Multi-billionaire businessman, musician, songwriter and Philanthropist Paul David Hewson popularly known as Bono and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, visited a camp of 2.3 million displaced people in Borno State, in Nigeria’s northeast region over the weekend.
The governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima, accompanied Dangote and the Irish rock star on the trip. They were in Maiduguri on Sunday on behalf of One Foundation to access the need of the IDPs in the state with the aimed of finding international donor foundations to bring solace to them.
The One Foundation is a charitable organisation which provides professional support and financial assistance to individuals, teams, non-profitable organisations and community based project.
Bono told the IDPs “I came here together with Alhaji Aliko Dangote. He doesn’t shack with microphones but his in quite tongues, his actions are more louder than his words. He is a hero of mine and so is your Governor. I have met so many politicians in my life as a musician; Presidents, Governors and Finance Ministers but I have never met a politician with mercy for his people like Kashim Shettima”
“It is just a full time job taking care of this crisis mixing it with that basic job of government, I don’t know how he does it but he does it so well” Bono said.
“I have been to so many capitals of the world, I have been to Abuja, I have been Lagos, I have been New York, I have been London, I have been to Paris but I have never seen beautiful faces like yours. Your faces are so bright” Bono told the IDPs.
“In Nigeria they say the great resource is the land or the oil but the truth is that the greatest recources are the women” Bono insisted.
On Monday, Bono and Dangote met with Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa to explore the possibilities of a global partnership to address the humanitarian crisis in North-eastern part of the country through international advocacy.
President of Dangote Foundation, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, in his address to the IDPs called on the them to pray for the Governor and the government of the state.
“I hope you are praying for the Governor and the state because taking care of about 2 million people is not easy. He tried alot and I saw his efforts that was why we said we are not going sit aside to watch him but we said let us join him and assist you together.
“We came here together with Bono to enable him see things for himself and tell the outside world what he saw so that everybody could bring assistance in order to make sure that your lives is not restricted to food alone but also for us change your lives to be like ours.
“We want you to live a life of your own so that you could leave in your houses, send your children to school, buy food for yourselves and by the grace of God some of your children will be richer than us.
“We will not leave you alone and we will make sure we prepare a very good life for” Aliko Dangote stated.
In the past, Dangote has made a number of donations to refugee camps in Borno, which is the state that has been hardest hit by the Boko Haram insurgency. In May, he announced a $10 million donation to the IDPs. He also sent more than 100 trucks of food items that were distributed to the camps during the Ramadan festivities.
Earlier in his welcome address, Borno state Governor, Hon. Kashim Shettima thank Dangote and Bono and their teams for their empathy and support to the people of Borno.
“We wish to more sincerely thank Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the empathy and support he has been showing to the people of Borno over the years. In every Ramadan season he was sending food stuff worth hundreds of millions for the people of Borno. In the last Ramadan season he sent assorted food products of about 230 trucks and his last intervention was Four hundred million Naira to the beleaguered less endowed people of Borno” Shettima stated.
“The icing on the cake was the two billion Naira that Dangote Foundation magnanimously donated to people of Borno for our reconstruction work. We have started constructing the Dangote Village along Bama road and we want him to go and see the food of his contribution” Shettima stressed.
“Dangote and Bono came here despite the security risk and challenges to empathise with us. For his enormous contribution to Borno, we have decided to rename Baga Road as Aliko Dangote road to show appreciation to him. This is the list we can do to immortalise his good works” Shettima further added.
