The Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has warned investors not to use school fees or sell their homes to buy shares.
Speaking Thursday at the Dangote Refinery IPO investor roadshow in Kano, Sanusi advised residents to invest only money they could leave untouched, such as N10,000, N20,000 or N30,000.
“Do not take your children’s school fees and put in shares, Do not sell the house that you live in and put in shares.
“But what you can afford,10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 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.”
The IPO opened on September 14. Sanusi urged Kano residents to become shareholders and said unions and other groups should educate their members.
“I speak as the Emir of Kano, I would like my people to be owners of this company.
“I do not want us to be left behind in the capital markets. I do not want us to be left behind in financial inclusion. So this is the time and this is the opportunity,” he said.
He urged long-term investment, not quick profit.
“And I’m not talking about someone who will buy 5,000 shares and want to sell tomorrow and believe he will 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 Naira you invest today, what it will be. The 100,000 Naira you invest, what it will be,” Sanusi said.
He said location does not matter because shareholders own the refinery and receive its returns and profits.
“It doesn’t matter where the refinery is located. It could be located in Lagos, or Ibadan, or on the moon. It is the shareholders who own it.
“It is the shareholders who own it. It’s the shareholders who take the return. It is the shareholders who own the profit,” he said.
Calling Dangote a son of Kano, Sanusi said:
“We have heard Lagos claim Aliko. I know very soon even Egypt will claim him, America will claim him. But we all know where he comes from,”
“I would like to say that this is his grand homecoming. We are happy to donate him.
“We are happy to share him, but please do not take him away from us.”
Sanusi also highlighted the refinery’s refined petroleum products and fertiliser production, saying it creates direct and indirect jobs and has secured gas supply, port access and markets.
