The bewilderment of Bill Gates

Pictures from the wedding of Dangote’s daughter on March 24 show the global wunderkind of technology staring in wonder and amazement. Check the photos available online and in the papers. He is bemused and transfixed.

It was evident that Mr Gates had not attended a high-profile Lagos party before then. Nigerian parties, in particular, the Lagos ones, are notorious for the scale of lavish expenditure as the elite compete to outdo themselves in splendour and ostentation. From all indications, the wedding dinner of Jamiu Abubakar and Fatima Dangote stood out for its flamboyance.

The wedding followed the Nigerian script. There were many events, but the ones in Kano for the traditional observances, being the actual wedding, and in Lagos for a commemorative dinner, stood out. Nigerians often have a three or four-stage event to mark weddings.

The Dangote/Abubakar wedding, therefore, was exceptional only in respect of the personalities behind the scene and the trappings that attended it. Twenty-two private jets reportedly landed in Kano for that leg of the event.

Even as it was remarkable for its splendour, Nigerians will excuse the Dangote/Abubakar families. As far as anyone can tell, there was no trace of public funds in the celebration. The only thing you can hold against it would be the excessive displays. Not like the one involving two governors that have played in two locations in Nigeria.

Parties in Nigeria are networking platforms. Bank CEOS and fund managers happily volunteered at this event. Parties are our equivalent of the dinners and golf events of the Western world that are also significant splashes. The “Lagos parties” are our networking platforms for the flourishing of business interaction. Even the frugal Mr Dangote attends many of them for this reason.

Part of Mr Gates’ bewilderment must, therefore, be on the scale of the party and the profile of the father of the bride. Bill Gates seemed entirely taken aback. The excesses of that wedding were not in tandem with the Dangote persona.

All accounts and narratives of Mr Dangote show a frugal, and even parsimonious entrepreneur not given to the proclivity of the Nigerian elite for offensive display of wealth.

Mr Dangote is the poster boy of Nigerian entrepreneurship. He represents all the right values. He is visionary, has the capacity for execution and does not dwell on the little matters that so engage the Nigerian elite. Not for Dangote any notion of excess about issues such as celebrations. Even as he has private jets and can call them up at the whiff of desire, Aliko Dangote is famous for taking commercial flights.

That event had in attendance no fewer than 20 billionaires. There were the captains of industry and the chieftains of politics. The quantum of funds at the behest of guests at that wedding could take care of malaria in West Africa, not just Nigeria, and add polio to it.

Just the previous day, Mr Gates told the truth to power in our seat of power. He wanted a greater focus on human capital development issues of health and education rather than the physical capital ones. He believes that the right policy choices by the political class would lift Nigeria.

Gates is like his friend Aliko. One profile describes him thus: “Bill Gates is an economical man. He does not waste money, although he is as rich as Croesus, and nor does he waste words.” Bill Gates and Aliko Dangote are collaborating in the fight against malnutrition in Nigeria with a commitment of $100m and a target date of 2020.

Bill Gates is now even more famous for spending his money on good causes than he is for founding Microsoft. At least to the poor of the world. He just recently wrote off Nigeria’s indebtedness of $76m to Japan. He has committed considerable sums to the fight against malaria in Nigeria and other countries. The father of Jennifer and Rory John agrees to descriptions of him as a geek, “when geek means that you're willing to study things, and if you think science and engineering matter, then I plead guilty, gladly. Also, I kinda hang around with people who are like that. In our work, numbers give you the sense of scale, and then you meet the individual mothers and children and farmers. So yes, it's good. If your culture doesn't like geeks, you are in real trouble."

Clearly, in the worldview of Bill Gates, we need more geeks. Sitting there at the high-profile dinner were many of Nigeria’s wealthy who could quickly pay off the $76m debt to Japan that Bill Gates picked for our country. Or the millions on malaria eradication.  May his example force the Nigerian rich to think philanthropy.