Born 65 years ago precisely August 4 in Kano, the story of billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu is that of a man who, though born into wealth, has laboured assiduously to entrench himself as one of the wealthiests not only in the continent, but the world.
It’s for him as the saying goes that, ‘It is one thing to be born and another to rebirth yourself’. At a tender age, young Abdul Samad knew the value of hard work and never relented despite the fact that he was born into wealth. It is therefore not a surprise that he transformed whatever he inherited from his parents into an empire that today boasts of many firsts.
Abdul Samad Rabiu’s BUA Group has been the largest private sector employer of labour in the North-west part for years now.
With his cement factories rolling out tons of cement annually from Sokoto and its various sites beside many other businesses, one can hardly argue against this. The trickle down effect of the cement factories alone can only be imagined.
From the truckers to the loaders, drivers and factory hands not to talk of support services, the number of those who are touched by the foresight of the billionaire industrialist certainly is much more than those directly employed.
Two things have however, distinguished the BUA industrial activities in Sokoto as well as many other parts of the country. One is the fact that conscious efforts are made to ensure that environment-friendly policies are put in place. For instance, it is on record that years back, Abdul Samad Rabiu, signed agreements with foreign firms to diversify energy sources by introducing greener alternatives especially LNG to power the kiln and its power plant.
Speaking at the commissioning of one of his cement lines in Sokoto years back, he revealed that his power plants were now running on 100% LNG leading to reduced carbon emissions. He also confirmed that this was the first of its kind at any cement factory in Nigeria.
According to him, “what this means also is that as soon as the AKK gas project comes on stream, we are ready to be one of the first off-takers to satisfy our energy needs and also encourage further industrialisation within the region, open new industries and ensure greater development and prosperity for this region and the nation in general.” This is just as the AKK gas project is scheduled to be completed in a few months.
It is not only in terms of ensuring that the environment where he does business is well protected that BUA Group has led among its peers. It is on record that in terms of assisting the community where it operates, the BUA Group also leads the way. Even before agitations starts, it is a policy of the group that efforts are made to find out the needs of those communities and are attended to in such a way that the communities also see themselves as partners in progress.
Rather than see himself as an ultra-capitalist operating in a world where all that matters is getting richer, Abdul Samad Rabiu has consistently been at the vanguard of giving back to the society. To date, he is Nigeria’s most active philanthropist with hospitals, educational institutions, empowerment programmes for communities being his priorities. The vehicle for his philanthropic activities has been the ASR Africa.
ASR Africa was established in 2021 to provide sustainable, impact-based home-grown solutions to developmental issues affecting health, education and social development within Africa.
From Cameroun to Niger and Nigeria, ASR Africa has been up and doing and one can hardly mention five states in Nigeria where ASR has not made impact.
Apart from personally touching the lives of the people, Abdul Samad Rabiu has also been at the vanguard of corporate policies aimed at making life more meaningful for the people.
Earlier this year he stressed his determination to work with other stakeholders to crash the price of rice. Before then, he had led the battle against middlemen who held the country to ransom over the price of cement. He led by example, reducing the prices of his products even when others were willing to maximise their profits.
As a sign of his belief in Africa and African initiatives towards solving our problems, he has consistently advocated that the government and the people of the continent should look inwards rather than waiting for outsiders to help develop the continent.
As the billionaire industrialist and philanthropist adds another year, one can only wish him a befitting birthday and plead that he continues to do the good works by touching the lives of many more Nigerians.