The President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has unveiled what he called an 11-point industrialization blueprint for Nigeria.
Delivering the 38th Convocation Lecture of the Bayero University Kano at the weekend, Dangote said the 11-point master plan would be driven by a knowledge-based system.
He also promised that the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) would this year complete the State- of–the- Art medical intervention projects at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, Kano.
Dangote, who was represented at the event by his Senior Advisor, Engr. Mansur Ahmed, spoke on the “Role of the private sector in building a sustainable knowledge economy in Nigeria.”
He said the transition from resource-based, production-focused economies to knowledge economies is a complex and multifaceted process.
According to him, the key pillars of a knowledge-based economy needed for the transformation of the Nigerian economy, includes: investment in education, research and development, technological advancements, entrepreneurship and innovation culture, and human capital development.
Others he said include: infrastructural development and policy framework that support innovations, international collaboration, adaptation and flexibility, conducive environment, and the shifting of the economic structure towards knowledge intensive sectors.
He called for a ‘marriage’ between those in academics and the entrepreneurs, to pave way to what he described as “acadepreneurs,” where scholars and researchers provide the necessary knowledge for the entrepreneurs to thrive.
He urged the government to formulate and implement strategic policies that support the knowledge economy. This he said would include policies promoting education, research, technology adoption, innovation, and sustainable practices.
Meanwhile, Dangote informed his audience that the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) would complete the State- of–the- Art medical intervention projects at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital.
The interventions include: A Surgical and Diagnostic Center, Laboratory, Maternity Ward and Accident Ward, located within the premises of the hospital.
He gave assurances that the long awaited health intervention project would be ready in months.
He said the delay was due to massive expansion carried out, and changes made to the original plan.
“The project has quadrupled, so has the cost. That means we had to go back to the drawing board,” he told newsmen in Kano.
He also attributed the delay to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which delayed activities around the globe.
He thanked the Kano people for their patience, adding that going forward, there are many other areas of interventions earmarked for Kano by the company.
It would be recalled that Dangote had donated a N1. 2 billion modern business school edifice to Bayero University. Between 2012 till date, he has spent about N10 billion on several intervention projects in the State.
Within the period, he empowered 256,500 women across six Northern States with N2.5 billion while N1.2 billion has been spent on provision of free meals to the general public. Through his foundation, he funded the pilot test of seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Kano by Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI).