask.

He added that he wanted the conversation to be open, allowing people to ask how he built his business and achieved his success.