Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu (born 4 August 1960) is a Nigerian philanthropist and a billionaire businessman. His late father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, was a leading industrialist in Nigeria throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Abdul Samad is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with a $2.5 billion revenue that focuses on manufacturing, infrastructure, and agricultural. In addition, he is the chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI).
Abdul Samad Rabiu: Early Life
Abdul Samad Rabiu was born and raised in Kano, Nigeria’s north-western state. He went to Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, and then returned to Nigeria at the age of 24 to run the family business. This was around the time when his father, Isyaku Rabiu, was detained by General Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for allegedly failing to pay rice import charges.
Abdul Samad Rabiu: Career
Business
BUA International Limited was founded in 1988 by Abdul Samad Rabiu for the primary aim of commodity trading. Rice, edible oil, flour, and iron and steel were all imported by the enterprise.
Delta Steel Company, which was owned by the government, signed a contract with BUA in 1990 to supply raw materials in exchange for finished products. This gave the young company with a much-needed windfall. BUA ventured into steel further, producing billets, importing iron ore, and building additional rolling mills in Nigeria.
Years later, BUA purchased Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the country’s largest edible oil processing company. BUA established two flour milling units in Lagos and Kano in 2005.
By 2008, BUA had broken an eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar business by building the sub-Saharan Africa’s second largest sugar refinery. In 2009, the company acquired a majority position in a publicly traded cement company in Northern Nigeria and began construction on a $900 million cement plant in Edo State, which was completed in early 2015.
Philanthropy
Abdul Samad Rabiu’s humanitarian initiatives are carried out through the BUA Foundation. Among these are the erection of a 7,000-square-meter paediatric unit at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and the Centre for Islamic Studies at Bayero University Kano.
Abdul Samad Rabiu: Family
Abdul Samad’s marriage resulted in four children. Hannatu Musa Musawa, a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was his wife. Khadija Cookie Rabiu, Isyaku Khalifa Rabiu, Junaid Rabiu, and Rukaiya Rania Rabiu are his four children. He has 42 siblings, including IRS Airlines chairman Rabiu Rabiu and Nafiu Rabiu.
Abdul Samad Rabiu: Net Worth
On 7 July 2020, Forbes estimated Rabiu’s wealth to be $3.2 billion, ranking him 716th among the world’s billionaires. In January 2022, he was reported to be Nigeria’s second richest man. He was claimed to be the fifth-richest individual in Africa in April 2022, with a net worth of $6.7 billion. Rabiu was reported to be Africa’s fourth richest man in 2023 with $7 billion.
