It was ultimate Sallah celebration at eventide on Sunday June 25 when billionaire Aliko Dangote invited some of his wealthy friends to join him aboard his luxury yacht to a sumptuous feast to mark the end of Ramadan. From visuals of the lavish party leaked to the public, apparently it was a gathering of big boys including Femi Otedola, Donald Duke, Segun Awolowo, Tunde Ayeni, Niyi Adebayo and Sam Nwajoku.
These billionaires spent the evening sipping choice drinks aboard the floating pleasure palace specially built for the Africa’s richest man and christened Mariya. As they sailed across Lagos waters, obviously devoid of the debauchery accustomed to some of the Western world oligarchs, the ‘big boys’ animatedly munched assorted meats and canapés, amidst probably light-hearted jokes, ideas on how to further expand their business frontiers and make much more money.
As it is often said; rich people have a soft spot in their hearts for expensive luxury items, Dangote is not an exception. Just as his auto garage is said to boast of different models of luxurycars like Mercedes Benz, Maybach, Bugatti and Bentley, Dangote’s medium-sized lovely sailing boat is quite impressive. Acquired in 2013 and equipped with modern gadgets and amenities, the yacht when not sailing, always moored to the pier on the coastline by Walter Carrington Crescent, Victoria Island, facing Lagos Boat Club in Ikoyi, Lagos. Floating next to Dangote’s yacht was an almost identical super yacht christened Nana, belonging to the Kano-born business mogul’s close friend and billionaire, Femi Otedola.