Nigerians, ignore misleading posts on Facebook encouraging you to apply for 'Dangote scholarship'

IN SHORT: Several posts on Facebook claim that interested Nigerians can apply for scholarships from the multinational conglomerate Dangote Group. But these should be ignored.

"Dangote scholarship for Nigerians. Apply here," reads a post on Facebook.

The post includes a link to a website where interested users can supposedly apply.

Aliko Dangote heads the Dangote Group, a leading cement producer and West Africa's largest conglomerate, with operations in 17 countries.

Dangote has been named one of Forbes's most powerful men in Africa and Time magazine's most influential people in the world.

He is also the director of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which supports beneficiaries in areas such as health and education.

We found the same claim here and here. (Note: See more instances listed at the end of this report.)

But can Nigerians apply for the "Dangote scholarship" through this link? We checked.

No connection to Dangote

Africa Check clicked on the link in the post and it took us to a website with the headline: "Start your application". It also has a green button that says "APPLY HERE" and lists the application deadline as "July 16th, 2024".

We clicked on the green button and it took us to a blog about different types of Australian work visas and how to apply for them.

We searched the Dangote website and the foundation's social media platforms for any scholarship announcement, but came up empty. The link is an example of engagement bait, whose primary purpose is to artificially increase the visibility of content or pages.

To protect yourself, read our guide to Facebook scams and how to spot them.

The same claim has been made here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.