Nigerians are, at the end of the day, a very perplexing group of people. On the one hand, are very wealthy people who are unrestrained in their desire to show the world their endless resources. On the other hand are folks who are just as wealthy but prefer to hide among the common people. Abdullahi Bashir Haske is one of the latter, although his attempts to keep a low profile have not been half as successful as his brilliant business methods and moves.
For those who have not had the pleasure of knowing Haske, he is the founder and group MD of AA&R Investments, a long chain of oil-based companies that continue to stretch to new frontiers. He is 37 years old, a native of Adamawa State, and the man who recently got 51% of the oil blocs left behind by Addax Petroleum.
A daring young man, Haske built his AA&R company starting in the oil and gas sector. Today, the company has solid interests in marine services, aviation, agriculture, information technology and logistics services, to name a few. In a few short years, Haske grew from being a nondescript contractor to one of the most recognised and wealthiest under 40s on the block.
Some folks have credited Haske’s ascension onto the heights hitherto dominated by folks over 50 and retired to a deep and wide political network. These claim that his political associations paved the way for him. However, for anyone who cares to look a bit deeper into the matter, this is not true. In fact, this is putting the cart before the horse. All the ‘Abuja connect’, as they are called, came after Haske accomplished this much for himself.
Meanwhile, Haske has remained relevant to his Adamawa roots. This was obvious when he reportedly assisted around 14,000 Adamawa residents during the COVID-19 crisis. For one so young, such vision is rare indeed. This explains why Haske is a newfound model for many Nigerian youths.
That brilliance and humility are rare indeed
