One of the wise sayings I heard from my dad while growing up was, “The height attained by great men was not achieved in a day, but it was achieved by these men constantly toiling at night while their mates slept.” I read a few articles online about Aliko Dangote’s kind gesture to Archbishop Benson Idahosa in the early 90s.
The account narrated how Aliko, a relatively unknown and young business man at that time, offered his seat to a guest of the Archbishop’s. This was in a fully booked flight departing from Benin to Lagos. The account stated that the Archbishop prayed for Aliko and prophesied into his business. This was a thought-provoking article.
I thought to myself that these are the kind of testimonies my Christian folks would like. Wait a minute, could Aliko Dangote have been the only person that the Archbishop in his lifetime pronounced such great words of blessing over? The answer is NO. So, where are the others?
My point is that it takes more than prayers or prophecies to make a great man or live a great life. It’s called prayer + hard work + smart thinking + good interpersonal skills + ability to unlearn and learn new things = fulfilled dreams
I was on board an Emirates flight from Dubai to Lagos awhile back, and Alhaji Aliko Dangote was boarding the same flight. I walked up to him to exchange pleasantries and had a brief chat before boarding.
I headed for the economy section while he made way to the first class cabin. Some four hours into the flight, virtually everyone in the economy section was either sleeping or watching a movie.
I took a walk to the back of the cabin to have a cup of coffee and I ran into a popular Nigerian musician and we got talking. I mentioned to her that Aliko Dangote was on the same flight. She asked if I could take her to his cabin to say hello. I agreed and we walked down the aisle towards the first class section.
Behold, Alhaji Aliko was alone in that cabin, his study light was on, and he had reports, study articles and books right on his table. He was so engrossed in his reading that he didn’t realize we were behind him.
He looked up in surprise and then smiled. We went on to have a beautiful conversation.
This was thought-provoking. The billionaire was alone and engrossed in his work and study while those in the economy class were either fast asleep or engaged with in-flight entertainment.