His story, on the surface, may read like a fable. But if you take the pains to read it with undivided attention, you will find out that it is most compelling and engaging.
For Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, CEO, First Fuels Limited, the journey to fame actually started when he ventured into the importation of petroleum products at a relatively young age.
It will be recalled that Abdulrazaq, son of the first Northern lawyer in Nigeria, Alhaji AGF Abdulrazaq, was in the news sometime ago when his company had several million litres of petroleum products stored in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s tanks in Ejigbo depot as well as Mosimi depot in Ogun State, serving the needs of independent marketers in the South-west.
Again, eyes turned on him when Mobil Oil wanted to export its first batch of condensate out of Nigeria, as he succeeded in getting the best international prices and buyers for the product.
It will also be recalled that with the active support of Ronke Onadeko-Osayande, they executed a lot of oil-related transactions that launched the firm into the big league and fetched them billions of Naira as reward for their sweats.
For obvious reasons, many had expected him to own a private depot or refinery in Nigeria.
But for Abdulrazaq, who is said to have made positive impacts on the lives of many younger businessmen like Tonye Cole, Ade Shonubi, Ade Odunsi, Adewale Tinubu, Omamofe Boye and Onajite Okoloko, that was not the case, as First Fuels was hit by a few bad investments.
At the height of this challenge, his former partner, Onadeko-Osayande, left the company to become the Country Director of Bank Paribas (BNP) offices in Lagos.
Subsequently, Abdulrazaq dumped the oil business for politics, and even floated a football club known as FC Abuja, which recorded some modest success.
Since then, he has been an active player in politics. At the outset, when he contested the Kwara Central Senatorial District under the Peoples Democratic, PDP, in 2011, he failed to make any significant impact and many people scorned him. In view of this, some of his concerned friends were said to have advised him to face the business that launched him into affluence and fame.
But the billionaire, did not despair.
Today, Society Watch gathered that his perseverance is paying off, as he has just won a ticket to fly the flag of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the 2019 governorship election in Kwara State.
