Dangote Hails Ooni’s Intervention In Clearing Shrines For Refinery Construction

Billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote, has publicly expressed his gratitude to the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, for facilitating the establishment of his factories.

Speaking at an event on Thursday, Dangote recounted how upon acquiring land for his factories, the site contained more than 19 shrines, which initially prevented development.

“I think I must recognise and thank the Ooni of Ife for making us able to go in and build our factories. What happened was that when we got in there, there were over 19 shrines at the site, and nobody was able to even go near them to do anything.

“Ooni went there, he went there personally, he stood right there and said, remove all of them, anything that they wanted, let the gods come and talk to me,” Dangote said.

He added, “Your Royal Majesty, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, because without the simpler acts of yours, I don’t think we would have actually been able to do this, and it’s not a coincidence. So thank you very much.”

He made the remarks at the launch of his Foundation’s ₦100bn Annual Education Support Fund, which he described as the largest private-sector education intervention in Nigeria’s history and one projected to impact 1.3 million students over the next decade.

Dangote called the initiative “a defining moment” for the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and “a significant turning point for education in Nigeria.”