Nigerias Businesses Spanning Two Generations, by Abah Adah, Chinelo Chikelu, Hauwa Mahmud Madugu, Paul Chiama, leadership.ng/news/345302/nigerias-businesses-spanning-2-generations, 14 February 2014, Many of those prominent today in business, politics, education or other fields of human endeavour started out by doing some very ordinary things, but with extra passion, which ultimately resulted in huge successes that will last through generations. In the business circle, there are conglomerates that have become a huge source of blessing to Nigeria today, considering the number of people they employ. Some of the flourishing business empires in Nigeria started out very small, but today have established branches around the nation and even have international business interests and outlets. Also, they have nurtured and produced business tycoons who still work hard at their businesses as chairmen/chief executive officers, managing directors, executive directors and so on. In this edition, LEADERSHIP Friday presents some of Nigerias oldest business empires that have survived through generations. Dantata Group The name, Dantata is a familiar name in Nigeria. But how did this business empire cum dynasty that has successfully produced the likes of Sanusi Dantata, Abdilkadir Dantata, Aminu Dantata and Aliko Dangote, a brilliant nephew in the family, start? The Dantata conglomerate started with the rewarding business foresight and acumen of Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, who lived from 1877 to 1955. He made a fortune early by merely trading in kola nuts. He lived to become the richest man in West Africa during his lifetime. After some tortuous years struggling to survive after the death of his father, even after travelling to Accra, Ghana to visit his mother then, the young and adventurous Dantata started using a steamship to transport kola nuts between Accra and Lagos. That was after his return from Accra to Bebeji in present-day Kano State. Today, Dantata as a business name has grown into a recognised empire, with interests in general merchandise, construction and engineering, real estate, mining and dredging and banking, where it holds large shares. Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited founded by the late Alhaji Abdulkadir Dantata, Dantata Foods and Allied Products Limited and Dantata Property Development and Management Company are some of the firms that have evolved from Dantata. Alhaji Tajudeen Aminu Dantata is saddled with the responsibility of steering the ship of the family business as the group-managing director of Dantata Organisations Limited. Sharubutu Group The late Umaru Sharubutu was the founder of the Sharubutu group of businesses, which has continued to thrive over the years in Kano and beyond. Sharubutu, who was born in 1853 died in 1947. He started out as a general trader, travelling from Kano to Lagos with wares such as necklaces, earrings, clothes and some other products, which he sold in the South and would buy kola nuts in large quantities to sell in Kano, having discovered a market for them in the North. In 1913 Sharubutu entered into a new phase of trade, following an offer by European traders to help them buy groundnuts, a fast-selling economic produce then. For Sharubutu, it was a great opportunity. He, however, made huge losses and so soon quit the business. But as at 1947 when Sharubutu died, he had acquired much and owned several business holdings in Borno, Bida, Ilorin, Kano, Lagos, Lokoja and Accra, Ghana. Today, Sharubutus businesses operate under Sharubutu Investment Company Limited, Sharubutu and Sons Nigeria Limited, etc and have produced the likes of Saad Sharubutu, the managing director and chief executive officer (CEO). The company represents Procter and Gamble, a multinational company, as a key distributor in Nigeria. Sani Brothers Group Of Companies 56-year-old Alhaji Abdulmunaf Sarina moved into the family business empire, Sani Brothers Limited, in 1971. At the time, the company was solely a transportation company. His prudent quality and analytical business acumen led to the establishment of the first petrol station at Tanburawa, Kumbotso local government council of Kano State, a result of his putting to use knowledge gleaned from the transport business. This was followed by his expansion to oil and gas. Today, the company is known as Azman Oil and Gas. The latest addition, Azman Air Services Limited was established in 2010, with major business branches in Kano, Lagos and Abuja. Azman offers local air travel services with hopes to extend to international services in the future. Azman Air Services Limited has a workforce of over five thousand and the transportation company owns no less than 250 trucks. Now known as Sani Brothers Group of Companies, it is chaired by Alhaji Sani Yunusa. Isyaku Rabiu And Sons (Irs) IRS patron, Khalifa Sheikh Rabiu, is the father of Nafiu Rabiu, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Rabiu I. Rabiu, all industrial tycoons. A devoted Islamic leader and businessman, he began trading in Kano at the age of 21. From his initial trading in commodities and beverages before moving into commercial real estate development, he created Isyaku Rabiu and Sons Limited, which was registered in February 1952 as a company and as a limited liability company in 1973. His real estate dealings involved acquiring and renovating old properties for profit. From that he ventured into textiles, setting up a textile company. He likewise ventured into the oil industry and construction sector. IRS industrial tentacles have today spread to 12 companies (minus BUA Group, established by his son Abdulsamad) and IRS Airlines, headed by Group Executive Director Rabiu I. Rabiu. IRS Airlines clocked a decade old on March 20, 2012. Abdulsamad Rabiu, the most famous and richest of the family of entrepreneurs abruptly joined the family business at the age of 24 when his father was arrested in the 1970s by General Muhammed Buhari for rice hoarding. After successfully steering his fathers business during Isyakus detention, he established his own company, BUA International Limited in Lagos. Then, it was a food processing and estate company. Now BUA Group, it deals in food processing, port concession, oil and gas, real estate development and most recently cement production. BUA Group is worth $2bn. The 53-year-old Abdulsamad, recently audited among the 50 richest men and billionaires in Africa, admitted in 2013 to Forbes the ongoing construction of a $500m ultra-modern cement plant in Edo State. The plant is expected to be commissioned early this year. According to Forbes Africa in 2013, he is worth $1.2bn. Interestingly, the Rabiu family hails from Kano State, same as Africas richest man, Aliko Dangote and the Sani Brothers. Isyaka Rabius group of companies - an offshoot of a humble textile factory established by Isyaka Rabiu back in the day and based in Kano State in northern Nigeria - is one of Nigerias foremost business empires that have spanned decades as a family venture. In the 1970s, three economic events - the oil and construction booms and the movement towards indigenisation helped cement his relationship with Kanos industrial elite. He capitalised on this opportunity to expand his business. Rabius legacy was inherited by his children, who did not throw the privilege to the dogs, but worked hard to expand the family venture. His first son, Nafiu Rabiu is an influential businessman, another, Abdusmad Rabiu is the chairman of BUA Group, and Rabiu Rabiu is the owner of IRS Airlines, among others. Isyaka Rabiu still lives in his Kano Goron Dutse mansion, the biggest house in Kano. He is well loved and respected and is known for his generosity and Islamic spirituality. He is the group executive director of the empire. Kabo Holdings The late Dr Adamu Muhammadu Dankabo, the founder of Kabo Holdings Limited, is among the several shrewd businessmen Nigeria has produced over the years. He had business interests in hospitality, real estate and aviation. Kabo Air is one of the most successful parts of his business concerns, having been passed from one generation of his family to the next. Kabo Air, with its operation base in Kano, originally operated special charter services for corporate bodies, executives and government officials. Then, in 2009, the airline received approval to start international scheduled services. Founded in February 1980 by the late Dr Alhaji Muhammadu Adamu Dankabo who died in April 2002, the airline was inherited and is now run by his children. The companys slogan is His children are the companys future. The late Dankabo no doubt envisaged a company that would stand the test of time. The airline, which started operations in April 1981, is wholly owned by Kabo Holdings. The company stopped operating domestic services in 2001, but recently said that new services are on the table. For now, they focus solely on Hajj flights and international charters. The late Dankabo was the pioneer of the private airline industry in the country. His business astuteness kept his company Kabo Holdings Limited, operators of Kabo Air afloat. The airline operates scheduled flights from Kano to Abuja, Dubai and Jeddah. Its main base is Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport. Captain Saidu Muhammad has piloted the affairs of Kabo Air in the last decade, expanding its operational scope to the West African sub-region, with offices in Sierra Leone, Benin Republic, Cameroun and Ghana. Nabegu Tannery, Kano Nabegu is the name of a Bunture, Kano industrial family that was a prominent trader in the hides and skin and cattle businesses during the colonial era and owned the largest tannery in Kano during the post-colonial economy era. Their business later expanded to involve other ventures, such as transportation. Baba Nabegu, son of the elder Nabegu, inherited this business. Nabegu Tannery at Sharada Industrial Estate in Kano State, Nigeria, is one of the oldest indigenous business ventures that helped to establish the ancient city of Kano as Nigerias second largest commercial and industrial hub after Lagos. The leather factory owned by Baba Nabegu was one of the success stories of Nigerias attempt at embracing industrialisation. After establishing the tannery in 1981, Baba Nabegu subscribed to a call by the federal government for industrialists to add more value to their products. In this direction, a shoe-making factory was established beside the leatherworks. The fortunes of the leather industry in Nigeria have unfortunately dwindled over the years, but Nabegu Tannery is still surviving and succeeding, if not on its own, then through the other subsidiary ventures it spawned. Mai Deribes Venture Another business venture that has survived the test of time is the oil-based venture Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria Limited, of which Mai Deribe is the chairman/CEO. Alhaji Mai Deribe and Sons Limited may have been floated during Nigerias oil-boom era of the 1970s in Nigeria and has continued to thrive, even in the face of the harsh economic realities experienced at different times in the country. The Mai Deribe family of Borno State has been a popular one for decades. Awolowos Nigerian Tribune The late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo founded the Nigerian Tribune newspaper which took off at Adeoyo Road in Ibadan, present-day Oyo State in November 1949. It later relocated to Oke Ado area, Ibadan. The newspaper is renowned today as the oldest surviving private indigenous newspaper in the country. The newspaper was deeply involved in the struggle against colonial rule, then serving as a veritable tool for counter-attack on the colonial master. Awolowo who was a nationalist then, engaged the newspaper in speaking on behalf of Nigerians. It has withstood the challenges of newspaper publication as well as other harsh factors being faced by the media. The Nigerian Tribune has contributed in training several journalists in Nigeria. Apart from late Awolowos legacies, establishment of Nigerian Tribune is another legacy that will not be forgotten in the history of Nigeria. Ekene Dili Chukwu Group One name that has become synonymous with the road transport sector in Nigeria over the years is late Ekene Dili Chukwu. Ekene Dili Chukwu Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary of Ekene Dili Chukwu conglomerate which is into several other businesses across Nigeria. The company which has been providing its services for several decades belongs to Chief Augustine E. Ilodibe, popularly known by the business name, Ekene Dili Chukwu who hails from Nnewi in Anambra State. Thus, he was the Chairman/CEO of the conglomerate. Ojukwu Transport Company One business empire which has had a very productive effect on economy in the Eastern part of Nigeria is Ojukwus Transport Company which was owned by the father of late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu. The transport company was used in moving the easterners to Lagos from the Asaba end. Ojukwu started his professional career at the agricultural department before leaving to join John Holt as a tyre sales clerk. He left John Holt to create a transport company to improve the trading environment for Nigerian traders. 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. 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, invested heavily in the real estate sector and became a director in numerous major corporations including the state-owned Nigerian National Shipping Line. He was a member of the board of Nigerian Coal Corporation, Shell Oil, DArchy, and African Continental Bank. Ojukwu died in 1966, just a year before the Nigerian civil war. His son Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was the leader of the secessionist state of Biafra. Henry Stephens Group Henry Stephens group of companies is one of the few very successful business empires to have endured and continued to wax stronger in Nigeria. It was founded by the entreprising Nigerian called Henry Oloyede Fajemirkun, the Chairman/CEO of conglomerate. The company which started as Henry Stephen was the first Indigenous company to get oil prospect License in Nigeria. Henry Stephens also acquired stakes in Johnson Wax and Fan Milk. He established Henry Stephens Shipping company with three lines namely; Ile-Oluji Line, Ifewara Line and D.F Fajemirokun Line, 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. Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun was a prominent Nigerian businessman and one of the countrys dynamic indigenous entrepreneurs who promoted West Africas economic integration. He was a former president of Nigeria Chambers of Commerce & Lagos Chambers of Commerce and of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce (1972-1978). 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. Source: Nigerias Businesses Spanning Two Generations, by Abah Adah, Chinelo Chikelu, Hauwa Mahmud Madugu, Paul Chiama, leadership.ng/news/345302/nigerias-businesses-spanning-2-generations, 14 Feb 2014,
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 18:19:07 +0000
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