100 Fathers of the Famous
Dangote: ‘I was taken away from my parents when I was 6 months old’
BY MIKE AWOYINFA [ mikeawoyinfa@sunnewsonline.com ]
Saturday, February 10, 2007

Would Aliko Dangote have been the richest Nigerian today as he is reckoned to be, if he had lived with his parents? At the age of six months, he was taken from his mother and father and made to live with his grandparents—as was the practice then in the northern part of Nigeria. If you ask Dangote who he considers his real dad, he would point to Sanusi Dantata, his rich and humble grandfather. He tells his story:

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My father, Mohammed Dangote, was a business man and a politician. At the time he died, he was a member of the Federal House, here in Lagos. He was a member of the Northern House of Assembly. From there he came to Lagos. I was just eight years old when he died. I know him, but not very, very close, because I was raised by my maternal grandfather.

I happened to be the first grandson of Sanusi Dantata. So when I was born, I was taken over to him. I never really lived with my father. I was taken away when I was six months old. It is a common practice in the north for kids to be taken away from their biological parents and to live with stepparents or uncles or aunties. Sometimes, I can go and live with my stepmother. It would take some time before you even realize that this is your mother.
I found that as a really good idea because it brings a bond into the family, where you don’t see too much segregation. There wouldn’t be that in-fighting and trying to say: “This is my son’s own or whatever.”

Right now, I don’t think it exists. Because everybody is fighting for himself right now. But then, I know that there are some of my stepbrothers that were raised by my own mother. That was the tradition in the North. I am not sure it is still being practised.

The people I became used to were my grandparents and my aunties. I even lived with my auntie—the senior sister to my mother. And I thought she was my mum up till a certain point. It was much later that I realized that she was only my auntie. Because I have never lived with my mum.
So the person I truly see as my father is my late grandfather, Sanusi Dantata. I learnt a lot from his hard work, from his simplicity. People always talk about my humility but nothing can compare with him. When you see him you would think he doesn’t have anything.

But he used to be one of the richest people in the north.
His humility is the type I have never seen anywhere. He was a very humble person. He never looked down on anybody. He is always a respecter of authority. He always advises us that: No matter what you do, you must always respect the authority of the day. Do not fight government. You must be an obedient person. And that’s something I learnt and took seriously.

I inherited my business skills from my grandfather. They were also business people—the Dantatas. Having come from a rich family doesn’t give you an automatic license to riches. You just have to create your own idea and work hard. I have never seen any Nigerian that has really made money from inheritance. It is very, very difficult. And that is why I would always encourage my own children to work very hard. Especially when it comes to making their own money.
I am not saying that they shouldn’t rely on the fact that yes, they come from a rich home. But sometimes, it can be a great disadvantage. Because there are some certain businesses that you wouldn’t like to do because you name is So and So.

And this has happened to a lot of my relatives who will see a small business where they can make money but they would do it. Instead they my say something like: “My name is Dangote or my name is Dantata, this kind of business is too small, I am not going to get myself involved.”
And once you start having those kind of ideas, it is very difficult for you to make inroads. Because you have to start from somewhere. No business is too small to do. As they say, Rome was not built in a day.

For me, I started small as a trader in cement. Then I left cement around 1978. Because there was this armada and cement was very difficult to get at that time. I had my own money which my grandfather gave me free, but then he gave me also an additional loan of 500,000 naira which was big money in those days. With 500,000 naira in those days, you could buy yourself ten Mercedes Benz cars. Mercedes then was 5,000 naira. I am talking about Nigeria in the year 1978. Volkswagen Beetle was sold for 900 to 1,000 naira. It was a substantial amount of money then. It was a loan that I was supposed to pay whenever I was okay—probably after three years or four years. But I paid the money within six months.

From my grandfather I learnt that it pays to work hard. Hard work is the key to success in life. Once you are ready to work and consistent, you would make money. From my grandfather, I learnt first things first: that hard work should not be mingled with pleasure, with enjoyment. I am not saying people should not relax but too much enjoyment creates distraction for those who want to make it in life. Make the money first. Money is difficult to make but easy to spend. You must love and respect money. If you respect money, you would spend it wisely and not recklessly.

Next week: Legendary Juju superstar Ebenezer Obey speaks about his dad in this column about great achievers and icons of our land.