Renowned Kano-born business mogul and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, has passed on at the age of 94 after a prolonged illness associated with old age.

The news of billionaire businessman’s demise was disclosed via a social media post on Saturday by the Deputy National Treasurer of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Uba Tanko Mijinyawa.

Here are 10 things to know about the late icon:

1.Alhaji Aminu Dantata was born on May 19, 1931, into the prominent Dantata family of Kano. He was the son of Alhaji Alhassan Dantata, one of West Africa’s most successful merchants and a pioneer in long-distance trade and commerce in Nigeria.

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2.He began his business career as a produce buyer at Alhassan Dantata and Sons Limited. Over time, he built an empire with vast investments in finance, real estate, agriculture, construction, and the petroleum sector.

3.In 1962, Dantata became a member of the Steering Committee of the Nigeria Industrial Development Bank and was later appointed as one of its directors, playing a key role in Nigeria’s early industrial development.

4.He was elected into the Northern House of Assembly in 1966. In 1967, he was appointed as a Commissioner in the Kano State Government, a position he held until 1973. He also contributed to Nigeria’s democratic evolution as a member of the 1979 Constitution Drafting Committee.

5.Dantata led several trade missions abroad, representing Nigeria’s private sector on the global stage. He was known for promoting international partnerships and strengthening commercial ties between Nigeria and other countries.

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6.He was honoured with several academic accolades, receiving honorary doctorate degrees from top Nigerian universities such as Ahmadu Bello University, Bayero University, Abia State University, Imo State University, and Usman Danfodio University.

7.A recipient of two prestigious national honours — Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and Commander of the National Republic of Niger (CONN) — Dantata was widely recognized for his contributions to national development.

8.He was deeply involved in philanthropy, investing heavily in education, youth empowerment, and skills acquisition. His efforts supported thousands of Nigerians in accessing better opportunities and improving their livelihoods.

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9.He was a patron and life member of various business and industry organizations, including the Nigeria Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), the Kano Chamber of Commerce, the National Council of Farmers, and the Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industries.

10.Alhaji Aminu Dantata married Hajiya Rabi Aminu Dantata, who conducted all his business dealings with women. He later married Maimuna, and between both wives, he had many children. He was also Chancellor of Al-Qalam University and served as a Non-Executive Director of Jaiz Bank Plc, continuing his legacy in both education and Islamic finance.

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB) has announced a new date for the commencement of its 2025 recruitment exercise, shifting the portal opening from Thursday, June 26, to Monday, July 14, 2025.

The notice, signed by the Secretary to the Board, was released on Wednesday, June 26, to inform the general public and prospective applicants of the change.

An initial recruitment announcement by CDCFIB, generated nationwide interest among job seekers. The update on the change in the portal opening date comes amid heightened anticipation across various states.

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“The Board’s portal address for prospective applicants desiring to apply to the service of their choice is now: recruitment.cdcfib.gov.ng,” the announcement read.

Applicants are reminded that the entire recruitment process is free of charge, and no form of payment is required to access or submit applications on the platform.

“All applications are free and do not attract any payment. Any inconvenience caused by this change is highly regretted,” the Board added.

The Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board oversees recruitment into key paramilitary services in Nigeria, including the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), and the Federal Fire Service, among others.

Prospective candidates are advised to monitor the official recruitment portal and remain cautious of fraudulent platforms.

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, has explained why the agency suspended its foreign scholarship programme for lecturers in public tertiary institutions.

Echono said the scholarship programme for lecturers was discontinued because it had become financially unsustainable, citing high foreign exchange rates and the growing number of beneficiaries who failed to return to Nigeria after completing their studies abroad.

Speaking in an interview with TheCable, he revealed that in some cases, TETFund spent nearly N100 million on a single scholar, especially when converted from currencies like pounds and dollars.

“It’s a cost-benefit analysis. We are faced with two challenges. The first is the exchange rate differential.

“We have a situation where, because of the sharp drop in the value of the local currency, we have to provide a lot of naira cover to train a single scholar,” he said.

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“In some institutions, we are getting close to 100 million for one person when you convert from pounds to naira. So, cost was a major factor, because we pay in dollars, pounds, euros, and other foreign currencies.

“The second part is that many of the beneficiaries were not being kind to the country.

“They make us sponsor them, and when they finish their programmes, they refuse to come back.

“Meanwhile, the school will be waiting for them here, expecting that they will return to impart the students.”

Describing the situation as a “double tragedy,” Echono noted that while lecturers enjoyed full sponsorship abroad, their institutions in Nigeria continued paying them, expecting them to return.

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“So, it’s a double tragedy for the institution that released them. And while they are on scholarships, they are still receiving salaries from their institutions back home.

“We are not stopping you from going abroad to look for greener pastures, but not under false pretences. Not by defrauding the government, as it were.

“And it was happening in huge numbers. We tried to look at ways of trying to collaborating with the training institutions to curtail this. But they found various ways of going underground for a while, or changing from one country to the other.

“So, we felt that it was no longer sustainable — the high costs and rate of abscondment,” he said.

However, Echono clarified that the suspension is not absolute. He said waivers are still granted in exceptional cases where the course of study is not available in any Nigerian university.

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He continued, “The bridge we’ve created is that we are now allowing for some exceptions — in very exceptional cases — where the courses of study are not available locally. So, we give exemptions. It’s not an absolute suspension.

“We have granted waivers. For example, the aviation university — we just gave them a waiver less than two weeks ago because some of the specific courses are new and not available in the country.

“So, for those, based on their merits, relevance to the national economy, and the fact that they are desirable for the institution, we grant those waivers.”

Echono added that the Fund decided to redirect resources to support local training of academic staff, which he described as more cost-effective and impactful.

“The majority of our scholars used to be from here. We have a local component, and we have the foreign component. So the local component has now received a boost because we have not reduced our funding for academic staff training; instead, we have increased it,” he said.

“We are training more people now. And the numbers will increase further because for each person you send abroad, you can train between eight to ten locally for the same amount.”

TETFund suspended the foreign scholarship programme in November 2024.