Abdul Samad Rabiu
Abdul Samad Rabiu CFR CON GCON (Listenⓘ; born 4 August 1960) is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. As of 2026, he is one of the richest Africans with an estimated net worth of over US$14 billion according to Forbes & Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Quotes
[edit]- As Nigeria marks two years under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I believe it is important to reflect, not from the lens of politics, but from the perspective of business, of industry, and of the economy. I speak not only as the chairman of BUA Group, one of Africa’s largest conglomerates, but also as someone who has lived through the complexity of Nigeria’s reforms.
- The removal of the fuel subsidy is one of the most important decisions taken by this administration. Before that, Nigeria was selling PMS at N200 or N250 per litre, which was about 25 cents or 30 cents. I doubt there was any country in the world where fuel was being sold at that price.
- Today, I understand that our fuel consumption has dropped by almost 40 to 50 per cent. It is not because Nigerians are consuming less, but because neighbouring countries have stopped tapping into our subsidised fuel. The PMS is still cheaper in Nigeria, even at N800 or N900 per litre, but the logistics no longer support easy access.
- I am of the firm opinion that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the right decision, and he made it boldly. On the first day he took office, he did what everyone knew had to be done but which no one dared to do.
- The unification of the foreign exchange market is another critical reform. Before this, many of us in the business community spent most of our time chasing foreign exchange.
- Under this administration, we have seen a return to fairness and stability in business. We no longer worry about arbitrary shutdowns or politically motivated disruptions.
- That Port Harcourt plant alone has seen over $500 million in investment and has employed over 4,000 people. The confidence this government has brought is real, and it is helping us plan better.
- I must also personally acknowledge former President Muhammadu Buhari. When our Port Harcourt plant was unfairly shut down, it was his intervention that saved it. I had the privilege of explaining the situation to him.
- In infrastructure, the difference is also clear. Look at the Lagos-Calabar highway. Look at the Sokoto-Badagry road. Look at the Kwara projects we are executing under the tax credit scheme. Look at Kano-Kongolam
- Since President Tinubu took office, BUA Group has invested over $1 billion in the Nigerian economy. We are expanding our food business, doubling our flour and pasta facilities in Port Harcourt and building another in Lagos.
- President Tinubu’s Nigeria First policy has aligned well with our own belief in backward integration. Our cement business is almost entirely local. We mine our own limestone. We use Nigerian gas, even though it is dollar-denominated
- With the right leadership, which we now have, there is no limit to what we can achieve.
- So I believe we should just be a bit patient, things are already getting better, if you check you’ll see that the exchange rate in the black market has gone to as high as N1,300 to $1, today, it’s about N1,150 and it will continue to come down.
- So my message is that we should be patient, things will definitely get better. Nigeria is endowed with huge resources, we’re a country of over 220 million people with huge resources across the country.
- If you look at the business we’re in now, the cement business, almost 80% of everything we need to produce cement is here in Nigeria, local and those are the kinds of things we need to encourage mining, agriculture because we have the land, we have the people and we have the climate and the water.
- So all we need to do is to harness these resources that God has endowed us with. I believe that it’s a temporary thing, things will definitely get better, we just need to be patient.
