Sanusi insists Kano, not Lagos, laid foundations for Dangote, Rabiu's business success

Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi II challenged Vice President Kashim Shettima's claims, stating Kano—not Lagos—nurtured the business foundations of Aliko Dangote and Abdul Samad Rabiu. Speaking at the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) event on June 11, 2026, Sanusi emphasized Kano's historical role as a commercial hub that produced generations of merchants before these industrialists expanded to Lagos.

Sanusi's remarks directly responded to Shettima's Invest Lagos Summit 3.0 comments on June 9, where the Vice President asserted Lagos produced Africa's richest man (Dangote) and second-richest man (Rabiu), crediting Lagos State's economic environment for their success. Sanusi countered that both businessmen went to Lagos to expand existing enterprises and learn from its commercial environment, not to learn business fundamentals from scratch.

The exchange has reignited debate over Kano and Lagos's respective contributions to Nigeria's business leadership, highlighting competing narratives about the country's commercial heritage. While Lagos is often portrayed as Nigeria's economic engine, Sanusi argues Kano's deep-rooted trading tradition provided the essential groundwork for some of Africa's most prominent industrialists.

Does this regional perspective shift how we understand where true business success originates in Nigeria—is it the foundational environment that nurtures early entrepreneurial skills, or the expansion hub that scales enterprises to national prominence?

SOURCE: https://dailypost.ng/2026/06/11/kano-not-lagos-built-foundations-of-dangote-rabius-success-sanusi/