sukkot:
not by any chance. the richest man in the world is evelyn rotschild. worth 500 trillion dollars and owns almost all the worlds gold reserve. here is a picture of the man and his trillion dollar gold bars

PierreDeFermat:
Harry Akande who fell off by entering politics,they just collected all his money and he was almost crying in 2003 and that's why Dangote doesn't want to go into politics,Nigeria is not America where Donald Trump's massive wealth remains intact even after becoming president,Harry Akande's son is now married to Dakore Egbuson,Harry Akande used to supply 24/7 electricity to the whole District his mother's mansion he built for her is in Ibadan.
His excellency Oluwo Deinde Fernandez,he used to water his farm with helicopters,he was also a grandmaster of Ogboni confraternity till his death,he had yacht,island in USA and was involved in one of the biggest divorce settlement ever in UK.
MKO Abiola in the 90's,MKO was ruined by politics,Abacha destroyed his wealth and made sure he turn him to a poor man before he dies.

PierreDeFermat:
very true,even 3 people have attested to it here on nairaland,see the posts I was mentioned here and you'll see their comments

naptu2:
Part 1

Alhaji Alhassan Dantata (Aliko Dangote's great grandfather)

(1877-Aug 17th 1955). The wealthiest man in West Africa.





Alhaji Alhassan Dantata was a Nigerian businessman who was the wealthiest man in West Africa at the time of his death.



Ancestors and Heritage

Dantata's father was Abdullahi, a man from the village of Danshayi, near Kano. Dantata was born in Bebeji in 1877, one of several children of Abdullahi and his wife, both of whom were traders and caravan leaders.

Bebeji was on the Kano to Gonja (now in northern Ghana) and Kano to Lagos routes. The people of Bebeji, at least those from the Zango (campsite) were great traders. Bebeji was considered a miniature Kano. There was a saying which went “If Kano has 10 kolas, Bebeji has 20 halves" or in Hausa: "Birni tana da goro goma, ke Bebeji kina da bari 20". The town attracted many people of different backgrounds in the 19th century, such as the Yorubas, Nupes, Agalawas, etc. It was controlled by the Sarki (chief) of Bebeji who was responsible for the protection of Kano from attack from the southwest.



Alhassan was born into an Agalawa trading family. His father was a wealthy trader and caravan leader; Madugu Abdullahi while his mother was also a trader of importance in her own right enjoying the title of Maduga - Amarya. Abdullahi, in his turn, was a son of another prosperous merchant, Baba Talatin. It was he who brought
the family from Katsina, probably at the beginning of the nineteenth century, following the death of his father, Ali.

Abdullahi already had a reputation of some wealth from his ventures with his father and therefore inherited his father’s position as a recognized and respected madugu. Like his father, he preferred the Nupe and Gonja routes. He specialized in the exchange of Kano dyed cloth, cattle, slaves and so on for the kola of the Akan forest. Surprisingly, he had added cowries brought to the coast by European traders to the items he carried back to Kano.



Abdullahi continued to operate from Madobi until 1877, one of our few fixed dates when having just set out for a journey to Gonja, his wife delivered in the Zango (campsite) of Bebeji. The child was a boy and after the usual seven days, he was named Alhassan. Abdullahi purchased a house in the town and left his nursing wife and child to await his return from Gonja. On his return, he decided to abandon Madobi and moved to Bebeji. Some say that the house that contains his tomb is still held by the family. The date of his death is unknown, but it was probably about 1885 when Alhassan was between seven and eight years of age. By then he had brothers and sisters – Shuaibu, Malam Jaji, Malam Bala, Malam Sidi and others.







Early life

The children were too young to succeed to their father’s position and to manage his considerable wealth. They all received their portion according to Islamic law. Maduga Amarya, like her mother in law, was a trader of wealth in her own right. Indeed she was known to be such a forceful character that nobody in the Zango would take her to wife. She therefore decided to leave the children in Bebeji, in the care of an old slave woman, while she moved to Accra where she became one of the wealthier Hausa traders.



The slave was known as "Tata" from which circumstance young Alhassan became known as Alhassan Dantata because of her role as his ‘mother’ (" Dantata" means "son of Tata”).

Alhassan was sent to a Qur'anic school (madrasah) in Bebeji and as his share of his father’s wealth (as so often happens), seemed to have vanished, he had to support himself. The life of the almajiri (Qur’anic student) is difficult, as he has to find food and clothing for himself and also for his malam (teacher) and at the same time read. Some simply beg while others seek paid work. Alhassan worked and even succeeded at the insistence of Tata in saving. His asusu, “money box” (a pottery vessel) purchased by Tata and set in the wall of the house can still be seen.



When he was about 15 years of age, Alhassan joined a Gonja bound caravan to see his mother. He purchased some items from Bebeji, sold half of them on the way and the rest in Accra. When he saw his mother, he was very delighted hoping she would allow him to live without doing any work since she was one of the wealthier local traders. After only a rest of one day, she took him to another malam and asked him to stay there until he was ready to return to Kano and he worked harder in Accra than he did in Bebeji. After the usual reading of the Qur’an, Alhassan Dantata had to go and beg for food for his malam, and himself. When he worked for money on Thursdays and Fridays, Alhassan Dantata would not be allowed to spend the money for himself alone, his malam always took the lion’s share (this is normal in Hausa society). After the visit, his mother sent him back to Bebeji where he continued his studies. Even though now a teenager, Tata continued to insist that he must save something everyday.





Upheavals and slavery

When he was still a teenager, great upheavals occurred in the Kano Emirate. This included the Kano Civil War (1893-1894) and the British invasion of the emirate. During the Kano Civil war, Alhassan and his brothers were captured and sold as slaves, but they were able to buy back their freedom and return to Bebeji shortly afterwards.



Business career

Alhassan remained in Bebeji until matters had settled down and the roads were secure, only then did he set out for Accra, by way of Ibadan and Lagos (Ikko) and then by sea to Accra and then to Kumasi, Sekondi and back to Lagos. Alhassan was one of the pioneers of this route. For several years, he carried his kola by sea, using steamers; to Lagos where he usually sold it to Kano bound merchants. By this time, he was relatively wealthy. In 1906, he began broadening his interests by trading in beads, necklaces, European cloth, etc. His mother, who had never remarried, died in Accra around 1908 and he thereafter generally restricted his operations to Lagos and Kano, although he continued to visit Accra.





Thus far in his career, with most of his fellow long distance traders, he continued to live in one of the towns some distance from Kano City, only visiting the Birni for business purposes. Before Alhassan settled in Kano permanently, he visited Kano City only occasionally to either purchase or sell his wares. He did not own a house there, but was satisfied with the accommodation given to him by his patoma (land lord.). It was during the time of the first British appointed Emir of Kano; Abbas (1903-1919) that Alhassan decided to establish a home in Kano. He purchased his first house in the Sarari area (an extension of Koki). At that time there were no houses from the house of Baban Jaki (at the end of Koki) up to Kofar Mazugal. In fact the area was called Sarari because it was empty and nobody wanted that land. Alhassan built his first house on that land and was able thereafter to extend it freely.





In 1912, when the Europeans started to show an interest in the export of groundnut, they contacted the already established Kano merchants through the Emir, Abbas and their chief agent, Adamu Jakada. Some established merchants of Kano like Umaru Sharubutu, Maikano Agogo and others were approached and accepted the offer.



Later in 1918, Alhassan was approached by the Niger Company to help purchase groundnuts for them. He was already familiar with the manner by which people made fortunes by buying cocoa for Europeans in the Gold Coast. He responded and participated in the enterprise with enthusiasm, he had several advantages over other Kano business men: he could speak some English because of his contact with the people on the coast, thus he could negotiate more directly with the European traders for better prices. He also had accumulated a large capital and unlike other established Kano merchants, had only a small family to maintain, as he was still a relatively young man. Alhassan had excellent financial management, was frugal and unostentatious. He knew some accounting and with the help of Alhaji Garba Maisikeli, his financial controller for 38 years, every kobo was accounted for every day. Not only that, Alhassan was hard working and always around to provide personal supervision of his workers. As soon as he entered the groundnut purchasing business, he came to dominate the field. In fact by 1922 he became the wealthiest businessman in Kano. Umaru Sharubutu and Maikano Agogo were relegated to the second and the third positions respectively. When the British Bank of West Africa was opened in Kano in 1929, he became the first Kano businessman to utilize a bank account when he deposited twenty camel loads of silver coins. Shortly before his death, he pointed to sixty “groundnut pyramids” in Kano and said, “These are all mine”.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/662843_groundnut20pyramid20in20Kano_jpg1b0466682a28d5540b045cf903b2bc1a




Alhassan became the chief produce buyer especially of groundnuts for the Niger Company (later U.A.C). It is said that he used to purchase about half of all the nuts purchased by U.A.C in northern Nigeria. Because of this, he applied for a license to purchase and export groundnuts in 1940 just like the U.A.C. However, because of the great depression and the war situation, it was not granted. Even Saul Raccah lost his license to export and import about this time because he did not belong to the Association of West African Merchants. In 1953-4 he became a licensed buying agent (L.B.A) that is, a buyer who sells direct to the marketing board instead of to another firm. However, Alhassan had many business connections both in Nigeria and in other West African countries, particularly the Gold Coast. He dealt, not only in groundnuts, but also in other merchandise. He traded in cattle, kola, cloth, beads, precious stones, grains, rope and other things. His role in the purchase of kola nuts from forest areas of Nigeria for sale in the North was so great, that eventually whole “kola trains” from the Western Region were filled with his nuts alone.



When Alhassan finally settled in Kano, he maintained agents, mainly his relations, in other places. For instance Alhaji Bala, his brother, was sent to Lagos. Alhassan employed people, mainly Igbos and Yoruba's and the indigenous Hausas, as wage earners. They worked as clerks, drivers, and labourers. Some of his employees, especially the Hausas, stayed in his house. He was responsible for their marriage expenses. They did not pay rent and in fact, were regarded as members of his extended family. He sometimes provided official houses to some of his workers.



People’s opinion of Alhassan Dantata differed. To some people, he was a mutumin kirki (complete gentleman) who was highly disciplined and made money through hard work and honesty. He always served as an enemy to, or a breaker of hoarding. For instance, he would purchase items, especially grains, during the harvest time, when it was abundant at low prices. He would wait until the rainy season, (July or august) when there was limited supply in the markets or when grain merchants started to inflate prices. He then moved to fill the markets with his surplus grains and asked a price lower than the current price in the markets by between 50 – 70%. In this way, he forced down prices. His anti- hoarding activities did not stop at grains and other consumer goods, but even to such items as faifai, igiya, babarma (Mat), dyed cloth, shuni, potash, and so on. However on the other hand, according to information collected in Koki, Dala, Qul-qul, Madabo, Yan Maruci e.t.c Alhassan was viewed as a mugun mutum (wicked person). This was because some people expressed the view that Dantata undercut their prices simply to cripple his fellow merchants.



He founded, with other merchants (attajirai), the Kano Citizens’ Trading Company, for industrial undertakings. In 1949, he contributed property valued at ₤10,200 (ten thousand, two hundred pounds) to the proposed Kano citizens trading company for the establishment of the first indigenous textile mill in Northern Nigeria. Near the end of his life he was appointed a director of the Railway Corporation.





Real estate

He started to acquire urban land as early as 1917 in the non- European trading site (Syrian quarters) when he acquired two plots at an annual fee of ₤20. All his houses were occupied by his own people; relations, sons, servants, workers and so on. He never built a hotel for whatever purpose in his life and advised his children to do like wise. His numerous large warehouses in and around Kano metropolis were not for rent, rather he kept his own wares in them.





Business with women

Because of his Islamic beliefs, Alhassan never transacted business with a woman of whatever age. His wife, Hajiya Umma Zaria, (mother of Aminu) was his chief agent among the women folk. The women did not have to visit her house. She established agents all over Kano city and visited them in turn. When she visited her agents, it was the duty of the agents to ask what the women in the ward wanted. Amina Umma Zaria would then leave the items for them. All her agents were old married women and she warned her agents to desist from conducting business with newly wedded girls. Umma Zaria dealt in the smallest household items, which would cost 2.5 d to sophisticated jewels worth thousands of pounds.





The manners of Alhassan Dantata

Though Alhassan became the wealthiest man in the British West African colonies, he lived a simple life. He fed on the same foodstuffs as any other individual, such as tuwon dawa da furar gero. He dressed simply in a white gown, a pair of white trousers (da itori), and underwear (yar ciki), a pair of ordinary local sandals, and sewn white cap, white turban and occasionally a malfa (local hat). He was said never to own more than three sets of personal clothing at a time. He never stayed inside his house all day and was always out doing something. He moved about among his workers joking with them, encouraging and occasionally giving a helping hand. He ate his meal outside and always with his senior workers like Garba Maisikeli and Alhaji Mustapha Adakawa. Alhassan met fully established wealthy Kano merchants when he moved to Kano from the Kauye, like Maikano Agogo, Umaru Sharubutu, Salga and so on. He lived with them peacefully and always respected them. Occasionally he visited the senior of them all Umaru Sharubutu to greet him. The eldest son of Umaru Sharubutu became an important employee in his commercial enterprise. He avoided clashes with other influential people in Kano. He hated court litigation. He was in court only once, but before the final judgment the case was settled outside a Lagos court (it was a ₤10,000 civil suit instituted by one Haruna against him). He lived peacefully with the local authorities. Whenever he offended the authorities he would go quietly to solve the problems with the official concerned.





Health

Alhassan enjoyed good health and was never totally indisposed throughout his active life. However, occasionally he might develop malaria fever and whenever he was sick, he would go to the S.I.M clinic for treatment. Because of his simple eating habits, ordinary Hausa food two or three times a day and his always active mode of life, he never developed obesity. He remained slim and strong throughout his life. Alhassan had no physical defects and enjoyed good eye sight.





Religion

Alhassan was a devout Muslim. He was one of the first northerners to visit Mecca via England by mail boat in the early 1920’s. He loved reading the Qur’an and Hadith. He had a personal mosque in his house and established a qur’anic school for his children. He maintained a full time Islamic scholar called Alhaji Abubakar (father of Malam Lawan Kalarawi, a renowned Kano public preacher).

He paid zakkat annually according to Islamic injunction and gave alms to the poor every Friday. He belonged to the Qadiriyya brotherhood.





Pilgrimage and presentation to the King

Soon after the First World War he went on the pilgrimage to Mecca, via Britain, where he was presented to King George V.



Education

Alhassan Dantata respected people with qur’anic and other branches of Islamic learning, and helped them occasionally. He established a qur’anic school for his children and other people of the neighbourhood. He insisted that all his children must be well educated in the Islamic way. He appreciated also, functional western education, just enough to transact business (some arithmetic, simple accounting, Hausa reading and writing and spoken English).

Alhassan backed the establishment of a western style school in the Dala area for Hausas (i.e. non-Fulani) traders’ children in the 1930’s. The existence of a school in Bebeji (the only non-district headquarters in Kano to have one in the 1930’s) was probably due to his influence, although he could neither read nor write English. Alhassan could write beautiful Ajami, but could not speak or write Arabic, although he could read the Qur’an and other religious books with ease (this is very common in Hausa society). Most of the qur’anic reciter's could read very well, but could not understand Arabic. Alhassan Dantata knew some arithmetic-addition and subtraction and could use a ready reckoner. He also encouraged his children to learn enough western education to transact business, the need of his time. He established his own Arabic and English school in 1944, Dantata Arabic and English school.



Politics

He never became a politician in the true sense of the term. However, because of his enormous wealth, he was always very close to the government. He had to be in both the colonial government’s good books and maintain a position very close to the emirs of Kano. He was nominated to represent commoners in the reformed local administration of Kano and in 1950 was made a councillor in the emir’s council- the first non- royal individual to have a seat at the council. Other members of the council then were: Madakin Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, Walin Kano, Malam Abubakar Tsangaya, Sarkin Shanu, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani, Wazirin Kano Alhaji Abubakar, Makaman Kano Alhaji Bello Alhaji Usman Gwarzo, and the leader Alhaji Abdulllahi Bayero. Alhassan therefore was a member of the highest governing body of Kano in his time. He was also appointed to mediate between NEPU and NPC in Kano in 1954 together with Mallam Nasiru Kabara and other members. He joined no political party, but it is clear that he sympathised with the NPC.

Death

In 1955, Alhassan fell ill and because of the seriousness of the illness, he summoned his chief financial controller, Garba Maisikeli and his children. He told them that his days were approaching their end and advised them to live together. He was particularly concerned about the company he had established (Alhassan Dantata & Son’s). He asked them not to allow the company to collapse. He implored them to continue to marry within the family as much as possible. He urged them to avoid clashes with other wealthy Kano merchants. They should take care of their relatives, especially the poor among them. Three days later he passed away in his sleep on Wednesday 17th august, 1955. He was buried the same day in his house in Sarari ward, Kano. When he died in August 1955, he was the wealthiest man of any race in West Africa.

Heirs

It was and is rare for business organizations to survive the death of their founders in Hausa society. Hausa tradition is full of stories of former successful business families who later lost everything. In Kano city alone names like: Kundila of Makwarari, the wealthiest man at the end of nineteenth century, Maikano Agogo of Koki Ward, Umaru Sharubutu also of Koki Ward, Baban Jaji, Abdu Sarki of Zaitawa Ward, Madugu Indo of Adakawa, and others too numerous to mention here, were some of them. The question is, why this sorry state of affairs?

M.G Smith suggested that three reasons were responsible as follows: the amount of money spent by the wealthy Hausa man on religious and social obligations was so great that only large fortunes could survive. Secondly, he was, after the introduction of the colonial economy, dependent for credit facilities on good relations with expatriate firms and stable groups of reliable agents and thirdly, under Islamic law, his estate was subdivided on inheritance.

He further suggested that only Alhassan of Kano was likely to leave able heirs to continue his business in a grand way. This observation was made in 1949 before Alhassan’s death. The reas]ns for this, Smith argued, was that his heirs were interested in keeping the family name going and the employment of modern methods of book keeping, the only local merchant to do so at that time. Another observer, Tahir (1919-75) has the opinion that business ventures in Hausa society often collapsed upon the death or retirement of the founder because the heirs were not trained before the death or retirement of the founder. Alhassan Dantata’s entire estate was subdivided according to Islamic law among the eighteen children who survived him. Alhassan’s descendants include Dr Aminu Dantata (son), Sanusi Dantata (son), Abdulkadir Sanusi Dantata (grandson), Dr Mariya Sanusi Dangote (granddaughter), Alhaji Aliko Dangote (great-grandson), Alhaji Tajudeen Aminu Dantata (great-grandson) and Alhaji Sayyu Dantata (great-great grandson).

www.nairaland.com/attachments/663490_Alhassan20Dantata202_jpgba058dc06f92c7405a9a5016e7579980

deanoffaculty:

The person is not even a Man but a woman....in person of DEZIANI ALLISON MADUEKE. Her mata don taya EFCC sef D;

sukkot:
not by any chance. the richest man in the world is evelyn rotschild. worth 500 trillion dollars and owns almost all the worlds gold reserve. here is a picture of the man and his trillion dollar gold bars

veraponpo:


Please show proofs that Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was the wealthiest in his time.

Not hearsay, please. We are not arguing, because it has been busted here on many occasions that he was rich but not the wealthiest, thereby puncturing the balloon of that big line of words.

PierreDeFermat:
Sir Rothschild wasn't a trillionaire. the only trillionaire is probably Musa of Malo

Freethought:


Chai!! People can translate for africa

mu2sa2:
It is difficult to say when Dangote emerged as Nigeria's richest man. There were many pretenders and noisemakers who did not really have solid investments unlike Dangote who has virtually all his wealth in factories spread across 14 countries and still counting.He is also now venturing into oil refinery. Believe it or not, the man himself says he doesn't save cash - he keeps investing in solid assets. These investments will continue to grow almost indefinitely and the name Dangote may never disappear from world's billionaires list.

Ishilove:

Is this true or urban legend?

Naptu2

sukkot:
every dollar that exists on this planet belongs to that man. they own the federal reserve that prints the USA dollars. the man controls all the banks in the world. nobody is richer than the rotschilds. they downplay their wealth because if the whole world knows that one family owns half of the whole worlds wealth their would be anarchy and anger. but like i said, every dollar in this world including the one in dangotes pocket belongs to the rotschilds


and on a side note. who the fork is musa of malo ?

naptu2:


Mansa Musa of the Mali Empire. Reputed to be the richest man that ever lived.

sukkot:
every dollar that exists on this planet belongs to that man. they own the federal reserve that prints the USA dollars. the man controls all the banks in the world. nobody is richer than the rotschilds. they downplay their wealth because if the whole world knows that one family owns half of the whole worlds wealth their would be anarchy and anger. but like i said, every dollar in this world including the one in dangotes pocket belongs to the rotschilds


and on a side note. who the fork is musa of malo ?

PierreDeFermat:
Musa of Mali is the richest man of all times. he existed more than 600 years ago

sukkot:
not by any chance. the richest man in the world is evelyn rotschild. worth 500 trillion dollars and owns almost all the worlds gold reserve. here is a picture of the man and his trillion dollar gold bars

naptu2:
Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu Ojukwu, KBE, (1909-1966)

www.nairaland.com/attachments/665662_sir20louis20Odumegwu20Ojukwu_jpga1a9a825590a3332a276a024eba34cc7

Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was an extremely successful Nigerian businessman and politician from the Ojukwu family of Nwakanwa Quarters Obiuno Umudim Nnewi south east of Onitsha in modern Anambra State. One of the most illustrious citizens of Nigeria, he had remarkable success as a businessman and also rendered distinguished public service in several fields. He was also associated with several philanthropic and cultural organisations to which he made generous material and tacit contributions.

He was born in 1909 in Nnewi and attended a primary school in Asaba and the Hope Waddell Institute. After formal schooling he joined the Produce Inspection Service as produce examiner in 1928 and later worked as a clerk with the large West African trading company of John Holt. It was here that the self made man who later became one of Nigeria’s foremost business tycoons and a multi-millionaire developed his business interest. He incorporated a textile company in Onitsha to supplement his income during this period, already exhibiting a little bit of his entrepreneurial spirit. While at John Holt, he noticed the severe strain a lack of adequate transportation had on Eastern textile traders He resigned from John Holt in 1934 to start a transport business with one second-hand truck that later grew into a vast transport enterprise. As a transporter he was a tireless worker and meticulous to detail; he was usually the first to inspect his transport vehicles for oil and leakages. His transport company (Ojukwu"s Transport Company) was the first major transport company to move the easterners to Lagos from the Asaba end of the Niger river after they might have crossed over from Onitsha on a boat.

He entered politics in 1951 as a member of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) which included him in the delegation to the London Constitutional Conference in 1951. Four years later Odumegwu Ojukwu was elected to the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos, but resigned in 1956 to become chairman of the Eastern Region Development Corporation.

Apart from his work ethic, his success was also oiled by the economic boom after World War II, working with the West African Railway Company and the newly inaugurated produce boards, he provided his fleet for commodity transportation and for other traders use. During the 1950s, he diversified his interest, bought some industries and invested heavily in the real estate sector.

His success, drive and ability led him to a host of other business appointments as chairman of the Eastern Nigerian Marketing Board, chairman of the Nigerian Shipping Line, chairman of the Nigerian Cement Company, first and founding President of The Nigerian Stock Exchange and director of a number of business concerns including Shell-BP. He was also a member of the board of Nigerian Coal Corporation. His last public engagement was as chairman of the Eastern Nigeria Marketing Board. He resigned from this position and also from office as chairman of the African Continental Bank, in May 1966 as a result of ill health.

His own company, founded on the Ojukwu Transport Company in 1934, had at the time of his death in 1966 spread its activities into construction and other areas, growing into a multi-million-naira group and employing thousands of workers.

In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal; he was knighted in 1960. In 1963 the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law, becoming the first to be so honoured by that university. He died on September 13th 1966 at Nkalagu in his home state, at the age of 57.

Ojukwu’s death came a few months after the first Nigerian civilian government was ended by a military coup d’etat which saw his son, Lieutenant-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, ascend to office as Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria. Lieutenant-Colonel Ojukwu later declared the region, which he renamed Biafra, independent of the Federation of Nigeria, but secession was ended after a three-year bitter civil war in 1970.

sukkot:
nigga we speaking today not 600 years ago. try to stay focused on topic

naptu2:
Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun (1926-78 )

www.nairaland.com/attachments/665710_Henry20Oloyede20Fajemirokun_jpg4f1e0948fd6612b26d9cd16681e20699


Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun was a prominent Nigerian businessman and one of the country's dynamic indigenous entrepreneurs who promoted West Africa's economic integration.

He was born in Ile-Oluji in Ondo State, Nigeria on July 14 1926. Between 1932 and 1936 he attended St Peter’s School in his birthplace and later St Luke’s School in Oke-Igbo, from 1937 to 1940. He had his secondary education at C.M.S Grammar School, Lagos and Ondo Boys’ High School.

In April 1944, Fajemirokun enlisted in the old Royal West African Frontier Force and in 1945 served with the 2nd Echelon at Jhansi GHQ in India. After army service in 1946, he pursued an accountancy career, joining the post and telecommunications division of the colonial civil service. He was elected president of the Post and Telecommunications Ex-servicemen’s Union in 1948 and later became president-general of the Nigerian Civil Service Union until 1956, when he left to start a business career, which at the time of his death in March 1978 spanned a whole spectrum of ventures from insurance and engineering to shipping, centred around Henry Stephens and Sons.

He started business in the 1950s by exporting hides and skin, rubber, coffee and shea nuts. In the 1960s he started a massive importation of cement from Egypt and Poland. He received funding for this particular venture from a credit facility that had been provided to him by a British bank in London. He also ventured into commodity brokerage and in 1969 he bought and held a seat on the London Stock Exchange.

Later in the decade, as the chairman and largest shareholder of the Henry Stephens group of companies, he became a major shareholder in some leading companies in Nigeria. Following a decision to withdraw the wealth of the country from foreign nationals that was taken in 1972, an “indigenisation” decree was promulgated by the Federal Government. Henry Stephens capitalized on the euphoria of the contemporary nationalism of the period and acquired or represented major foreign operations in the country. It became the sole distributor for Xerox after the Daily Times, a company Fajemirokun had failed to acquire a stake in, left negotiations. Henry Stephens also acquired stakes in Johnson Wax and Fan Milk. The company was a pioneer in the Nigerian maritime industry and was one of the first Nigerian companies to own an interest in a shipping line

In 1970 he was appointed president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; in 1972 he became president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Mines; the same year he was elected the first president of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce, followed in 1974 with the vice presidency of the Federation of Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce. Henry Fajemirokun was one of the two co-presidents of the Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce and also a member of the Board of Governors of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce.


Henry Fajemirokun was not only a successful businessman; he was also a respected man in Nigeria. In 1968, in appreciation of his own contributions to the development of his province, the Jegun of Ile-Oluji conferred the chieftaincy title of Yegbato of Ile-Oluji on him. In 1971 he was given the title of Asiwaju of Okeigbo and the University of Ife conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. A few days before his death – in Abidjan, while leading a trade mission to the Ivory Coast – he presented a cheque for N 15,000 to help build a town hall in Ile-Ife.

stabilizer:



Maybe he posted that from dream, I'm sure he will modify the post when he wake up. No vex

stabilizer:


You don start again abi? That's the family's joint wealth and he's only worth $20 billion but he actually spread its wealth among his family but all that could be attached to him is $20b

imustsaymymindo:
Mike Adenuga was once richer than Dangote.

You must have heard of Fernadez, he even entered the world list not just naija.

Harry Akande was once 6th richest man in the world and richest man in Nigeria at a time if my memory is still correct.

naptu2:
Part 2

Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Alhassan Dantata

www.nairaland.com/attachments/660164_Aminu20Dantata_giff33170ebf4f970c6a70bb8e00f7145dd
(May 1931-)

(Aliko Dangote’s granduncle)

Dr Aminu Alhassan Dantata (CON) is a wealthy Nigerian businessman and philanthropist from Kano.

Dr Aminu Dantata was born in Kano to legendary businessman Alhassan Dantata and Amina Umma Zaria. He began his career in 1949 as a produce buyer in the family business of Alhassan Dantata and Sons Limited. After the death of his brother, Ahmadu Dantata, he became the principal heir to the Dantata family business. He became the Chairman and Managing Director of the company in 1960, a position he holds till date.

However, in the late 1960s, he worked with the newly created Kano State as a commissioner. He left in 1972 to partake in the nation’s industrial drive and was known to have bought shares in major companies including Mentholatum, Raleigh Industries, SCOA, Nigerian Pipes, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills and later, Kano State Oil Mills. During the period, the Dantata business expanded in the North, supplying fertilizer, jute bags, rice and cement to various state governments. It also expanded its importing ventures by bringing in building materials and automobiles, in the case of the latter; it was a distributor of Mercedes Benz cars in the country.

The business also invested in large scale farming, with holdings in Asada Farms. Dr. Dantata was a member of the Steering Committee of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank Limited, and served as a director of the bank between 1962 and 1966. He has led several trade missions to several countries across the world.

He was noted, together with Chief M.K.O Abiola, as being one of the wealthier Nigerians in the 1970s, 1980s & 1990s.

He is currently the Chancellor of Katsina Islamic University and the patron of the Kano State Foundation. The foundation engages in the provision of social services and credit to Kano State indigenes. He is also affiliated with Nigeria’s proposed Islamic Bank, Jaiz and earlier in his life with some Tijaniyya scholars, including Mohammed Kafanga. He was a former member of the Kano Provincial Loans Board.

Dr. Dantata has also held several public offices, including Chairman, Board of Trustees, Islamic Forum of Nigeria, Aminu Kano Memorial College, Kano. He is the proprietor, Dantata Memorial School, Kano; Life patron, Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Kano, National Council of Farmers and the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries among several others.

prof800:

That's what they made us believe. (He is the richest so he is going into politics to help the masses not to enrich his pockets.)
A proper research into history will open our eyes.

@Topic.
Yes De Rocha but that was a really long time ago, so doesn't count.
Yes Antonio Deinde Fernandez, Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, Harry Akande and Isiaku Rabiu.
But PierreDeFermat forgot to mention the ultimate rich man of the late 80s to 90. He was called MAI DERIBE.

sukkot:
bros ya dad does not even have common pejo ( peugeot ). stop this rough play bros

PierreDeFermat:
but forget,ritualists are fucking rich. that's why ritual killing is skyrocketing in Nigeria. even though ritual has grade but the richest of them are those that do infinite wealth thing. they cant be competed with,more like competing with Kharun or Solomon,such wealths are supernatural

mu2sa2:
It is difficult to say when Dangote emerged as Nigeria's richest man. There were many pretenders and noisemakers who did not really have solid investments unlike Dangote who has virtually all his wealth in factories spread across 14 countries and still counting.He is also now venturing into oil refinery. Believe it or not, the man himself says he doesn't save cash - he keeps investing in solid assets. These investments will continue to grow almost indefinitely and the name Dangote may never disappear from world's billionaires list.

kobijacobs:



na u know