Muhammadu Sanusi II, the Emir of Kano, has advised Nigerians to exercise caution when participating in initial public offerings (IPOs), warning against using essential funds or disposing of important assets to invest in shares.
Sanusi gave the advice during the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE IPO roadshow held in Kano State. The event was attended by investors, stockbrokers, bankers, industry leaders, traditional rulers, and prospective shareholders.
He urged potential investors to commit only funds they can comfortably spare.
“Do not take your children’s school fees and put your 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,” said the monarch. “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 Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also encouraged residents of Kano to support Aliko Dangote, describing him as one of the state’s most notable entrepreneurs.
“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 noted that Kano has long been known for producing successful entrepreneurs, attributing this to a culture of hard work, risk-taking and enterprise.
He also praised Dangote’s contribution to Nigeria’s economy, particularly in the petroleum sector.
“And therefore, beyond business, beyond profits, we have to thank Aliko for what is in the Nigerian economy. 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, under-spend the same foreign exchange importing petroleum products.
“Instead of using the foreign exchange to develop agriculture, to develop infrastructure, to develop 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, refineries open in Asia because we bought the petroleum products at markets.”
According to him, the refinery has helped reverse Nigeria’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products and could strengthen the country’s foreign exchange earnings through exports.
“We don’t need someone to refine, take our crude to England and France, refine it and sell it back to us as a profit. We don’t. We should find it here and buy, and also sell to others,” the Emir 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 Dangote Refinery IPO opened on September 14, 2026, with 4.1 billion new ordinary shares being offered at ₦525 per share. The minimum subscription is 10 shares, valued at ₦5,250.
The offer is scheduled to close on October 13, 2026, subject to the conditions outlined in the prospectus.
The IPO is open to retail investors, institutional investors and eligible African investors as part of efforts to broaden ownership and deepen participation in Nigeria’s capital market.
Earlier, during the IPO’s gong-sounding ceremony at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Dangote Group President Aliko Dangote expressed confidence that the refinery would become Africa’s most valuable company by the end of December 2026.
