Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, has started giving out one million bags of rice worth more than N13 billion to people in need all over Nigeria through his Humanitarian Foundation.
The organization is also providing meals for a minimum of 10,000 Muslims who are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan in Kano State.
A press release penned by Samira Sanusi, an executive at the foundation in Kano, announced that the organization intends to disseminate one million bags of rice – valued at over N13 billion – throughout the 36 states of the federation and Abuja as a measure to alleviate the hardships faced in the nation.
Mrs. Sanusi mentioned that the act of kindness was provided on top of the regular distribution of 20,000 loaves of bread to residents in Kano and 15,000 to residents in Lagos, a program that was initiated by the foundation in 2020
Mrs Sanusi detailed that the complimentary meals provided during Ramadan encompass a variety of dishes such as jollof rice, plain rice with stew, jollof spaghetti, yam, and beans accompanied by chicken and beef. Each meal package also includes a bottle of water and a beverage for individual consumption.
She mentioned that the meals are handed out at Juma’at mosques, on streets, in prisons, orphanages, remand homes, and various locations within Kano City and the surrounding areas.
Apart from initiating the free bread distribution program four years ago, Mrs. Sanusi revealed that Mr. Dangote has been discreetly providing food assistance to the less fortunate in Kano for more than three decades.
According to her, this was carried out from his mother’s home in Koki and from different cooking venues.
“This feeding programme feeds 10,000 Kano residents daily with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, a unique feat that has been in existence for over 30 years,” she said.
