Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has urged Nigerians to act responsibly when considering taking part in initial public offerings. He cautioned against selling one’s residential apartment or using their children’s school fees to buy shares.
Sanusi spoke at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE IPO roadshow in Kano State, which had investors, stockbrokers, representatives of banks, captains of industries, traditional rulers, and potential shareholders in attendance. “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.
“And you will not regret it. And to be honest, people are buying from all over the country. I speak as Emir of Kano. I would like my people to be owners of this. I do not want us to be left behind in the capital markets.” The former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, however, urged people of Kano to support their “son”. “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.” Sanusi said it was not surprising that Kano has produced prominent entrepreneurs, as it has been known to have people who have risk-taking, hard work, and entrepreneurship in their veins.
