Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote’s first order of business if he succeeds in buying English Premier League soccer club Arsenal will be to fire the manager, Arsene Wenger.Dangote, Africa’s richest man with a net worth of$11.1 billion, has coveted the team since becoming a supporter in the mid-1980s, he said in an interview.He’ll consider making an offer once the construction of an $11 billion oil refinery in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, is completed toward the end of the decade.“The first thing I would change is the coach,” Dangote said. “He has done a good job, but someone else should also try his luck.”Wenger is Europe’s longest-serving manager. Since hisappointment to the London-based club in 1996, he’s won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup trophies. In May, he agreed to a new two-year deal, ending months of speculation over his future prompted by his team’s indifferent form last season.Arsenal failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, Europe’s premier tournament, for the first time in 20 years.Arsenal’s biggest shareholder is American billionaire Stan Kroenke, who controls almost67 percentof the company. Earlier this year, Russian billionaireAlisher Usmanov,who already holds a30 percentstake, sought to buy out Kroenke in an offer that valued Arsenal at as much as 2 billion pounds($2.6 billion).Dangote, 60, doubts he’d have trouble persuading Kroenke and Usmanov to sell.“If they get the right offer, I’m sure they would walk away,” he said. “Someone will give them an offer that will make them seriously consider walking away. And when we finish the refinery, I think we will be in a position to do that.”“It’s a great team, well-run. It could be run better, so I will be there,” he said. “I will wait. Even if things change I will take it.”
If there was a list of upcoming Nigerian music legends being prepared, it is certain that Olamide and Phyno will be on that list. By their exploits in the Nigerian music industry, both musicians have done more to encourage a ‘concert going culture’ among Nigerians than any other entertainers in the country. Phyno’s Phynofest music festival is currently in its third year and the 2017 edition saw the musician sell out the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu. Olamide’s OLIC (Olamide Live in Concert) is currently in its fourth year and the 2017 edition was also special because it was the first time Baddo was attempting to fill up the Teslim Balogun Stadium venue of the event. Although some say both musicians are only taking a page out South African rapper Cassper Nyovest’s book by holding shows at stadiums, one cannot help but commend them for their attempts. In this article, NAIJ.com will point out the major differences in both Olamide’s s...
Comments