ivandragon:
hmm...
i know am going to get skewered for what am about to post, but last time I checked, there was still 'some' freedom of speech. so...

I think we miss the context within which GEJ made that statement.

Dangote has a lot of investments in Nigeria. so he can be termed a 'homegrown' billionaire & I think that's something worthy of note (if your brother is the richest man in your LG, but with your help, he becomes the richest man in your state, wont you 'brag' about it?) if the investment clime was very unfavourable, he certainly won't have increased his wealth in such leaps & bounds.

countries around the world celebrate their homegrown billionaires & a rise or drop in value of those people is often (not always) an indication of how an economy is doing.

furthermore, Dangote is not a 'software' billionaire (billionaires without solid infrastructures ala Microsoft), his investments are 'solid' & as such heavily dependent on government policies.

Context or not. Jonathan did not make Dangote. IBB and OBJ did. The guy had already cornered the sugar market in Nigeria when Jonathan was still teaching A level students in RSCAS.

OrlandoOwoh:
This is one of the silly statements being made by this man that makes any right-thinking person conclude that he is not fit to head even an LGA. He once said the increase in the number of private jets showed the economy was growing. How does rich men owning private put food on poor man's table?

this wonder me too...

we want all 180million nigerians to be atleast doing well,,,not only 6 people extremly rich....

how is that going to epp the rest poor civilians?

Adminisher:


Context or not. Jonathan did not make Dangote. IBB and OBJ did. The guy had already cornered the sugar market in Nigeria when Jonathan was still teaching A level students in RSCAS.

No. GEJ certainly did not make Dangote a rich man.

but he certainly 'made' him the richest man in Africa.

its all about the enabling environment. if unfavourable policies were in place, there is no way Dangote would have expanded as much as he did.

like I said, Dangote's investments are heavily dependent on government policies. it can affect him to varying degrees.