Each time they say Dangote started with five hundred thousand Naira (N500,000) I shake my head and tell myself if only they knew what that worth then.
So many religeous leaders and motivational speakers go about with all their unrealistic 'spirikoko' teachings. But at the point in time, I have decided to carefully enlighten you a bit.
When Dangote started with N500,000 at that time, the price of a standard and best Mercedes Benz was less than N5000, Dangote confirmed that himself. So he could have bought 100 cars to be an Auto Dealer, instead he settled for trucks.
Dangote as a firm was founded in 1981. In 1981, a Dollar equivalent to Naira was NGN0.61 (61kobo)
[REFERENCE: Wikipedia - Naira Historical Value]
Imagine what Dangote was worth if he got N500,000 to kick start his business at that period.
Today, a Dollar equivalent to Naira is set at NGN197 (197 Naira). If we multiply N500,000 by 197, we'll have N98,500,000 (98.5Million Naira)
Now you see why I shake my head and wonder why people keep preaching about Dangote been from Rags to Riches when he was actually born into a wealthy Muslim family in 1957.
[REFERENCE: Wikipedia - Aliko Dangote]
Who on earth will lend out 98.5million to today's young enterpreneur? So Teachers, Financial Coaches, Motivational Speakers and Religeous leaders should not try convince (confuse would even be more appropriate) us with what they don't understand. Make your findings and do your research carefully before you start misinforming your audience.
Thank you!
Written by:
Lasisi Olatunbosun