The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged Nigerians to act responsibly when investing in initial public offerings, warning against selling residential apartments or using children’s school fees to buy shares.
Sanusi spoke at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE IPO roadshow in Kano, which had investors, stockbrokers, bank representatives, captains of industry, traditional rulers and potential shareholders in attendance.
“Do not take your children’s school fees and put in shares. Do not sell your house that you live in and put in shares, but what you can afford — 10,000, 20,000, 30,000,” the monarch said.
“What you can afford to set aside for some time, set it aside, and if you look at the fundamentals of the economy over time, you can be assured that this investment will grow. And you will not regret it.
“And to be honest, people are buying from all over the country. I speak as Emir of Kano. I would like my people to be owners of this. I do not want us to be left behind in the capital markets.”
The former Central Bank of Nigeria governor urged people of Kano to support their “son” and invest for the long term.
“And I’m not talking about someone who will buy 5,000 shares and wants to sell tomorrow and believes you get 10,000. No, I’m talking about you have some money, put it in, leave it there for some time, and just watch your money grow,” he said.
“Forget about it for some time. You’ll be surprised in five years, the ₦10,000 you invest today, what it will be. The ₦100,000 you invest will be. So I would urge all of us to try to begin the process of owning, and if you’re going to own, you might as well own in a company that has the right economic fundamentals, a company that is producing; you can see the assets on the ground.”
Sanusi said it was not surprising that Kano has produced prominent entrepreneurs, noting that the state is known for risk-taking, hard work and entrepreneurship.
He commended Aliko Dangote for disrupting Nigeria’s dependence on fuel importation.
“As governor of the Central Bank, one of my biggest and saddest problems was seeing how every day, we would spend so much effort to earn foreign exchange from all sectors exporting crude oil, and spend the same foreign exchange importing petroleum products,” he said.
“Instead of using the foreign exchange to develop agriculture, infrastructure, education, we would export crude oil and then turn around and import refined petroleum products and actually pay subsidy to keep refineries open in Europe, in Asia.
“What Aliko has done is to disrupt a model that made Nigeria a market for the importation of refined petroleum products. We don’t need someone to take our crude to England and France, refine it and sell it back to us at a profit. We should refine it here and also sell to others,” Sanusi said.
“We have moved from a country using its foreign exchange to import petroleum products, to one that potentially will be earning foreign exchange from an exporter, not just of crude but also of refined products.”
The IPO, which opened on September 14, 2026, comprises 4.1 billion new ordinary shares offered at ₦525 per share, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares valued at ₦5,250.
The offer is expected to remain open until October 13, 2026, subject to the terms outlined in the prospectus.
The transaction is targeted at retail, institutional and eligible African investors, reinforcing Dangote Refinery’s commitment to broadening ownership and deepening participation in Nigeria’s capital market.
Speaking at the gong-sounding ceremony of the IPO on the trading floor of the NGX on Monday, President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, assured the investing public that the refinery would be the most viable company in Africa by the end of December 2026.
