The passing of Nigerian business mogul and philanthropist, Aminu Alhassan Dantata, is a monumental loss. An epitome of humility and philanthropy, Dantata died on June 28, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, at the age of 94. Born on May 19, 1931, into the family of Alhassan Dantata, this great Nigerian was the 15th child in the family of 17 children. His father was from an Agalawa trading family and was once considered to be the richest man in West Africa. His great-grandfather, Baba Talatin, was also said to be a great merchant.
Aminu had his primary education at Dala Primary School, between 1938 and 1945. He concluded his education in a private school through home studies. It was his father that built the school in 1949. In 1948, he joined the family business, Alhassan Dantata & Sons, starting with kola nuts and groundnuts trading, and in 1955, he became the Sokoto district manager of the business. When his father died in 1955, the shares in the business were distributed to the children. Aminu became head of the business when his brother, Ahmadu, died in 1960.
The new independent government in Nigeria patronized him a lot. Aminu’s construction firm, established in the early 1960s, built part of the School of Aviation in Zaria, the Nigeria Defence Academy in Kaduna and extension of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. In the middle of the 1970s, he founded a merchandise division that traded in building materials. He was among the pioneer board members of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank in 1964. He was also one of the founders of Jaiz Bank in Nigeria as well as the founder of Express Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd.
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The Dantata group benefited immensely from the indigenization policy of the 1970s. They bought a lot of shares. Among the companies where they held significant holdings were Mentholatum, SCOA, Raleigh Industries and Funtua Cotton Seed Crushing Co. In the 1990s, the group changed its identity to Dantata Organisation and it is into such ventures as real estate, construction, agriculture, manufacturing, banking, and oil and gas.
Dantata was a great mentor. He mentored so many people in Kano and environs, including his grandnephew Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa. He was one of the richest men in Kano and Nigeria. As a philanthropist, Dantata was one of the promoters of Kano State Foundation, which supported educational initiatives and provided grants to small-scale entrepreneurs in Kano. He also donated the Alhassan Dantata Haemodialysis Centre to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano. Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano, also benefited from his generosity as he built a ward and an intensive care unit complex there.
In 2024, he donated N1.5 billion to the victims of the devastating flood in Borno State. He funded numerous other philanthropic activities, including support to schools in northern Nigeria. He contributed to the establishment of Al-Qalam University, Katsina, and served as its first Chancellor. His deep faith in God and Islam underscored his philanthropy. He believed that Allah rewards whoever gives for Allah’s sake.
His foray into politics saw him contesting and winning election into the House of Representatives in the First Republic. He was then a member of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC). Between 1968 and 1973, he was the Kano State Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade and Industry under Audu Bako. He later joined an organization known as the National Movement, which later transformed into the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the Second Republic. Many politicians courted him and sought his blessings before elections.
Following his death, Dantata was buried in the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. It was his wish to be buried in a city where Islam’s prophet Mohammad lived and died. Some top Nigerian government officials attended the funeral prayers at the holy prophet mosque before his interment at the Al-Baqi cemetery. A special prayer was also held for him in Kano where he lived in one of the poorest areas of the city all his life. In his tribute, President Bola Tinubu said Dantata’s death was a monumental national loss. According to the President, the business mogul made sterling contributions to Nigeria’s growth and development.
In one of the interviews, which he granted Trust TV last year, Dantata, who ventured into business fully at 17, said, “In our family, a child starts learning how to earn money from as early as five, six or seven years old.” He bought his first aircraft in 1967 when he was in his 30s. He sold it and acquired another one in 1968 and, in 2008, he bought his last private jet for about $38 million. He had properties across Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Germany and the United Kingdom, among others.
He was a recipient of honorary degrees from many universities, including Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto; Bayero University, Kano; and Abia State University, Uturu. We commiserate with his immediate and extended family and the government and people of Kano and Nigeria over the irreparable loss.
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