Abdulsamad Rabiu: Biography, BUA, net worth & how he makes money

This post is all about the complete biography of Abdulsamad Rabiu. It includes his date of birth, place of origin, family, early life, education, career, BUA story, ethnicity, and other details.

Full Name	Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu
Known for	Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BUA, Chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI), 2nd richest man in Nigeria, 5th richest man in Africa, 350th richest man in the world
Parents	Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu (Father)
Date of birth	August 4, 1960
Place of birth	Kano State, Nigeria
Education	University of Columbus
Occupation	Businessman

Who is Abdulsamad Rabiu?

Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu is a Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian corporation that deals in manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture.

Abdulsamad Rabiu is also the chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BOI). His father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu (Late) was one of the first industrialists in Nigeria, dating far back to the 1970s and 1980s.

Abdulsamad Rabiu: Early life and education

Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu was born into a wealthy family on the 4th of August, 1960. His place of birth is Kano State, Nigeria. 

Since he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he was able to start and run businesses from a very young age.

His father’s name is Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu (late). He was one of the pioneer industrialists in the northern states of Nigeria, during the 1970s and 1980s.

Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu got many of his business skills and knowledge from his father, who earned his wealth from commodity trading.

He had his primary and secondary education in Kano State, Nigeria. From there, he travelled to the United States of America, where he studied and obtained a degree in Economics.

He studied at Capital University, situated in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Business and career: How Abdulsamad Rabiu made his money

Managing his father’s business

In 1984, Rabiu returned from the United States of America after completing his university education. His return was hastened by the detainment of his father by the Nigerian government.

His father was alleged to not paying rice import duties. As a result, Abdulsamad Rabiu had to stop everything he was doing and take control of his father’s business.

Having studied Economics in the United States, Rabiu was able to handle his father’s business perfectly well throughout his absence.

As a result, the business earned a very large profit and expanded beyond the locality. Four years after he returned, Rabiu founded his own company named BUA International Limited.

See: The top richest people in Nigeria

BUA International Limited

In 1988, Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu established his own business; BUA International Limited. His company majorly deals in the importation of rice, edible oil, iron and steel.

2 years later in 1990, BUA International Limited signed a big contract with the Delta Steel Company, which is owned by the Nigerian government.

The contract was for BUA International to be a supplier of production raw materials for the Delta Steel Company.  with raw materials for production. In exchange, BAU International will be paid with finished products.

Rabiu grew BAU from scratch into what we all know today as the BAU group.

Today, BUA Group is a diversified conglomerate that has many subsidiaries in various industries. This includes cement manufacturing, sugar refining, oil milling, real estate, and port and terminals.

BAU Group also deals in billets, steel, iron ore importation, and supplying materials to rolling mills in Nigeria.

Acquiring Nigerian Oil Mills Limited

After a few years, BUA acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited. This oil milk is the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria.

By 2005, the BUA Group had commenced the construction of two flour-milling plants, one in Lagos and the other in Kano.

In 2008, BUA made a huge positive impact on the Nigerian sugar industry. It commissioned the second-largest sugar refinery in sub-Saharan Africa.

Before this, there was only one sugar refinery, and that refinery was the sole supplier for 8 years. But Abdulsamad Rabiu came and disrupted the monopoly.

Acquiring a Cement Company in Northern Nigeria

In 2009, BUA group acquired a stake in a publicly-listed Cement Company in Northern Nigeria. As a result, they commenced the construction of a $900 million cement plant in Edo State. It took 6 years, and it was completed in early 2015.

Abdulsamad Rabiu: Family

Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu is a married man with 4 children. His children are:

• Isyaku Rabiu
• Junaid Rabiu
• Rukkayah Rania Rabiu
• Khadijah Rabiu

Rabiu has 42 brothers and sisters in total. This is not surprising, as polygamy is very common in those days, especially if the man in question is very wealthy.

Abdulsamad Rabiu as a philanthropist

Being a very rich man that lacks nothing money can buy, Abdulsamad Rabiu has given back to society by hosting and participating in many philanthropy programs.

BUA Group has built a 7,000-square-meter paediatric ward at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital. It also funded the construction of the Centre for Islamic Studies at Bayero University Kano.

In partnership with the Rotary Club of Gbagada South, the BUA Group sponsored free ears, nose, and throat clinical screening on pupils of Araromi and Kinniun-Ifa Primary School in Lagos.

Aside from these, the BUA foundation also contributed to the medical sector by giving medicine and healthcare equipment to the Cancer Centre in FCT, Abuja.

BUA also gave medical equipment to the Daniel Ogechi Akujobi Memorial Foundation in Ogun State.

Abdulsamad Rabiu: Career awards and achievements

As of today, Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu is the Chairman and CEO of BUA group. According to Forbes, Rabiu is the 2nd richest entrepreneur in Nigeria, 5th in Africa, and 350th in the world.

He has a net worth of USD 6.7 billion. Also, Rabiu has won numerous awards both inside and outside of Nigeria.

1. In 2011, the Nigerian government conferred on him the honorary title of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON)
2. In 2012, The Sun Newspaper gave Rabiu the Business Person of the Year Awards
3. Abdulsamad Rabiu won the White Dove Excellence Award in 2013
4. In that same 2013, he got the “Best Corporate Steward Award” by CSR Nigeria Awards
5. In 2015, he won the “Business Conglomerate of the year” award, presented by the West African Regional Magazine
6. In that same year, he won the “Lifetime Achievement Award”, presented by Vanguard Newspaper
7. In 2017 Rabiu got the Silverbird Extraordinary Business Achievement Award
8. In 2020, the CSR Reporters Philanthropic Awards list Rabiu as the “Person Of The Year”
9. In 2020, he was presented with the BusinessMan of the Year Award at the Vanguard Personality of the Year 2019 – 2020
10. In 2021, Emmanuel Macron, the President of France appointed Abdulsamad Isyaku Rabiu as the Chairman of the France-Nigeria Investment Club

There are some awards and we couldn’t list them all. You can see the full list of all the awards presented to BUA Group Chairman Abdulsamad Rabiu.