Nigeria’s wealthiest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has called for an end to medical tourism and urged the country to begin producing pharmaceuticals locally to reduce dependence on foreign healthcare systems.
The Chairman of Dangote Group made these remarks during the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event in Lagos on Wednesday, emphasising the need for all Nigerians, regardless of economic status, to receive quality medical treatment within the country’s borders.
“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 said whilst speaking during a panel discussion at the event.
“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 partnership with Bill (Gates).”
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The billionaire industrialist highlighted the importance of collaborating with Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his foundation to achieve these healthcare objectives. He pointed to previous successful partnerships between the Dangote Foundation and the Gates Foundation, which helped eliminate polio in Nigeria and significantly improved nutrition programmes across the country.
Beyond healthcare, Dangote outlined how his business empire has fundamentally transformed several sectors of Nigeria’s economy, reversing the country’s historical dependence on imports.
In the cement industry, Nigeria has undergone a remarkable transformation. The country previously ranked as the world’s second-largest cement importer but now exports more cement than any other African nation, thanks to Dangote’s extensive cement manufacturing operations.
The fertiliser sector has experienced similar success. Where Nigerian farmers once struggled to access essential fertilisers, Dangote has constructed what he describes as the world’s second-largest fertiliser plant.
“So, Nigeria now, not only export, we actually export 37% of our fertiliser to the United States of America,” he said.
Perhaps most significantly, Dangote has achieved what he claims no one has accomplished before in Nigeria’s petroleum sector by constructing a 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery. This massive facility represents a watershed moment for Nigeria’s oil industry.
The impact has been immediate and substantial. In May 2025 alone, the Dangote Refinery exported 400,000 metric tonnes of petrol. According to Dangote, Nigeria no longer imports petrol.
