Should Dangote look homeward instead?

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has renewed his interest in buying Arsenal Football Club, a team which he also supports.

This shouldn’t be a problem for the billionaire as he is richer than the two largest shareholders of the club, combined. Whether Alisher Usmanov and Stan Kroenke, the club’s largest shareholders, are willing to sell is discussion for another day. Dangote believes he’ll own the club in the future saying he ‘has his strategy’.

If he buys, it’ll almost certainly be a good buy for him as Arsenal is one of the most valuable football teams in the world valued at a massive 1.3 billion dollars. It is also one of the highest revenue generating teams in all of Europe. Very good bargain.

But many criticisms have followed Dangote’s decision to buy the Gunners side. There are the English fans who think Dangote might bring instability to the club since he said Wenger needs to ‘change his style a bit’, especially now that it appears Wenger is a few inches to ‘that squad’. There is also the Nigerian corner; that corner filled with people who believe Dangote should invest “Nigerians’ money” locally.

The truth is, Dangote the Business would definitely invest in Arsenal as there is sure going to be a quicker return on investments. But Dangote the (insert appropriate word) would also invest in the local league (‘also’ because the Arsenal ambition will not be going anywhere).

This is why.

Nothing scores more goals in the local league than corruption, mostly because of the nonchalance that is common with government establishments in Nigeria and little private sector investments. Private sector investments don’t just necessarily mean sponsorship deals, but also private ownerships. The thing is, no businessman wants to lose. This is why the drive to maximise profit will be good for the local league to draw investors.

Back to Dangote.

Let’s put Dangote in a small equation. Lagos is the capital Nigerian capital of sports and entertainment. But sadly, the state team, Stationery Stores FC have struggled for several years now, with its glory days not looking like its making a comeback.

Imagine Dangote takes just a little of his almost 20 billion dollar fortune and invests it in SSFC. He doesn’t even knew to build stadiums. Lagos has enough of that. Imagine what a massive rebranding will have on a Lagos team.

Imagine the competition a big name like Dangote will jumpstart in the Nigerian league. More private investors will seek to invest. The effect will be massive.

Dangote will not only kickstart a revolution in the local league, but he’ll create jobs, enrich Nigerian families, and have his name boldly written in the halls of Nigerian sports history.

His legacy will be everlasting.

One can only hope that as the billionaire thinks of his ambition in faraway England, he also thinks of the legacy he can create here.