Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu (was born 4 August 1960) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. His late father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, was one of Nigeria's foremost industrialists in the 1970s and 1980s. Abdul Samad is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate concentrating on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture and producing a revenue in excess of $2.5 billion. He is also the chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI). On 7 July 2020, ''Forbes'' estimated Rabiu's wealth at $3.2 billion, putting him 716th in the global billionaire's club. In January 2022, he was reported to be the second richest man in Nigeria. In April 2022 he was reported to be the fifth-richest man in Africa, with a net worth of $6.7 billion.

Early life

Abdul Samad Rabiu was born and raised in Kano in the north-western part of

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

. He attended

Capital University Capital University (Capital, Cap, or CU) is a private university in Bexley, Ohio. Capital was founded as the Theological Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Ohio in 1830, and later was associated with that synod's successor, the Ame ...

in Columbus,

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

and returned to

at the age of 24 to oversee the family business. This was when his father Isyaku Rabiu was being detained by the administration of General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 A ...

for allegedly not paying rice import duties.

Business

Abdul Samad Rabiu established BUA International Limited in 1988 for the sole purpose of commodity trading. The company imported rice, edible oil, flour, and iron and steel. In 1990, the government, which owned Delta Steel Company, contracted with BUA to supply its raw materials in exchange for finished products. This provided a much-needed windfall for the young company. BUA expanded further into steel, producing

billets A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alt ...

, importing iron ore, and constructing multiple

rolling mill In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property. The concept is sim ...

s in Nigeria. Years later, BUA acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in

. In 2005 BUA started two flour-milling plants, in

Lagos Lagos ( Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 f ...

and in Kano. By 2008, BUA had broken an eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar industry by commissioning the second-largest

sugar refinery A sugar refinery is a refinery which processes raw sugar from cane or beets into white refined sugar. Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, which is sugar that still contains molasses, giving it more colour (and impurities) than the ...

in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2009 the company went on to acquire a controlling stake in a publicly-listed Cement Company in Northern Nigeria and began to construct a $900 million cement plant in Edo State, completing it in early 2015.

Philanthropy

Abdul Samad Rabiu uses the BUA Foundation for his philanthropic activities. These include the construction of a 7,000-square-meter paediatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and the construction of the Centre for Islamic Studies at

Bayero University Kano The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in ...

amongst several others.

Personal life

Abdul Samad is married with children: Isyaku Rabiu, Junaid Rabiu, Rukaiya Rania Rabiu and Khadijah Rabiu. He has 42 siblings including Nafiu Rabiu and Rabiu Rabiu, the chairman of IRS Airlines.

Award

In October 2022, a Nigerian national honour of

Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours where the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal Rep ...

(CFR) was conferred on him by President

. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabiu, AbdulSamad 1960 births Living people Nigerian billionaires People from Kano Capital University alumni 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople People from Kano State Businesspeople from Kano