Nigeria Is Capable of Surmounting Its Security Challenges – Aliko Dangote
A renowned Nigerian International Businessman, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Group Of Companies, Alhaji Aliko Dangote stated that Nigeria as a nation is capable of surmounting its various security challenges through strategic vision oriented leadership. Dangote made the remarks while fielding questions from journalists after delivering a lecture titled; Strategic Leadership: My Business Experiences to participants of Course 27, National Defence College Nigeria.
He further remarked that, ‘’the whole thing about strategic leadership is that one must have a vision, you have to have the resources and the structure to deliver. There is nothing you can deliver without proper structure, so with proper planning we can surmount the challenges. Nothing is too difficult in this life to be sorted out’’. Commenting on the need for bigger companies to assist in bringing up the smaller ones, Dangote explained that his company is participating in commercial rice farming; the outfit teaches individuals appropriate way of farming and marketing of their farm products. In addition, he disclosed that they provide the individual farmers with seedlings. “The bigger companies have roles to play in bringing up the smaller ones”, he added.
Dangote granting interview after his lectures
While delivering the lecture, he observed that strategic leadership is very relevant in every aspect of life not just in business management and governance. Dangote further observed that great ideas and potentials are bound in Africa but lack proper implementation. However, he revealed that epileptic power supply and inconsistency in government were also impediments to management of manufacturing companies in Africa. ‘’It is only in Ethiopia and South Africa that we completely rely on their national electric power supply to power our manufacturing companies’’, Dangote revealed.
He further explained that Dangote Group of Companies had successfully grown into conglomerate through diversification in its products. He then hailed the Federal Government of Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari for signing an Executive Order on road construction by indigenous and foreign companies operating in Nigeria. ‘’If there is no appropriate road network how can we be able to get our end products to the markets?’’, he asked.
Relatively, the Commandant of the College, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo expressed his appreciation to the renowned business man for finding time to be in the College. He asserted that all those who were present at the venue of the lecture actually learnt more than enough to enable them survive in the Course as well as in their respective endeavours. However, he disclosed that from the various researches conducted by the College most of the nation’s security challenges were linked to mismanagement of the youth population.
