Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has advised Nigerians interested in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering to invest only money they can afford to set aside, warning them against using essential funds or selling their homes to buy shares.
Sanusi gave the advice in Kano State while speaking at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE IPO roadshow attended by investors, stockbrokers, bankers, business leaders, traditional rulers and prospective shareholders.
The former Central Bank of Nigeria governor urged Nigerians not to put their children’s school fees into the investment or sell their residential properties, stressing that prospective investors should commit only funds they could afford to leave untouched for some time.
“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.”
Sanusi also encouraged residents of Kano and Nigerians generally to consider becoming shareholders in the refinery, while cautioning against buying shares with the intention of making quick profits.
“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.”
The Emir said Kano’s history of producing successful entrepreneurs was linked to a culture of risk-taking, hard work and entrepreneurship, adding that he wanted the people of the state to participate in the capital market.
He also praised Dangote for the impact of the refinery on Nigeria’s economy, particularly its potential to reduce the country’s dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
Sanusi recalled that while serving as CBN governor, one of the major challenges was Nigeria’s practice of earning foreign exchange from crude oil exports before spending part of it on importing refined petroleum products.
“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.”
He said the refinery had the potential to change the model by enabling Nigeria to process crude domestically and eventually export refined products.
“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 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 terms contained in the prospectus.
It is open to retail, institutional and eligible African investors as the refinery seeks to widen ownership and participation in Nigeria’s capital market.
