Billionaire Businessman Aminu Alhassan Dantata Dies at 93
Nigeria’s renowned businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, has passed away at the age of 93.
According to a report by News Central Africa, Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, who expressed the family’s grief in a message shared with the public. “Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun. It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of our beloved father, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata. May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaus and forgive his shortcomings,” he wrote. Details of the Janazah (funeral prayer) are expected to be announced later.
A close relative of Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, the late Dantata was widely regarded as a towering figure in Nigeria’s business landscape and a respected elder in the northern region.
A Life of Enterprise and Service
Born on May 19, 1931, Aminu Dantata was the son of Alhassan Dantata, a legendary merchant from the Agalawa trading family. The family lineage traces back to Katsina, but settled in Bebeji after migrating from Madobi in the 19th century.
Dantata’s influence spanned across commerce, politics, and philanthropy. He was a co-founder of the Kano State Foundation, which focused on educational development and supported small-scale businesses across the state.
His business acumen came to prominence during Nigeria’s indigenization era in the 1970s, when his company, the Dantata Group, acquired major stakes in companies such as Mentholatum, SCOA, Funtua Cotton Seed Crushing Company, and Raleigh Industries. He was also the founder of Express Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd and played a significant role in the establishment of Jaiz Bank, Nigeria’s first non-interest bank.
Aminu Dantata began managing the family business in 1958 as Deputy Managing Director. Following the death of his elder brother and Managing Director, Ahmadu Dantata, in 1960, he assumed full leadership of the enterprise.
In public service, he served as Kano State Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade and Industry from 1968 to 1973 under Governor Audu Bako. He was also a founding member of the National Movement in 1978, which later evolved into the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Earlier in his career, he had served on the board of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (now BOI) in 1964.
National and Regional Legacy
Over the decades, Dantata’s contributions helped shape the northern business ecosystem, and his mentorship of rising entrepreneurs, including Dangote, remains part of his enduring legacy.
As tributes pour in from across Nigeria, the business and political communities mourn the loss of a patriarch whose life was defined by enterprise, faith, and public service.