Dangote donates ₦550m hostel to FUTO, gifts varsity students ₦25m

*Dangote Industries Limited discloses the ₦550 million students’ hostel when completed, will help to alleviate the shortages of accommodation for students of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Imo State, South-East Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Aliko Dangote, Founder, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), at the weekend, pledged to construct a hostel valued at ₦550 million for the students of the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri, Imo State, South-East Nigeria.

Dangote also donated N25 million to the students of the institution via their Students’ Union Government (SUG).

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The President and CE of Dangote Group was at the institution to deliver a public lecture on Enterprise, Leadership and Service to Humanity.

The Group, in a statement, revealed that the hostel, when completed, would help to alleviate the shortages of accommodation for students of FUTO.

In his presentation, the foremost industrialist encouraged the students with the history of his humble beginning in business as a distributor of bagged cement and other items.

He said that despite making money by trading in commodities, he decided to go embark on a backward integration process, producing locally, those goods he used to import.

Dangote started that importing finished products into Nigeria is equivalent to importing poverty, inflation and unemployment while export of raw materials.

Importation of finished products creates jobs, prosperity and development in the exporting countries, he added.

According to him, the decision to embrace manufacturing is to create jobs and add values to the raw materials that were usually exported.

He said a major key in industrialization is looking inwards, that investors in the industrial sector should come from the citizens.

The President of Dangote Group noted that if he has refused to invest in Nigeria and Africa, no foreign investor will be willing to stake his funds here.

Drawing examples from the Asia, he said, “Asian economies powered by Asians not foreign investment. They are the ones who invested in their countries.

“They did not wait for foreigners to come and develop their economies.’

Turning to the students, he said Nigerian youths are endowed with innovative spirit and could hold their own anywhere around the globe.

He stated that many fresh graduates of engineering who were recruited and trained by Dangote Refinery and Fertiliser have been poached by companies in the Gulf region who treat them as expatriates.

Dangote averred: “We face significant economic and social challenges, but we also sit on enormous opportunity: a young and energetic population, abundant natural resources, and an entrepreneurial spirit that is unmatched across the continent.

“In my own journey through business and industry, entrepreneurship has shown itself to be one of the most powerful tools for transforming challenges into opportunities.”

The foremost industrialist stated: “When young people are equipped with technical skills, mentorship, and access to capital, they do not just seek jobs – they create them.

“They build enterprises that diversify our economy beyond oil, strengthen local industries, and fuel sustainable development.”

He as well challenged the students to be innovative and creative, ready to learn and adapt as to be able to add value to the society.

Drawing examples from China, he told the students that China has the highest number of people in the engineering field, which has made the country the leading centre of manufacturing and industrial development.

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