Isyaku Rabiu

Isyaku Rabiu (born 1928) is a prominent Nigerian cleric and businessman from Kano. In 1984, he was one of the commodity traders arrested and jailed by the administration of General Muhammadu Buhari on charges of hoarding rice.

Life

Rabiu was born into the family of a religious scholar, Rabiu Dan Tinki. Isyaku's religious upbringing influenced his development as a young man, as a youth, he embraced Islamic scholarship and was popularly known as a Mallam.It wasn't until the early 1960s that Rabiu delved into commercial enterprise. As a close confident of Kano businessman Ibrahim Musa Gashash, he established a procurement agency for textiles produced by the Kaduna Textile Factory, a firm controlled by Gashash. After success in trading textiles, he established his own textile factory, and was also involved in selling sewing machines. In the 1970s, three economic events, the oil and construction booms and the movement towards indigenization, helped cement his status among Kano's industrious elites. He capitalized on the favorable conditions by building housing estates and buying up shares of some foreign nationals in the country. He has the record of running 9 different businesses at once. Nobody break the record. Even the Richest black man has only 7.

Isyaku Rabiu has four wives . The head of this very large family, he has 36 children and quite a few grandchildren, including his first son Nafiu Rabiu, and influential Nigerian businessmen Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, Rabiu Rabiu, owner of IRS Airlines,Naziru Rabiu, Nura Rabiu, Kabiru Rabiu, Hatim,Hamidan,Quraish Rabiu,and Taha Rabiu. among his grand children are Abdulsamad Naziru Rabiu, Abdulsamad Aaqil Rabiu, Abdulsamad Nura Rabiu and Isyaku Abdulsamad Rabiu, Naziru Naziru Rabiu, all vying to live up to the great reputation of their grandfather. Isyaku Rabiu still lives in his Gorun Dutse mansion in Kano, the biggest single house in Nothern Nigerian. He is widely loved and respected and known for his generosity,and Islamic spirituality.

His net worth is $1.7billion as at June 2015. His son Abdulsamad Rabiu also have $2.5billion. His younger brother Shehu Rabiu is also there to assist him in doing many things. Hadi Rabiu his personal assistant is also trying his best in assisting the old man in all his business activities He gives him advice on what to do. His Managing Director is Abdulbasit Rabiu. They travel together around the world with his private jet or his son's private jet.

References

• Roman Loimeier, Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria, (Series in Islam and Society in Africa). Northwestern University Press (February 2, 1996). ISBN 0-8101-1346-5