Emerging Influence of African Billionaires in The Political Economy of States Across Africa: A Case Study of Aliko Dangote In Nigeria And Tanzania

The first African billionaire to appear on Forbes magazine, a globally renowned American business magazine that annually ranks billionaires across the globe, was South Africa’s Patrice Motsepe in 2008. Since then, the number of African billionaires according to Forbes Magazine has increased to 18 as of 2022. Aliko Dangote appeared on the magazine in 2010 and has held the position as the richest person in Africa consecutively since then. The rise in number of wealthy people, especially billionaires, directly and indirectly influences economic as well as political trajectory in countries. Aliko Dangote’s conglomerate has managed to invest in up to 10 African countries, Nigeria and Tanzania being key among them. His investments have resulted in job creation, market creation and expansion, revenue generation and policy influence etc. Thus, the level of influence billionaire Aliko Dangote exerts in the political economy of these countries is gaining momentum by the decade. The research project was guided by three key objectives which were; to analyze the extent to which political connection enhanced the emergence of billionaire Aliko Dangote in Nigeria and Tanzania as well as to underscore Aliko Dangote’s economic elitism in relation to his influence on the political economy of Nigeria and Tanzania. Lastly the research seeked to understand the extent to which the emergence of presence of billionaire Aliko Dangote in Nigeria and Tanzania influences the economic growth of the countries. Through the employment of both primary and secondary data collection methods, primarily through interviews as well as reports, journal article and books, the research identified patterns of symbiosis and influence between Aliko Dangote and the political economy of Nigeria and Tanzania. The research analyzed the data collected through content analysis, narrative analysis as well as triangulation to analyze the findings of the data collected. The findings reveal a number of factors that show Aliko Dangote's influence on the political economy of Nigeria and Tanzania. The factors range from political cronyism, economic elitism, billionaire philanthropy as well as the relations Dangote has with different incumbent heads of states of Nigeria and Tanzania.