Nigerians Call Out Dangote Over Japanese Millionaire’s Gift

5 Min Read
Katsuya Takasu dropped $390,000 (N152.1 mln) for Super Eagles

The richest African in the World, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has beeen called out by his fellow countrymen after a millionaire Japanese doctor donated $390,000 to the Nigerian national team for winning bronze in the ongoing Rio 2016 Olympics.

The bronze medals represent the highest achievement of Nigerian sportsmen at this edition of the Olympics and many pundits and Nigerians across the world are blaming it on the ineptitude of the Nigerian government.

Soccer (football) is the biggest sport in many African countries, and Nigeria is no exception. It’s Super Eagles team which won the 1994 Olympics in Atlanta was so poorly funded and so disorganized that an American airline had to bail the players out as they became stranded in Atlanta when government officials refused to pay for their charter to Rio.

Minister of Sports, Comrade Solomon Dalung
Minister of Sports, Comrade Solomon Dalung

A senior cabinet official in the President Muhammad Buhari administration, Comrade Solomon Dalung, made a famous gaffe stating, ‘the welfare of the players was inconsequential as they were not doing the United States of Nigeria a favour by traveling abroad’.
The blunder made 48 hours to the Olympics opening ceremony quickly went viral on social media, drawing the ire of Nigerians and causing Dalung to block his Twitter handle.

All this hoopla coupled with Nigeria’s winning 5-4 performance against the Japanese national team gained the favour of a Japanese plastic surgeon and millionaire, Katsuya Takasu, who today has redeemed his pledge and presented $390,000 to
Nigerian athletes.

Some Nigerians took to the world’s most popular social media site, Facebook, to call out Africa’s biggest industrialist, Aliko Dangote over the donation.

Business magnate man Aliko Dangote, ranked by Forbes Magazine as the richest man in Africa, speaks during a send off ceremony of 250 Nigerian health workers on a mission to fight Ebola virus in affected West African countries and launch of African initiative operating under the hash tag #AfricaAgainstEbola in Lagos on December 3, 2014. Two hundred and fifty volunteer Nigerian medical corps under the auspices of the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA)  were given a send off to fight Ebola Virus Diseases in the affected three West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The African Union, which is collaborating with the private sector to raise funds to support and strengthen the Unions response to the crises, is sending more than 1000 health workers before Christmas. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI        (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)
Business magnate man Aliko Dangote, ranked by Forbes Magazine as the richest man in Africa, speaks during a send off ceremony of 250 Nigerian health workers on a mission to fight Ebola virus in affected West African countries and launch of African initiative operating under the hash tag #AfricaAgainstEbola in Lagos on December 3, 2014. Two hundred and fifty volunteer Nigerian medical corps under the auspices of the African Union Support to Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) were given a send off to fight Ebola Virus Diseases in the affected three West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The African Union, which is collaborating with the private sector to raise funds to support and strengthen the Unions response to the crises, is sending more than 1000 health workers before Christmas. AFP PHOTO/PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (Photo credit should read PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images)

Ebuka Paulson said, “This man is not even richer than dangote, but he is willing to give out, to support young talents.
We have richest man in Africa and others yet our sports suffers because of lack of fund. Our athletes are poorly fed,
and attained to. Tomorrow now he will say he want to buy arsenal. Why not start from home before out side.”

Chinwe Tony replied “Blame the government bro, Dangote is not the minister of sports. Am no fan of Dangote, but I think he have no hand in this mess.”

Chibuike Pat Ezeabasili angrily responded, “Why must you blame dangote? Do you know the amount of arms he gives daily? … number of people on his payroll? .. I hate this kind of talk, dangote won’t kill himself for Nigerians.
It’s obligation of the government at the top to see that we participated adequately and funded.”

Stenlli Makiastenlli Chibyk disagreed, stating, in a post laden with misspellings and grammatical errors, “if Dangote have money, he would have cover up players without them been exposed by the media,
how much was hotel that he cant pay ? how much was flight that he cant take care of from US to Brazil, how much is feeding that he cant give to atlete and food is cheap even he will get his money back from govt than letting a young player like mikel to cater for hotel expenses and feeding ,supposing he wasnt there ? menhh,
Dangote doesnt have money at all,..”

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