Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has agreed to appear on “Curiosity Made Me Ask,” the YouTube interview show hosted by content creator Bae U Barbie, after the comedian publicly pressed him to talk to a younger audience.
Bae U Barbie, whose real name is Adebayo Ridwan, posted a video Monday inviting Africa’s richest man onto the program. He said most of Dangote’s past interviews ran on platforms his generation does not watch, even though many young Nigerians are interested in investing in the businessman’s companies and their planned share sales. “I’m not saying you should sack your media team,” he said. “No, but you know, when you finish.” He then asked when Dangote would come on.
Dangote said yes. “Honestly, the future that we have is actually you, the youth,” he said. “We, our own generation, really, we have not really done very well for Nigeria and also for Africa.” He said older Nigerians should sit down with young people and share their experience, adding, “Going forward, this sort of audience is the audience that we, somebody like me, should actually face.” He closed the exchange with a short promise: “We will come.”
Dangote said he wants the session to be open, so participants can ask how he built his business and reached his position. No recording or release date has been announced.
The exchange also took in the host’s claim to have opened doors for older figures. When Dangote suggested young people may know former President Olusegun Obasanjo mainly because he returned to power, Bae U Barbie cut in with, “Thanks to me. I gave him the platform, sir.” Obasanjo appeared on the show in a Sept. 19 episode and was its first former Nigerian president, according to QED.NG.
Dangote also addressed a social media photo and his remarks about divine blessings. “I wasn’t begging for anything,” he said. “What I was saying, I was just saying that, God, you have overblessed me.” He recalled asking prominent people for photographs in Washington as a young man with his late grandfather, which he said is why he usually agrees when people ask to take pictures with him. In remarks reported by Naija News, he also said “anybody can be anybody” and urged people to stay simple regardless of success.
“Curiosity Made Me Ask” is modeled on Zach Galifianakis’ “Between Two Ferns,” according to QED.NG. Past guests have included Pete Edochie, Teni and Ramsey Nouah. A Dangote episode would mark a shift for a program that has leaned toward entertainment figures.
The timing is notable. The Dangote Petroleum Refinery opened its initial public offering on Sept. 14, offering 4.1 billion shares at 525 naira each, with subscriptions scheduled to run until Oct. 13, according to allAfrica. Dangote said at the launch that his group would list every company it operates.
The reports reviewed do not say where Dangote responded to the invitation, and none gave a date for the interview.
