Dangote explains why he is not worried about having a son

• Aliko Dangote said having a son is not his priority.

• He said God decides everything and people shouldn't force what they haven't been given.

• Dangote added that a son is no guarantee of protecting a family's legacy.

• He praised his three daughters, saying he doesn't believe a son would have done better than they have.

Aliko Dangote has shared a surprisingly honest take on one question many wealthy Nigerian men often get asked, whether he still hopes to have a son to continue his family name.

The billionaire businessman was speaking during an interview with Arise News when journalist Orji Okpe asked him about the long-standing expectation, especially in northern Nigeria, that a man should have a male heir to carry on the family legacy.

Okpe asked: "At this moment, and you know, in Kano's traditional society, there is still an expectation of a male heir to carry the family name and legacy forward. Do you still hope to have a son?"

Dangote's response may have caught many people off guard.

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"That's when I think, you know, it's not my priority. Let me, you know, say it bluntly, it's not really my priority because today as you know, we speak, God controls everything."

He went on to explain that having a son doesn't automatically mean the family's legacy will be protected.

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"And for me, really, you know, sometimes, yeah, you can pray for God to give you a son, but that son might be the one that will take the name of the family down. So sometimes when God doesn't give you something, don't push."

The President of the Dangote Group then praised his daughters, saying he doesn't believe a son would have done any better.

"I don't think the son would have done better than these three daughters that I have."

Dangote's remarks have sparked conversations online, with many Nigerians praising him for challenging the long-held belief that only sons can preserve a family's name or build on its achievements.

The billionaire, who is Africa's richest man, has often kept his family life relatively private, but his latest comments have once again put the spotlight on changing attitudes towards gender roles, inheritance and family expectations in Nigeria.