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The recently released 2019 Forbes’ list of the most richest persons in Africa has in no doubt come with its own surprises as Nigeria’s Cement, Sugar and Real Estate mogul, Abdul Samad Rabiu is ranked the sixteenth richest man in Africa and third in Nigeria with a whooping networth of $1.3Bn.
Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate, In December 2018, merged his privately-owned Kalambaina Cement company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.
His BUA Group also owns Obu Cement, which expanded its production with a new line in 2018.
Rabiu, 58, the son of a businessman, inherited land from his father and finally set up his own business in 1988 importing iron, steel and chemicals.
Abdul Samad who for the first time since 2015 stands at the sixteenth spot was one of the few Billionaires on the list whose net worth appreciated from the time it was last reviewed which saw Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote lost almost $2 billion.
According to the list released on Wednesday, Aliko Dangote retained his first place with a net worth estimate of $10.3 billion.
Another Nigerian, Folorunsho Alakija was one of the billionaires, who suffered a drop in their net worth between last year and this year, as she held No 19 on the 20-man list.
However, Mike Adenuga, the owner of Globacom, emerged Africa’s second richest man. He is worth an estimated $9.2 billion.
One would recall as part of his business prowess that Rabiu’s BUA acquired Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria and later set up 2 flour milling plants in Lagos and Kano in 2005. By 2008, BUA broke an eight-year monopoly in the Nigerian sugar industry by commissioning the second largest sugar refinery in sub-saharan Africa. The company went on the acquire a controlling stake in a publicly listed Cement Company of Northern Nigeria in 2009 and commenced to construction of a $900 million cement plant in Edo State commissioned early 2015.
