Biography
Musbahu Mohammad Bashir: The Quiet Billionaire Who Snatched Nigeria’s 5G deal from Airtel, other telecom giants
By Balogun Kamilu Lekan
Alhaji Musbahu Mohammad Bashir is a billionaire who shies away from the public and keeps a very low profile. Ironically, his ambitions, aspirations and investments never kept a low profile.
Alhaji Musbahu, an indigene of Kano State, is the Chairman of Althani Group, whose investments span banking, insurance, oil and gas, real estate, telecoms, maritime, and aviation.
Althani Group is a corporate group of companies in Nigeria with a collection of subsidiary businesses. Its subsidiaries include Eman Homes and Estate, Althani Investment, Salam Takaful Insurance, Malband Communications Limited, Holborn Oil and Gas International, Althani Oil and Gas Limited, Althani Shelters Limited, Pelican Air Services Limited, Cryogenic Industries Limited, Clearview Apartments, and Mafab Communications.
Alhaji Musbahu chairs the Althani Group of Companies and Cobalt International Services Limited since 2004. He is also a board member in several other companies like Bento Drill Nigeria Limited, Offshore Technologies International Limited, Resource Capital Group and Jaiz Bank PLC.
Previously, he had worked with Hammad Development Facilities in 1987 and Jadai Diversified Services in 1989.
The Kano-born billionaire bags a degree from American University. He also holds certifications from London and Harvard Business School, USA.
Alhaji Musbahu shocked the telecommunication business giants in Nigeria when his company, Mafab Communications, outbid them to acquire the licence to operate the 5G network in Nigeria.
The company was incorporated in July 2020 and licensed by the NCC to run triple operations—interconnecting exchange, international data access, and value-added services.
In 2021, Mafab Communications Limited stormed the telecommunication scene as an underdog to outbid telco giants in Nigeria for the 5G licence.
The auction sees the gigantic presence of top brands like Airtel, MTN, Glo and 9Mobile bidding for the license at the auction.
In another development, companies like 9Mobile and Glo didn’t meet the requirements to go on with the bid according to the NCC, giving Mafab a clear chance to progress.
The NCC conducted the 5G spectrum auction with a reserve price of $197.4 million for two lots of spectrum in the 3.5GHz band.
The Bashir-led Mafab gained momentum surprisingly when Airtel opted out of the race at the 11th round when the bid rose to $275.9 million.
Mafab still stood firm in its bid.
In the final round of the bidding, Mafab and MTN won the bid and are required to pay $273.6m.
It is still surprising how Mafab came out of the wind to fight and win the battle for acquiring the fifth generation (5G) coverage in Nigeria.
The quiet face behind the revolution is Musbahu Mohammad Bashir, whose net worth is estimated to be about $350 million US dollars.
Despite all the wealth and growth in business, Musbahu has kept a completely low profile.
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