I STARTED MY BUSINESS WITH ONLY N2,500 —SALISU BUHARI

Sailisu Ibrahim Bihari was the first Speaker of the House of Representatives after the return of democratic government in 1999. Though he short lived the office, he is still in the political arena but more of a businessman. In this interaction with Ayodele Samuel, he reveals how he started his business with only N2, 500.

Sailsu Buhari’s name rings a bell; many remember him as the first Speaker of the House of Representatives. He has since put behind him the controversy that rocked his short reign. Still, he remains a politician but only few know that he’s endowed with passion for doing business. 

An alumnus of the prestigious Kings Collage in Lagos, Sailsu Buhari who also attended ABU Zaria in Kaduna State, is married to a beautiful Yoruba lady and is the chairman and Chief Executive Officer of his numerous concerns in the country.

Sailsu who had been off political radar since 2003 after he contested the governorship of Kano state said he had moved on from what happened in the past and now a happy man doing his business quietly. “I am happier doing my business. I could never be happier in my life and I think every Nigerian in fact pursue that dream of happiness, I enjoy what am doing now, that is my business. For criticism, everybody has his right to own an opinion. For me, it’s all about being happy.”

He said a lot “of people are surprised that am into manufacturing, but those who understand me know that I have been into business before venturing into politics and have been back to it because its better I do my business than carrying my briefcase and going to see ministers in Abuja. Today, I go to see a minister today, tomorrow he might not want to see me, you understand. But if you are on your own, the little you are making, you are able to maintain your sanity and dignity which is much more dignifying than to go to Abuja and be going from office to office. That is why I decided to go into manufacturing and not oil and gas because I don’t want to run after public officials.”

How it started:

I started business at a very young age. I actually started with a loan of N2, 500 from my daddy. That was when I was in ABU Zaria. I bought a taxi. It was working for me in Kano while I was schooling in Zaria. Every weekend, the driver comes down to Zaria and he gives me my money, like that till I finished from Zaria. I had kept a lot of money to begin other businesses. That was the beginning of my coming into business. The rest they say is history.

Doing business in the North in face of security challenges:

I think the issue is that there is no society that can prosper within the context of insecurity. For any country to prosper, you need a stable and peaceful environment, not only in Kano. A lot of factories in this country suffer from insecurity because the problem is not just in Kano. Its spread everywhere but really you have to commend the President for the steps he has taken now, things are subsiding for this violence in the north. 

Doing business in the north at this time is quite tough. If you ask any business man here, they would tell you it’s not easy but we are living it through day by day. There are a lot of challenges. We have power problem like everybody, we also have infrastructure problem. 

It was hard but I think we have overcome it, you know what happened in the north mostly in 2011 in Kano. We had a lot of the insurgency. The business environment was hostile. Many of the manufacturing companies in Kano were in need of funds. Most of our commercial banks were actually withdrawing their money from their customers and not giving out loans, because they had declared Kano a war zone so we were left stranded in Kano. The last bank we ever thought of was the Bank of Industry BOI. We had no other option. We needed to supplement our capital and boost our operations. Fortunately BOI was able to sit with us and listened to us. They understood the incidents in Kano had no bearing on our operations. Where we source our raw materials was not affected. Our market was not affected. Our customers don’t come to our factory or Kano state to buy our products. They pay their money into our account in their various states and we cargo our goods to them. With this little point, BOI was able to agree with us and help us. Fortunately, 2011 was our most profitable year, despite the unrests, the insecurity and  Iam proud to tell you we are growing from strength to strength. 

Coping with politics, business and the home front:

To be honest, I dedicate most, if not all my time to my business and family, which I enjoy doing. As I said, every Nigerian should aspire to be happy. I have a beautiful wife and four kids and of course I have my parents that I take care of and they take care of me. I am still a daddy’s boy. If am not in the office, am in my house. I don’t pay much attention to politics. For me, it’s my work and my home. I do 12 hours at work; I do 12hours at home. My family is very important to me. I don’t joke with them because they are lovely. I love traveling. Me, my wife and the family go on holidays. I don’t choose where we go for holidays. My wife chooses the destination, and I love playing squash Game. I have a Squash Yard in my house.

How to tackle unemployment:

Part of it is the Bank of Industry issue I told you about. If you go and ask them, they are also creating jobs. I tell people, if you see somebody employing or we create jobs for about one thousand people, it’s not just the 1000 people. Look at the effect of the 1000 people on the society. Out of those people, maybe most if not all are family men with at least four dependants. Then look at those who will serve those people lunch, the society would be better. Unemployment would reduce. Also, don’t forget that in every country of the world, there is unemployment but we Nigerians are fantastic people. We are among the bravest, brightest and industrious people on earth. Whatever a Nigerian wants to achieve, he achieves. The only thing is that everybody wants to make money. But apart from making money, what you want to do, pursue it with passion. If you want to be a barber, go to a barber’s shop, start sweeping the owner’s shop. You would learn from there and one day, you would become a shop owner. But it hurts me to see young people going into something either, it’s that they have no option or just because somebody else is doing it. If it’s what you really want to do, you must have passion for it. Whatever you want to be, go out there and fight for it and leave the rest to God.

Advice to youths:

My best advice is to look for what you like from the bottom of your heart. If it’s business, go ahead and do it. If it’s politics from the deepest part of your heart, go ahead. If you want to serve the country maybe in the police or military, just make sure that is your passion. I tell you that is the key to success. A lot of people go into business or choose a career for wrong reasons and lack of passion. Anything you have passion for, you will succeed. That passion would drive you into making it from the business and you would be happy. 

Kano Politics:

Giving a pass mark on Kano state government under its governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, “You should know that am from the same party with Kwankwaso. We might have some differences within the party in terms of opinion and party structure but I can say he’s one million times better than the ANPP man that left there. Everywhere there are road constructions going on in Kano. Just drive in and out of Kano. For me, he’s trying to do his best. I don’t belong to Kwankwaso’s faction of the party but he’s also our governor by the grace of God. That does not mean we should not give credit to him. This man is working. Go to Kano and see what is going on there. I am proud that he is in PDP. If he’s from another party and he’s working like that, I would tell you we (PDP) are finished in Kano.

There are factions, yes but primaries would come and we will always participate in elections united, despite all these factions and disunity in the party. At the end of the day, when the chips are down, we would put our house in order and confront elections as a united party.

Lesson learnt from Politics:

If there is anything politics has taught me, it’s the nature of humans, their behaviour. It has really taught me how to relate with people from different parts of this country. My deduction truly is that we are all Nigerians. There might be different languages, different cultures but we are a united country and it has taught me more about human character. But I have moved on with life. This is a happier Salisu Buhari. 

Culled from Peoples Daily