Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has called on Nigeria to eliminate medical tourism by developing robust local pharmaceutical manufacturing capabilities, emphasizing the need for strategic partnerships to achieve healthcare self-sufficiency.
Speaking at the Gates Foundation’s Goalkeepers event in Lagos on Wednesday, the Chairman of Dangote Group stressed the urgent need for Nigeria to produce its own medications rather than relying on foreign healthcare systems. During the panel discussion, Dangote outlined his vision for a self-reliant Nigerian healthcare sector that would eliminate the need for citizens to seek medical treatment abroad. “What we need to do is to make sure we stop this health tourism and we should now get into start producing our own drugs,” Dangote declared. “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.”
The billionaire industrialist highlighted the importance of ensuring every Nigerian can access quality healthcare within the country’s borders, proposing collaboration with the Gates Foundation as a key strategy for achieving this goal. He pointed to successful previous partnerships between his foundation and the Gates Foundation, particularly in eradicating polio in Nigeria and improving national nutrition programs. Dangote used his remarks to showcase how strategic industrial development has transformed Nigeria’s position in various sectors, demonstrating the potential for similar success in pharmaceuticals. He noted that Nigeria has evolved from being the world’s second-largest cement importer to becoming Africa’s leading cement exporter, illustrating the power of local production capacity.
The industrialist also emphasized agricultural transformation, revealing how his company addressed fertilizer accessibility challenges by constructing 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 stated, highlighting the country’s transition from importer to major exporter in the agricultural inputs sector. Perhaps most significantly, Dangote detailed achievements in the petroleum sector, describing his 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery as an unprecedented accomplishment.
He revealed that in May 2025 alone, the Dangote Refinery exported 400,000 metric tons of petrol, marking a historic shift in Nigeria’s energy independence. According to Dangote, this development has fundamentally ended Nigeria’s dependency on imported petroleum products, as the country no longer requires fuel imports. The refinery’s success represents what he described as something “nobody has ever done before,” positioning Nigeria as a net petroleum exporter rather than an importer.
The call for pharmaceutical self-sufficiency comes amid growing concerns about Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure and the substantial foreign exchange drain caused by
