Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man and President, Dangote Group, has said that for job to be created in the north and in Nigeria the country need peace and that ‘if you want to be safe, you have to contribute your own quota to be safe.’
This came as he warned the media to know the kind of news that is published because nobody would invest in countries plagued by violence.
Dangote said these at a meeting with the media and civil society organisations, which had in attendance the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III; The Metropolitan Archbishop Emeritus, Abuja Catholic Diocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; Ekiti State Governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi; Plateau State Governor and Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong; religious leaders, the service chiefs, business moguls etc.
He said security is everybody’s business and that ‘it doesn’t come cheap.’
He went on to say that businessmen and women cannot do any business without security as he lamented if there is no peace there was no way that businessmen and women can create jobs.
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‘We need peace for jobs to be created and I think it is our collective responsibility to make sure that the environment is right. A couple of media people believe that only bad news sells and we need to be very careful.” he said
On what the media are publishing as news he said no county where people just keep propagating bad news throughout.
He said: “The question of security is everybody’s business. Even us, today, we cannot do any business without security and that is why the private sector promised to put in N100 billion to support the police in terms of security. If there is no money, no matter how much you push them, they will not be able to move.
“Take the issue of Kagara (in Niger State) where they kidnapped the school children; there were only eight policemen in a big local government like Kagara. So, these are the issues.
“There is no way we would have jobs without peace. We need peace for jobs to be created and I think it is our collective responsibility to make sure that the environment is right. A couple of media people believe that only bad news sells and we need to be very careful.
“I don’t see any county where people just keep propagating bad news throughout. Security is the job for everybody right from the security man at the gate. So, we need to report any suspicious activities.
“One thing I can assure you of is that this committee, led by our chairman, will do its best to make sure that we escalate this suggestion to the highest authority. If you want to be safe, you have to contribute your own quota to be safe. It doesn’t come that cheap.”
