Philanthropy a “great thing”, Bill Gates tells Nigeria’s wealthy

Bill Gates has suggested more partnerships with Nigeria’s wealthy are needed to sustain interventions in the country instead of having high net worth individuals stash money abroad.

In a teleconference with Daily Trust to mark the release of the latest Annual Letter, Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and principal founder of Microsoft addressed questions about giving over his wealth to charity causes and having Nigeria’s billionaires do same.

“We need lots and lots of partners, particularly if they understand the local issues and how the government works locally,” he told Daily Trust.

“They have credibility and understanding that we just don’t have. And so we’d love to have more partnerships like we have with Mr. [Aliko] Dangote.”

The Gates Foundation and the Dangote Foundation have committed funds to help at least three northern states shore up immunisation programmes.