BEVERLY HILLS, February 14, (THEWILL) – The age-long rivalry that many thought had long been buried, between the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote and fellow Forbes billionaire, Abdul Samad Rabiu, was re-ignited on Monday February 8. Rather than their usual squabble over similar business interests and who has monopoly of what, the bone of contention this time had to do with Covid 19 vaccines and who should or shouldn’t purchase doses of vaccines for Nigerians.
In the early afternoon of Monday February 8th, Abdul Samad Rabiu, through its company, BUA Group, announced that it plans to purchase one million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, through the AfreximBank vaccine programme in partnership with Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID). The group said that the vaccines would be delivered the following week at no cost to Nigeria, thus making it the first set of vaccines to be delivered in Nigeria since the COVID-19 vaccines became available.
Quite a number of people heaved a sigh of relief at this news. And the reason was not farfetched. Even though 1 million doses of the vaccine is like a drop in the ocean considering Nigeria’s population, it was still cheering news especially against the backdrop of the Federal Government’s constant change of expected date of arrival of the vaccine. From January ending to February and now to April, the dates have changed more times than a baby’s diapers. Coupled with conflicting reports from WHO on Nigeria’s qualification or otherwise for the vaccine, this news from BUA Group was to say the least, a huge relief.
Unfortunately, that cheering news was short-lived as CACOVID, of which both BUA Group and Aliko Dangote Group are members immediately disowned whatever plan BUA Group had in stock while also denying being in partnership with the Group and Afreximbank for the purchase of the vaccine.
CACOVID maintained that purchase of any vaccine can only be done through the federal government and not by individuals or companies as BUA Group has done. And even after the purchase, the vaccine can only be distributed through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHCDA.
Feeling slighted that its good gesture was turned down and made a ‘mockery’ of, BUA took the CACOVID team and specifically, a ‘prominent member’ of the body’ (a veiled reference by BUA Group to Aliko Dangote) to the cleaners.
Clearing the air on why it chose to pay for the vaccine, BUA Group revealed that at the meeting where they all agreed to contribute $100m for the procurement of the vaccine, the Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele had informed members of the opportunity, through the Afrexim platform, to access and pay for 1-million vaccine doses, provided payment was made by the end of Tuesday, February 9, for an opportunity to get the them the following week.
When none of the members of the group made any move to donate the funds, BUA Group offered to pay for the doses at $3.45 per dose, totaling, $3,450,000,000.00 which comes to N1.311bn through the CBN.
BUA Group not only accused CACOVID of scuttling its good gesture, it also accused this ‘prominent member’ of being unhappy that the conglomerate rose to the occasion to avoid letting the opportunity to purchase the vaccine pass by. He further accused this ‘prominent member’ of playing politics with the lives of Nigerians.
This outright allegation of falsehood and insincerity on both sides will no doubt, further deepen the feud and widen the enmity gulf between the founder of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu and the ‘prominent member’ of CACOVID, Aliko Dangote.
While these two business rivals have both attempted to mend fences and put up a united front in the past, at the behest of concerned friends and business partners, such actions usually collapse like a pack of badly arranged cards at the slightest opportunity. Ironically, both men come from Kano State and are distant relatives.
Their rivalry goes decades back, pre-dating them and their businesses.
Specifically in 1983, the then military head of state, Major General Muhammadu Buhari rtd, in trying to create a level playing field for businessmen, overturned the fortunes of Rabiu’s father, Isyaku, a renowned Kano merchant and industrialist, for failing to pay for rice imports. While this singular action caused the Rabiu family to start back from ground zero, it inadvertently gave young Dangote who also comes from a line of wealthy merchants and industrialists, a head start in his business when he launched out.
11 years after Dangote set out and established himself in the business world, young Rabiu struggled to catch up. And while he trails behind Dangote in most instances, one can’t deny the fact that he has done quite well in rebuilding his family fortunes and has done so, over and beyond how much his father had done. This is a testament to his doggedness to surmount barriers and assumed ‘favouritism’ of Dangote by successive governments.
It remains to be seen how this renewed rift will play out.
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