Dangote Accepts Isbae U’s Podcast Invitation, and Nigerians Are Already Asking Which Question Will Be Number One

Good news: the richest man in Africa is coming to your timeline. Bad news: so is everyone’s opinion about what he should be asked.

Aliko Dangote has reportedly accepted Isbae U’s invitation to her podcast. Yes, the man himself. The cement, the sugar, the refinery, the thing your uncle brings up at every family gathering. He is coming to sit on a podcast chair, with a microphone, in front of a camera.

Let us appreciate how big this is. In Nigeria, a podcast invitation is usually accepted by someone you’ve never heard of, who then talks for three hours about “hustle culture.” But this time, the guest is a man whose name is on bags of cement across the country. Half of Lagos is built on his product. The other half is built on the hope that the first half will not fall.

Now, the real question is: what will be asked? Already, the internet has formed committees. Everyone has a question. Some want to know how to become a billionaire. Some want to ask about petrol prices. Some want to ask about the price of sugar, which is a very personal matter for anyone who takes tea. Others simply want to ask if he can lend them five hundred thousand “just for a small business.”

Take Tunde, a man I invented but whom you definitely know. Tunde has already written his dream questions on a napkin: “Sir, what is your secret?” “Sir, do you sleep?” and “Sir, is it true that you can see a bag of cement and know its mood?” He says he will watch the entire episode twice, and pause every ten seconds to nod like he already knew.

Supporters will say it is great to see business leaders on popular platforms. We need more of that. It gives young people a chance to learn from someone who has actually done it, not just posted about it. And critics will say that a podcast is only as good as its questions, and the guest should not be handled with soft cushions. Both are correct, but only one of them has a cushion in the studio.

And let us not forget the pressure on the host. She now carries the hopes of an entire country. If she asks the wrong question, a million people will comment under the video. If she asks the right one, a million people will say they would have asked it better.

Meanwhile, the clip makers are sharpening their tools. By tomorrow, one sentence will be a thumbnail, a caption, a debate, and a T-shirt.

Anyway, we wish everyone a wonderful episode. May the audio be clear, may the questions be sharp, and may someone finally ask what is in the briefcase.