₦airaland Forum

A paltry sum of 500k...?

In this economy?

Fuel money for that very woman.

The early hustle: Commodity trading in Kano, 1988

Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu was born on August 4, 1960, in Kano to Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, one of Northern Nigeria’s biggest industrialists in the 1970s and 80s. After studying Economics at Capital University in Ohio, he returned home at 24 to help run the family’s IRS Group.

When his father was detained by the Buhari administration over rice import duties, young Abdul Samad took charge. That baptism by fire taught him how to navigate Nigeria’s tough business terrain.

In 1988, at 28, he struck out on his own and founded BUA International Limited. The company started small: importing rice, edible oil, flour, and iron and steel.

The break into big time: Government contracts and vertical integration


The turning point came in 1990. The government-owned Delta Steel Company contracted BUA to supply raw materials in exchange for finished iron products. That deal gave BUA cash flow and credibility.

Rabiu reinvested fast. He expanded into steel billets, iron ore importation, and built multiple rolling mills across Nigeria. Then he moved up the value chain:

- *1990s-2000s*: Acquired *Nigerian Oil Mills Limited*, then the largest edible oil processor in West Africa.

- *2005*: Built two flour mills in Lagos and Kano.

- *2008*: Broke Dangote’s 8-year monopoly in sugar by opening the second-largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa. Capacity: 720,000 metric tonnes/year.

- *2009*: Took a controlling stake in Cement Company of Northern Nigeria.

- *2015*: Completed a $900 million cement plant in Edo State.

This wasn’t just trading anymore. Rabiu was building BUA into a manufacturing and infrastructure giant, controlling the supply chain from raw materials to finished goods.

The behemoth stand: BUA Group today

Today, BUA Group is one of Nigeria’s largest privately-owned conglomerates, with revenue over $2.6 billion. It spans cement, sugar, rice, flour, pasta, edible oils, logistics, agriculture, construction, port operations, and real estate.

The two public-facing engines are:

1. BUA Cement: Rabiu owns 95.78%. The stock surged 134% YTD in 2026, pushing BUA Cement’s market cap to ₦14.2 trillion. That single stake is worth ∼$9.9 billion.

2. BUA Foods: Rabiu owns 92.64%.

This cement boom is what pushed Rabiu past Johann Rupert to become Africa’s second-richest person in May 2026, with a net worth of $19.1 billion on Bloomberg’s index. He now trails only Aliko Dangote at $34.4B.

Pricey assets and bets

- Obu Cement Plant, Edo State: The $900 million plant completed in 2015 is the backbone of BUA’s cement dominance.

- BUA Sugar Refinery, Lagos: 720,000 MT/annum capacity, one of Africa’s largest.

- Ports & Terminals: BUA Ports & Terminals operates key facilities, giving the group control over import/export logistics.

- Real Estate: BUA Estate is a growing arm of the group.

- Philanthropy: Through ASR Africa, he commits $100 million annually to health, education, and infrastructure projects across Africa. Projects include a 7,000 sqm pediatric ward at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital and the Centre for Islamic Studies at Bayero University Kano.

What made it work

Rabiu’s playbook is simple: spot import-dependent markets, build local plants to replace imports, and integrate vertically. He’s called Nigeria’s 2023-2025 reforms “the lead for a continent to follow”, betting that liberalization would unlock industrial growth.

From importing a bag of rice in 1988 to controlling 95% of a ₦14 trillion cement company in 2026, Rabiu’s rise is a study in patient, capital-intensive industrialization. And he’s not done. BUA’s expansion into oil and gas signals the next chapter.

Man U: 3 - Fulham: 2

1st goal by Casemiro, (19 minutes), assisted by Bruno Fernandez.

2nd Goal by Cunha (56 minutes) assisted by Casemiro

An easy game, literally a walk in the park, for the Red Devils... ordinarily... all things being equal...

Which is rarely the case in football.

But the tide should favour United. Or else Chelsea no go let person hear word, God abeg o!

China rose from an underrated country in the '70's, whose population could only find work in foreign countries like the United States, as rail road builders and chefs, to the most commercially viable entity in the world.

Nigerians need a common dream and a rallying point to surmount all challenges.

Otherwise we'd be relegated to doom scrolling through others doing well.

Where is the 700 million Naira Bentley...?

You people will just be calling money anyhow.

See as the car pieces plenty for ground like say na alumaco aluminium...

Rubbish!

The train is moving, evidently. It's season of pain for anti obidients again...

Where is the fear of sense?

Many of our leaders lack it

But the fear of love na d koko o

Quite a laudable initiative.

However, in today's Nigeria, 200k can hardly significantly change anyone's life.

Just give them for flexing, or 1 million seed money for business.

Trump has been making symbolic moves to emphasize the power of the US presidency

The era of ruling and over-ruling...

He is suspended, He is still a member APC

Suspend the Convention. Hold the Convention - PDP

You are expelled, No, YOU are expelled... TUuraki Wike PDP

You are a fool. I'm not a fool sir Wike Yerima

The thing they don't tell you about Curacao, is that the rich class are of Dutch ancestry, and they live in exclusive, gated communities.

The locals (blacks) live in what they can manage.

Hahaha ha... well well well, what do we have here, some condominium it is ... great

It's funny the similarities in designs between Ariel detergent and PDP garb ... lol.

Lol...

Someone said see what Atiku has reduced to...

Lol

Is he a clown now, or what?

The man remains a billionaire though...

All na still content. Naija na cruise.
But seriously, Nigeria Police ought to inject more professionalism in their duties, if the tarnished image is worth any polishing or bronzing.

The RETURN OF HUSHPUPPI: The Saga continues...

Hackers definitely at work. You see how easy it is to lose everything you stored digitally in seconds.

Fear of Jagaban is the beginning of wisdom.

At any rate, politicians bend words to suit a particular weather.

It remains a technical game, and the buck stops at the table of the coach. If there's an apology to be rendered, or sacking to be effected, it should be the gaffer...

The man who built a billion dollar empire starting out with only 7 bucks ...

May God help all the little children from the eyes of those looking to exploit them sexually.

Some men's eyes were just like Ini Edo's in this picture, when they started laying traps for little children.

Hear our prayers, o God of Zerubabel!

Very informative rebuttal by the DHQ.
The army has indeed made a lot of strides in combating terrorism, no doubt.
But the Amnesty report is not entirely false too. The numbers killed are too high, regardless figures, for a functioning democracy as we are supposed to believe Nigeria is.
The Army faces the daunting task of cleaning the Augean stable of terrorism in Nigeria, but it is up to the will of the political class to see it to an expeditious end soon.

Ordinarily, there doesn't seem to be much in it, government has to generate revenue in one way or the other.
But it trickles very little to the common man eventually, and does nothing to improve their welfare.
What is the purchasing power of the average Nigerian, to warrant excessive charges here and there with no respite in sight?

Sequel to an order by Judge Beryl Howell to the FBI and DEA to provide a status update on the search and release of non-exempt documents by May 2, 2025 on alleged involvement of Nigeria's president, Bola Tinubu in a drug ring, the agencies have formally requested a 90-day extension to comply accordingly. see: https://www.nairaland.com/8414598/fbi-dea-seek-90-day-extension

Before then, they had only provided a glomar response to requests to tender relevant documents connected with the case in court, which the judge deemed inappropriate, owing to the years-long delays associated with bringing the case to a logical conclusion.

Why did they issue this response in the first place, and what does it mean? According to thomsonreuters;

A Glomar Response is an agency response to a request for records or information made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 U.S.C. § 552), in which the agency refuses to confirm or deny the existence of the records or information (see Phillippi v. CIA, 546 F.2d 1009 (D.C. Cir. 1976)).

A Glomar Response can be appropriate, under any applicable exemption, to protect either:
1. National security interests, where the very existence of records is classified.

2. Privacy interests, where ANY response could place a STIGMATIZING connotation on someone mentioned in law enforcement records.

A Glomar Response can be the proper response to requests for unclassified information under the mosaic theory, whereby the existence of individual pieces of unclassified information can be OF A COLLECTIVE DANGER IF EITHER CONFIRMED OR DENIED.


Are you connecting the dots already?

What this means is that there is a potential threat of destabilization of normal activities (political) if this goes out, hence another request for extension.

It also means that there is something inherently dangerous about the information being requested for, if it is revealed, that could even dent diplomatic relations between both countries, not to mention inflaming internal ones.

I hope there is an agreeable resolution to this impasse for the benefit of ordinary Nigerians, you and I, that have neither been to Chicago nor understand the convoluted political extrapolations in it.

Gun without serial number...

A man with fickle integrity

Now ask yourself, HOW SOON CAN A DEFRIBILATOR ARRIVE?

Probably in less time than it would take to pronounce def-jibrilinator or whatever that is in the first place...

The lady who made the news recently for being first to fly plane in her village is the lady in this video being interviewed by daddy Freeze.
In this video, she claimed she has never shaved and prefers to fry garri in her village than japa.
She also claimed to be a virgin at 41 years old, and will remain so till marriage. She also revealed that she is allowed to marry multiple husbands according to the custom of her village.
Recall that Air Peace sent representatives to her village to celebrate her for being the first to travel by air in her community.



watch the video below


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LU4IK4D62A&t=1272s


Previous thread https://www.nairaland.com/8400923/air-peace-celebrates-gold-chinyere

No need to mention about the allowances and special privileges she gathered while working for the president.
No need to add that your daughter did not protest for the entire five years she worked there, nor did she ever threaten to resign.
Just wail about 'salary' to our ears, we who have never been around the corridors of power.