At the Gates Foundation’s “Goalkeepers” summit held in Lagos on Wednesday, Nigerian billionaire and industrialist Aliko Dangote made a passionate call for the country to curtail its dependence on overseas medical treatment and begin manufacturing its own pharmaceuticals.
Speaking during a panel session, the Chairman of the Dangote Group emphasized the importance of creating a healthcare system in Nigeria that serves both the wealthy and the poor alike, stressing the value of collaboration with global partners.
“What we need to do is to make sure we stop this health tourism and we should now get in to start producing our own drugs,” Dangote stated.
He continued, “We should now make sure that when we are sick, we don’t have to travel abroad, all of us, but we need to do a partnership with Bill (Gates).”
Dangote underscored how partnerships with the Gates Foundation have already yielded significant health outcomes in the country, most notably in the eradication of polio and improved nutritional standards through the Dangote Foundation.
Turning to the business side of his contributions, Dangote detailed how his conglomerate has helped reverse Nigeria’s status as a net importer in key industries. “Nigeria used to be the second largest importer of cement in the world,” he said, “but now we export cement more than any other African country.”
He also spoke of his company’s role in agricultural development, particularly in fertilizer access. According to Dangote, his firm’s investment in a massive fertilizer facility is already paying off. “So, Nigeria now, not only export, we actually export 37% of our fertilizer to the United States of America,” he revealed.
In the petroleum sector, Dangote touted the unprecedented impact of his 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery project, claiming it has reshaped the country’s energy landscape. “In the month of May 2025 alone, the Dangote Refinery exported 400,000 metric tons of petrol,” he noted, asserting that Nigeria no longer relies on petrol imports.
This year’s Goalkeepers event, hosted in Lagos for the first time by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, gathered a distinguished audience of global influencers, development experts, and government officials to evaluate progress on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Among those in attendance were Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya.
