Isyaku Rabiu (9 October 1925 – 7 May 2018) was a Nigerian businessman and Islamic scholar who founded a major holding company in

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

. He was a supporter of Ibrahim Niasse's

Tijaniyyah The Tijāniyyah ( ar, الطريقة التجانية, Al-Ṭarīqah al-Tijāniyyah, The Tijānī Path) is a Sufi tariqa (order, path), originating in the Maghreb but now more widespread in West Africa, particularly in Senegal, The Gambia, ...

brotherhood.

Life

Rabiu was born to the family of Muhammadu Rabiu Dan Tinki, a Quranic preacher from the Bichi area of Kano State who led his own Quranic school. From 1936 to 1942, Rabiu attended his father's school learning the Quran and Arabic. He then moved to

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

, Borno for further Islamic education. After spending four years in Maiduguri, he returned to Kano prepared to be an Islamic scholar. In 1949, Rabiu was an independent teacher of Arabic and the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

who had among his audience

Ibrahim Musa Gashash Ibrahim Musa Gashash was a Kano trader and politician who was among a group of prominent Northern Nigerians that formed the Northern People's Congress. Along with two other Kano merchants, he helped establish the first indigenous pilgrimage tour ...

. In the early 1950s while still a teacher, Rabiu began to engage in private enterprise and established Isyaku Rabiu & Sons in 1952. Originally the firm acted as an agent of UAC and was trading in sewing machines, religious books and bicycles. In 1958, the firm had a breakthrough when Kaduna Textile Limited was established and it became one of the early distributors. Rabiu emerged as the leading distributor of the company in Northern Nigeria. In 1963, he joined a consortium of businessmen from Kano who came together to form the Kano Merchants Trading Company. The establishments continued to survive withstanding competition from foreign products. In 1970, he established a suit and packing factory. Rabiu was a supporter of the

National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...

and likely benefited from state patronage as a result.

Isyaku Rabiu & Sons group

Isyaku Rabiu & Sons, founded by Rabiu, is a family operated holding company with a history of investment in manufacturing, insurance, banking and real estate. In the 1970s, the group invested in manufacturing with its first investment being the Kano Suit and Packing Cases company, a factory producing suit cases and handbags. The firm was a joint venture with Lebanese investors. In 1972, he formed the Bagauda Textile Mill, manufacturing woven cloths for uniforms. Rabiu then established a series of ventures in different segments of the economy including frozen food service, real estate, sugar and a motor vehicle and parts distribution company specialized in

Daihatsu , commonly known as Daihatsu, is a Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest surviving Japanese internal combustion engine manufacturers. The company's headquarters are located in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture. Historically, Daihatsu was ...

products. However, unfavorable exchange rates and economic conditions forced the company to scale back on manufacturing and returning to its trading roots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabiu, Isyaku 1925 births 2018 deaths Nigerian businesspeople People from Kano