Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has accepted an invitation from Nigerian content creator Adebayo Ridwan, popularly known as Bae U Barbie, to appear on his YouTube programme, Curiosity Made Me Ask.
Dangote accepted the invitation on Monday during the content creator’s visit to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, where Bae U urged the industrialist to engage more with younger Nigerians through platforms they regularly watch.
The comedian noted that many of Dangote’s media appearances had been on platforms that might not appeal to younger audiences, despite growing interest among young Nigerians in his business and its planned 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 explained that young Nigerians were interested in investing in Dangote’s company and wanted him to reach a broader audience through his show.
“I’m not saying you should sack your media team. No, but you know, when you finish,” he said before asking when Dangote would appear on the programme.
Responding, 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,” the businessman said.
He stressed the importance of conversations between older and younger Nigerians, saying such engagements could help pass on lessons and experiences relevant to the country’s development.
“So we need to sit down with some of you and discuss our own experience with you,” he added.
Dangote also observed that younger Nigerians might have limited knowledge of some of the country’s past political leaders and historical experiences.
He cited former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an example, suggesting that younger people might be more familiar with him because of his return to power.
Bae U interrupted, saying, “Thanks to me. I gave him the platform, sir,” apparently referring to his own interview with the former president.
Dangote agreed that younger audiences were an important group for him to engage, adding that he was willing to participate in conversations tailored to their interests.
“So really, you are right. Going forward, this sort of audience is the audience that we, somebody like me, should actually face,” he said.
The businessman also spoke about the support and respect he receives from young Nigerians, including during his travels abroad.
He recalled that people around him sometimes tried to stop members of the public from taking photographs with him, but said he preferred to accommodate their requests.
Dangote explained that an experience from his youth, when he and his grandfather met prominent personalities in Washington and asked to take photographs with them, influenced his attitude towards people who approach him today.
He also dismissed suggestions that a photograph of him shared on social media was an attempt to ask 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 open to an informal conversation with younger Nigerians, where they could ask questions about his business journey and how he achieved success.
“We will come,” he said, accepting Bae U’s invitation to appear on Curiosity Made Me Ask.
