Despite the lingering crisis of banditry and other contending issues upsetting millions of livelihoods across northern Nigeria, it has not stopped a few individuals and businesses from pursuing their dreams and getting their lives back on an even keel.
One of such businesses operating within this convoluted space is Abdullahi Bashir Haske. The younger Haske is the founder of the AA & R Investment Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with diversified interests in a variety of industries, including agriculture, energy, logistics, and information and communication technology.
As the Group Managing Director, he provides executive leadership and champions the strategic objectives of all the subsidiaries. Born in Yola, Adamawa State, on the 13th of December 1987, to Abdullahi Bashir Haske senior from Yola in Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State, he grew up with four siblings, one of whom is Abdulrahman Bashir Haske, also a prominent businessman in Nigeria, he is the executive director of The AAR Company.
An alumnus of the Lagos Business School and the University of Abuja, Nigeria, his career trajectory shows a proven track record of successfully establishing thriving commercial networks in Nigeria’s key geographic regions. He started his career as an entrepreneur in 2005, providing diverse services in the construction, procurement, and energy fields. Specifically, Haske’s flagship investment in the agricultural sector is the H & W Rice Company Limited, which has an annual production capacity of 180 tons and is among the top five rice processing mills in northeast Nigeria.
His entrepreneurial vision also birthed the establishment of H & W Starch Derivatives Limited, a pioneer in innovative agro-processing approaches backed by technology to produce a diverse variety of high-quality starch derivatives using raw materials such as maize, potatoes, and cassava. This progressive venture has led to the socio-economic inclusion of impoverished host communities and the direct welfare impact on over 1500 farmers.
Besides as co-founder of Mars Exploration and Production Limited, an indigenous exploration and production company as well as the Etihad Oilfield Limited, a turnkey drilling company which led to the hydrocarbon discovery in the Gongola Basin well exploration as well as spearheading drilling campaign in Northern Nigeria.
The younger Haske’s interest in the technology space led to the establishment of Nitroswitch Limited, one of Nigeria’s leading information and communications technology service providers. Licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission as a value-added services (VAS) aggregator, Nitroswitch has been significantly strategic in the achievement of the tax authority’s key objectives and the digitalisation of its services as the company developed the automated Tax Pro Max portal in 2022, which resulted in the tax entity amassing its largest revenue of N10 trillion thus far. Other companies founded by Abdullahi include Mars Multiconcept Limited, Manomi Support Services Limited, Etihad Trading Limited, Mars Aviation Limited, H&W Starch Company Limited, and Etihad Energy Limited. Under his leadership, all 10 companies emerged as subsidiaries under the AA & R Investment Group.
The Group has grown into a multi-sectoral conglomerate, offering a diverse portfolio of products and services aimed at impacting businesses and transforming lives. In 2021, he led the Mars E & P expansion project to secure interests in two marginal oil field assets in the Niger Delta basin. This is just as he acquired a $274 million senior reserve-based lending facility from Afrexim Bank to fund the growth and expansion of other producing assets in the Niger Delta, a milestone later recognised as Afrexim’s largest partnership signed with an African youth. Abdullahi is also well known for his charitable work through the Abdullahi Bashir Haske Foundation, focuses on public health, disease eradication, access to effective healthcare, and small business grants in the northern geographical zone of Nigeria.
Expectedly, he has received recognitions and accolades for his work both within professional as well as social circles. Abdullahi is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Directors and a Fellow of the Business Process Management Institute of Nigeria. Besides, he has received several leadership awards from prestigious African organisations, such as the African Business Roundtable and the Rotary Club of Nigeria. He has also been awarded the Rising Star Of The Year at the Nigeria Oil & Gas Awards for his impact in the Nigerian energy industry amongst several traditional titles including the Ciroma Ganye, Chiefdom of Adamawa.
