‘Not Your Children’s School Fees, Don’t Sell Your House,’ Sanusi List Money You Must Not Use To Buy Dangote Refinery IPO

In his characteristic frank manner, Kano Emir has a message for all the would-be investors in Dangote’s 4.1 billion new ordinary shares on offer

The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has issued a blunt financial warning to Nigerians rushing to buy into the Dangote Refinery’s multi-billion-naira public offer: do not gamble away your future.

The monarch warned Nigerians never to sell their homes or use their children’s school fees to invest in shares, no matter how attractive the offer looks.

Sanusi gave the advice at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE IPO roadshow held in Kano, which attracted investors, stockbrokers, bank chiefs, captains of industry, traditional rulers and potential shareholders.

In his characteristic frank manner, the former Central Bank Governor said Nigerians should only invest what they can afford to forget for years and allow to grow.

“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 Emir warned. “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.”

He urged retail investors to shun the get-rich-quick mentality, stressing that the Dangote Refinery IPO is a long-term wealth creation opportunity, not a quick-profit lottery.

“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. Forget about it for some time. You’ll be surprised in five years, the ₦10,000 you invest today, what it will be,” he said.

Sanusi said it was not surprising that Kano has produced global business giants like Aliko Dangote, because entrepreneurship, risk-taking and hard work run in the veins of Kano people.

Dangote IPO Frenzy: N1.48trn Piled Up In 60 Minutes

Dangote Refinery’s $1.6Bn IPO: Key Things To Know About Africa’s Biggest-Ever Share Sale

‘Not My Priority;’ Dangote Speaks On Business Empire Without A Son To Carry On His Name

He showered encomiums on Dangote for what he described as disrupting a wicked economic model that made Nigeria a dumping ground for imported refined products while Europe and Asia fed fat on our crude.

Recalling his days as CBN Governor, Sanusi lamented how Nigeria painfully earned foreign exchange from crude oil exports only to waste it importing petrol and paying subsidies that kept foreign refineries alive. “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,” he said.

According to the Emir, Dangote has changed the narrative. “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,” he said, adding that Nigerians should own a stake in such a productive asset they can physically see on ground.

The historic IPO, which opened on September 14, 2026, offers 4.1 billion new ordinary shares at ₦525 per share, with a minimum subscription of just 10 shares valued at ₦5,250, and will close on October 13, 2026.

NOP NIGERIA