One is primarily a preacher; the other is a business mogul. One is an incorrigible unrepentant Christian; the other a faithful Muslim. One is a blunt, no-nonsense personality; the other is a discreet and reserved individual. But they are both entrepreneurs. They are visionaries. They have made their impact on the Nigerian society. They cannot be ignored in the scheme of things. They both wield enormous influence on practically every sphere of our national life in Nigeria.
Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo is the founder and presiding bishop of Living Faith Church World Wide, also known as Winners Chapel, which has its headquarters, a 5,000-acre (20 km2) land called Canaanland, in Ota Ogun State, Nigeria. The church dedicated a 50, 000 capacity auditorium, Faith Tabernacle, in 1999 and has established about 100 educational institutions based on Christian principles across Nigeria and the African Continent from primary to tertiary levels. Bishop Oyedepo, born in 1954, was in 2011 named by Forbes magazine as the richest pastor in Nigeria.
Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the Founder/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, a conglomerate which started in 1977 as a small trading firm with a loan from his uncle. Today, his business interests cut across food processing, cement manufacturing, freight, telecommunications, etc. Dangote, who was born in 1957 and whose conglomerate is the largest industrial group in Nigeria, is ranked by Forbes Magazine as the richest man in Africa and the 43rd richest person in the world.
What do these two individuals have in common? Maybe the questions to ask is can these two very dissimilar individuals possess anything in common? My answer is in the affirmative. Yes they can and indeed they do have some things in common. Let’s check out some of the similarities between a bishop and an alhaji. Continue reading “Trailblazing Nigerians, Bishop David Oyedepo and Alhaji Aliko Dangote: Two Sides of the Same Coin?”
