Aliko Dangote, Chairman of Dangote Group, has called on Nigerians to end medical tourism and focus on producing pharmaceutical drugs locally.
He made this statement during a panel session at the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event, held in Lagos on Wednesday.
The billionaire businessman stressed the importance of ensuring that all Nigerians—including the wealthy—can access quality healthcare within the country. He also emphasized the value of collaborating with Bill Gates and the Gates Foundation to achieve this goal.
“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.
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),” he said.
Dangote reflected on how the Dangote Foundation, in partnership with the Gates Foundation, played a key role in eradicating polio in Nigeria and improving nutrition across the country.
On the business front, he noted that his company has helped transform several sectors of the Nigerian economy. For instance, Nigeria, once the world’s second-largest importer of cement, now exports more cement than any other African nation.
He also pointed out that while farmers once faced challenges accessing fertilizer, he has since built the world’s second-largest fertilizer plant from scratch.
“So, Nigeria now, not only export, we actually export 37% of our fertilizer to the United States of America,” he added.
Turning to petroleum, Dangote said he accomplished what had never been done before by building a 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery. He revealed that in May 2025 alone, the Dangote Refinery exported 400,000 metric tons of petrol.
According to him, this achievement has ended Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel, with the country no longer needing to import petrol.
CREEBHILLS reports that the Goalkeepers event—hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the first time in Lagos—brought together global leaders, policymakers, and changemakers to evaluate progress toward achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Other prominent attendees included Bill Gates; Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, among others.
