Billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has agreed to appear on the YouTube show Curiosity Made Me Ask, hosted by Nigerian content creator Adebayo Ridwan, popularly known as Bae U Barbie.
Dangote accepted the invitation on Monday during Bae U’s visit to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos, after the content creator urged him to engage younger Nigerians through platforms they regularly watch.
Bae U said many of the billionaire’s media interviews had been held on platforms that did not appeal to younger audiences, despite their interest in his business and in plans to invest in the company through its proposed initial public offering.
“Most of the interviews we’ve seen you have been on platforms that my generation don’t watch,” Bae U said.
Making it clear that he was not asking Dangote to change his media team, the content creator urged him to make time for an interview on his show.
“I’m not saying you should sack your media team. No, but you know, when you finish,” he said, before asking when the businessman would appear on Curiosity Made Me Ask.
Responding, Dangote acknowledged the importance of reaching younger audiences, describing them as the future of Nigeria and Africa.
“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.
The businessman said older generations needed to share their experiences with younger Nigerians to help them understand the country’s development and learn from the past.
“So we need to sit down with some of you and discuss our own experience with you,” he added.
Dangote also observed that many young Nigerians had limited knowledge of some past political leaders and historical events, citing former President Olusegun Obasanjo as an example.
Bae U interrupted him, saying, “Thanks to me. I gave him the platform, sir,” in an apparent reference to his interview with Obasanjo.
Dangote subsequently agreed that content platforms targeting younger audiences should form part of his media engagements.
“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 also spoke about the support and respect he receives from young people, including during his travels abroad, noting that he often agrees to take photographs with members of the public.
Recalling 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 encounter 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 seek 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 eventually indicated his willingness to appear on Bae U’s show, where the conversation could focus on his business journey and the experiences behind his success.
“We will come,” he said in response to the invitation.
He added that the proposed conversation should allow young people to ask questions about how he built his business and achieved success.
