Abdul Samad Rabiu donates lecture theatre to Adamawa University

Abdul Samad Rabiu, billionaire founder of ASR Africa and chairman of BUA Group, has added another education project to his fast-growing philanthropic portfolio with the handover of a 500-seat lecture theatre to Adamawa State University in Mubi.

The building, named for him, cost ₦350 million (almost $250,000) and comes with four boreholes to improve water supply on campus. It was delivered under the ASR Africa Tertiary Education Grant Scheme, the vehicle Rabiu set up in 2021 to plug gaps in health, education and social development across Nigeria.

Rabiu, who is Nigeria’s second wealthiest man with a fortune Forbes pegs at $8.9 billion, did not attend Saturday’s commissioning but was represented by Aliyu Idi Hong, a director at BUA Group – the industrial conglomerate Rabiu founded. Hong said the project was “dear” to Rabiu and was completed despite recent economic pressures. Adamawa State governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri and the university’s vice-chancellor, Augustine Clement, said the hall will immediately ease pressure on teaching space at the state-owned school.

ASR Africa says more than 30 Nigerian universities and specialised institutions have now benefited from the scheme, with awards ranging from ₦250 million (US$172,414) to ₦2 billion (US$1,379,310), depending on the scale of work. The Mubi theatre is the first such facility in the North-East funded by the initiative and is set up for large classes, conferences and examinations.

Abdul Samad Rabiu’s foundation has run parallel health and security interventions and often insists on visibility, monitoring and “African-led solutions” to development problems. The billionaire also picked up an honorary doctorate from the university during its combined convocation, recognising his spending on education infrastructure.

Nigeria’s public universities face chronic overcrowding, unstable power and limited water, making private endowments attractive to administrators who can execute projects faster than federal or state bureaucracies. ASR Africa typically releases funds in tranches and demands counterpart action from host institutions, a structure that has helped it deliver projects on time. Officials in Mubi said procurement and site works were completed in months.