Abdulsamad Rabiu is no doubt a well heeled man in Nigeria’s business world. Not only does he have his tentacles spread vastly across the various busin
Abdulsamad Rabiu is no doubt a well heeled man in Nigeria’s business world. Not only does he have his tentacles spread vastly across the various business sectors, he is as liquid as they come and is obviously one of the billionaires quietly making fierce moves. From Kano State, Abdulsamad Rabiu who is the chairman of Bank of Industry is also the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a vast conglomerate which is into cement production, sugar refining, rice, port operations and real estate. With his personal wealth valued at over $1bn, it is little wonder that Abdulsamad Rabiu, one of the contenders besides Virgin group and Vodacom, for former troubled Etisalat now known as 9mobile, may likely clinch the deal. If this works out which industry watchers say it will, he would have succeeded in expanding his conglomerate into the telecoms business. Officials of BUA have been in talks with the new management of the telecommunications company to see the possibility of clearing its debt portfolio and nurse it back to good health. Once named by CNBC/All Africa Business Leaders Award as the 2016 ‘Industrialist of the Year’, the avowed philanthropist holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. As at 2013, Forbes estimated his wealth at $1.2 billion, bringing him to the global billionaire’s club. Born into affluence, his father, Isyaku Rabiu was one of the richest and most influential businessmen in the north in the 1970s and 80s, starting out trading in commodities and beverages before venturing into commercial real estate, textiles and commissioning the second largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa. Following his incarceration by the then Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, for rice hoarding, Abdulsamad Rabiu, took over the family business at the age of 24 and made it a global success.
