Alhassan Dantata

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Alhassan Dantata
Born 1877
Bebeji
Died August 17, 1955
Kano
Burial place Sarari ward of Kano
Residence Kano
Nationality Nigerian
Education Madrasah in Bebeji
Occupation Merchant
Board member of Emir of Kano's Council
Religious beliefs Sunni Islam
Spouse Umma Zaria, Maimuna
Children Ahmadu, Aminu, Mamudi, Sanusi, Mudi
Parents Abdullahi, Fatima

Alhassan Dantata (1877- August 17, 1955) was a northern Nigerian kola nut trader and the wealthiest man in West Africa at the time of his death.[1] [2]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Dantata's father was Abdullahi, a man from the village of Danshayi, near Kano. Dantata was born in Bebeji in 1877, one of several children of Abdullahi and his wife, both of whom were traders and caravan leaders. His father died in Bebeji, and his mother moved to Gonja, now in northern Ghana.[2]

Dantata remained in Bebeji in the care of a slave woman named Tata (this is the root of the name "Dantata", which means "son of Tata"), and attended madrasah (Qur'an school). Dantata moved to Gonja, where his mother worked, at age fifteen, and studied and worked in Accra.[2]

[edit] Career

Dantata later returned to Bebeji, and began using steamships to transport kola nuts between Accra and Lagos. He later diversified his trade into items such as beads and necklaces, and bought a house in the Koki ward of Kano. He married Umma Zaria, and she conducted business for him with women (him not doing it for religious reasons). In 1918, the UK-based Royal Niger Company searched for an agent to purchase groundnuts for them, and Dantata responded to their offer.[2]

He made a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca via boat in the early 1920s, and stopped in England.[2] He also financed the pilgrimages of others.[3]

By 1922 Dantata had become the richest businessman in Kano, surpassing fellow merchants Umaru Sharubutu Koki and Maikano Agogo. In 1929, when the Bank of British West Africa opened a branch in Kano, Dantata placed 20 camel-loads of silver coins in it. (For religious reasons, his money collected no interest.) He died in Kano on August 17, 1955, having exhorted his children to not let his company, Alhassan Dantata and Sons, be broken up. He was buried in his house in the Sarari ward.[2]

[edit] Children

Among Dantata's sons were Mamuda (1922-1983), founder of the West African Pilgrims Association and a currency trader,[4] Sanusi (born 1917), a Qadiriyyah Sufi and businessman,[5] Ahmadu (died 1960), a politician,[6] and Aminu (born 1931), a businessman.[7]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Price, J.H. "Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, An Appreciation", West Africa, 1955-10-19. Retrieved on 2007-10-09. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f Dan-Asabe, Abdulkarim Umar (November 2000). "Biography of Select Kano Merchants, 1853-1955" ([dead link] – Scholar search). FAIS Journal of Humanities 1 (2). 
  3. ^ Iliffe, John (2005). "Urbanisation and Masculinity", Honour in African History. Cambridge University Press, 283. ISBN 0521837855. 
  4. ^ Hashim, Yahaya; Kate Meagher (1999). Cross-Border Trade and the Parallel Currency Market - Trade and Finance in the Context of Structural Adjustment. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute, 30. ISBN 9171064494. 
  5. ^ Loimeier, Roman (1997). Islamic Reform and Political Change in Northern Nigeria. Northwestern University Press, 65-70. ISBN 0810113465. 
  6. ^ Sklar, Richard L (2004). Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation. Africa World Press. ISBN 1592212093. 
  7. ^ Forrest, Tom (1994). The Advance of African Capital: The Growth of Nigerian Private Enterprise. Edinburgh University Press, 206. ISBN 0748604928.