A high-level delegation from the Nigerian government has arrived in Madinah, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the funeral rites of late business mogul and elder statesman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, who passed away in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday at the age of 94.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, the delegation is led by the Minister of Defence and former Governor of Jigawa State, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar. Other members include the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Yusuf Tanko Sununu.
Also accompanying the delegation are prominent Islamic clerics: Sheikh Bashir Umar, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, and Khalifa Muhammad, who is the Imam of the Dantata Mosque in Abuja.
The team was joined in Madinah by officials of the Nigerian Consulate General in Jeddah, led by Muazzam Nayaya, who has been coordinating burial arrangements. The Saudi authorities granted special approval for Alhaji Dantata to be buried in the holy city of Madinah, with the funeral scheduled to take place later on Monday.
Back home in Nigeria, the Kano State Council of Ulama conducted a Ga’ib prayer (Islamic funeral prayer in absentia) in honor of the late philanthropist and business titan.
Aminu Dantata was the last surviving son of Alhassan Dantata, one of pre-independence West Africa’s most prominent businessmen. Throughout his life, Aminu Dantata built a vast business empire with investments spanning agriculture, real estate, construction, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
Beyond his achievements in commerce, he played a significant role in public service, having been elected to the Northern House of Assembly in 1966 and later serving as a Commissioner in the Kano State Government from 1967 to 1973.
Dantata’s passing marks the end of an era, as tributes continue to pour in from across Nigeria and beyond for a man widely regarded as a pillar of integrity, faith, and entrepreneurship.
