Umaru Mutallab
Encyclopedia
Alhaji Umaru Abdul Mutallab (born December 15, 1939) is a Nigeria
n business and bank
ing leader, and former minister of Economic Development under the military government of Murtala Mohammed
. He played a major role in introducing Islamic banking
into Nigeria.
He was described by The Times
in 2009 as being "one of the richest men in Africa", by The New York Times
as "among Nigeria’s richest and most prominent men," by The Telegraph
as being "one of Nigeria's most prominent bankers", and by The Guardian
as being "one of the country's most respected businessmen".
His son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
, is a student who attempted to detonate plastic explosive
s aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253
.
, Katsina State
, Nigeria. He lives in Funtua
, in Katsina State in Muslim north Nigeria, though reportedly the family owns homes in London and Ghana as well. The family owns at least three homes in Nigeria, including the one in Funtua (with ten bedrooms, and its own silver-domed mosque), one in Kaduna, and a "palatial" home in Abuja
.
, Zaria, Achimota College, Accra, Ghana, and the South West London College, London. He was awarded an Honourary Doctorate Degree by the Obafemi Awolowo University
, Ile-Ife.
(1976–78). He left to serve as Executive Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO of the United Bank for Africa
(UBA) (1978–88).
He is the former Chairman of Nigeria's oldest and largest bank, First Bank of Nigeria
Plc (1999–2009).
Mutallab has also served on the boards of directors of several companies, including Arewa Textile Limited, NEPA, NACB, NCC, Nigeria Agip
Oil, and Cement Company of Nigeria, and in 2009 was Chairman of several companies, including Impresit Bakolori Plc, Incar Nigeria Plc, and Spring Waters Nigeria Limited (SWAN).
He is chairman of the Nigeria's first Islamic bank, Jaiz Bank International Plc, which was established in 2003.
Mutallab is chairman of the Business Working Group of the Vision 20:2020 Committee in Nigeria, and president of the Old Boys Association of Barewa College. He is a Fellow of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(FCCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
(FCA).
Mutallab was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Niger for services to the country, one of Nigeria’s highest accolades, as well as Italian Commander of the Order of Merit.
, the youngest of his 16 children and a son of the second of his two wives (who is from Yemen
), was implicated in the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253
.
He agreed in July 2009 to his son's request to return to the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language
in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September 2009. His son apparently left the Institute after a month, while remaining in-country. In October, his son sent him a text message saying that he wanted to study sharia
and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen. His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon his son said he was “already getting everything for free”. When his father asked who would sponsor him, Mutallab replied "That's none of your business." He texted his father: "I've found a new religion, the real Islam". And ultimately, "You should just forget about me, I'm never coming back", “Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you”, and "Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child".
His father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 19, 2009, regarding his son's "extreme religious views", and told the embassy that he might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, his son's name was added in November 2009 to the US's 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment
, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center
. It was not added, however, to the FBI's 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database
, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list
and the US's 4,000-name No Fly List
. Nor was his U.S. visa revoked. A little over a month later, his son, directed by al-Qaeda
in Yemen, tried without success to blow up a U.S. flight to Detroit, Michigan.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n business and bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
ing leader, and former minister of Economic Development under the military government of Murtala Mohammed
Murtala Mohammed
General Murtala Ramat Mohammed born was a military ruler of Nigeria from 1975 until his assassination in 1976.-Role during 1960s coups:...
. He played a major role in introducing Islamic banking
Islamic banking
Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Islamic law and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. Sharia prohibits the fixed or floating payment or acceptance of specific interest or fees for loans of money...
into Nigeria.
He was described by The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in 2009 as being "one of the richest men in Africa", by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as "among Nigeria’s richest and most prominent men," by The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
as being "one of Nigeria's most prominent bankers", and by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
as being "one of the country's most respected businessmen".
His son, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", is a suspected terrorist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on December 25,...
, is a student who attempted to detonate plastic explosive
Plastic explosive
Plastic explosive is a specialised form of explosive material. It is a soft and hand moldable solid material. Plastic explosives are properly known as putty explosives within the field of explosives engineering....
s aboard Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
.
Biography
Mutallab was born in Katsina TownKatsina
Katsina is a city , and a Local Government Area in northern Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles east of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger. As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022...
, Katsina State
Katsina State
Katsina State is a state in northern Nigeria. Its capital is Katsina, and its governor is Ibrahim Shema, a member of the People's Democratic Party...
, Nigeria. He lives in Funtua
Funtua
Funtua is a Local Government Area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Funtua on the A126 highway.It has an area of 448 km² and a population of 225,571 at the 2006 census.Funtua became a Local Government in 1967.The chairman is the official Head of Local government....
, in Katsina State in Muslim north Nigeria, though reportedly the family owns homes in London and Ghana as well. The family owns at least three homes in Nigeria, including the one in Funtua (with ten bedrooms, and its own silver-domed mosque), one in Kaduna, and a "palatial" home in Abuja
Abuja
Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...
.
Education
Mutallab attended Barewa CollegeBarewa College
Barewa College is a college in Zaria, Kaduna State, northern Nigeria. Founded in 1922 by British Governor General Hugh Clifford, it was originally known as "Katsina College." It switched its name to "Kaduna College" in 1938 and then "Government College, Zaria" in 1949 before settling on "Barewa...
, Zaria, Achimota College, Accra, Ghana, and the South West London College, London. He was awarded an Honourary Doctorate Degree by the Obafemi Awolowo University
Obafemi Awolowo University
Obafemi Awolowo University is a government-owned and -operated Nigerian university. The university is in the ancient city of Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria...
, Ile-Ife.
Career
Mutallab was a Federal Commissioner (i.e., Minister) of Economic Development (1975) and of Cooperatives and Supplies (1976). He was later a member of Nigeria's Federal Executive CouncilFederal Executive Council
The Federal Executive Council is the formal body holding executive authority under the Constitution of Australia. It is equivalent to the other Executive Councils in other Commonwealth Realms such as the Executive Council of New Zealand and is equivalent to the Privy councils in Canada and the...
(1976–78). He left to serve as Executive Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO of the United Bank for Africa
United Bank for Africa
United Bank for Africa Plc is a public limited company incorporated in Nigeria in 1961 and headquartered in Lagos. It is one of Africa’s leading financial institutions offering universal banking to more than 7 million customers across 750 branches in 19 African countries and a presence in New...
(UBA) (1978–88).
He is the former Chairman of Nigeria's oldest and largest bank, First Bank of Nigeria
First Bank of Nigeria
First Bank of Nigeria is a Nigerian bank and financial services firm.First Bank traces its ancestry back to the first major financial institution founded in Nigeria; hence the name. The current chairman is Dr. Ayoola Oba Otudeko, OFR...
Plc (1999–2009).
Mutallab has also served on the boards of directors of several companies, including Arewa Textile Limited, NEPA, NACB, NCC, Nigeria Agip
Agip
Agip is an Italian automotive gasoline and diesel retailer established in 1926. It is a subsidiary of the multinational petroleum company Eni.In 2003, Eni S.p.A...
Oil, and Cement Company of Nigeria, and in 2009 was Chairman of several companies, including Impresit Bakolori Plc, Incar Nigeria Plc, and Spring Waters Nigeria Limited (SWAN).
He is chairman of the Nigeria's first Islamic bank, Jaiz Bank International Plc, which was established in 2003.
Mutallab is chairman of the Business Working Group of the Vision 20:2020 Committee in Nigeria, and president of the Old Boys Association of Barewa College. He is a Fellow of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
Founded in 1904, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants is the global body for professional accountants offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification . it is one of the largest and fastest-growing global accountancy bodies with 147,000 members and 424,000 students in 170...
(FCCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria is a professional accountancy body in Nigeria.It is one of the two professional accountancy associations with regulatory authority in Nigeria, the other being the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria .The relationship between the two...
(FCA).
Mutallab was awarded the title of Commander of the Order of the Niger for services to the country, one of Nigeria’s highest accolades, as well as Italian Commander of the Order of Merit.
Son: Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab
On December 25, 2009, his 23-year-old son Umar Farouk AbdulmutallabUmar Farouk Abdulmutallab
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab , popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber", is a suspected terrorist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, on December 25,...
, the youngest of his 16 children and a son of the second of his two wives (who is from Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
), was implicated in the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
.
He agreed in July 2009 to his son's request to return to the San'a Institute for the Arabic Language
San'a Institute for the Arabic Language
San'a Institute for the Arabic Language is located in the Old City of Sana'a, Yemen on Sa’ilah Street. The school specializes in teaching Arabic as a foreign language....
in Yemen to study Arabic from August to September 2009. His son apparently left the Institute after a month, while remaining in-country. In October, his son sent him a text message saying that he wanted to study sharia
Sharia
Sharia law, is the moral code and religious law of Islam. Sharia is derived from two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the Sunnah. Fiqh jurisprudence interprets and extends the application of sharia to...
and Arabic in a seven-year course in Yemen. His father threatened to cut off his funding, whereupon his son said he was “already getting everything for free”. When his father asked who would sponsor him, Mutallab replied "That's none of your business." He texted his father: "I've found a new religion, the real Islam". And ultimately, "You should just forget about me, I'm never coming back", “Please forgive me. I will no longer be in touch with you”, and "Forgive me for any wrongdoing, I am no longer your child".
His father made a report to two CIA officers at the U.S. Embassy in Abuja, Nigeria, on November 19, 2009, regarding his son's "extreme religious views", and told the embassy that he might be in Yemen. Acting on the report, his son's name was added in November 2009 to the US's 550,000-name Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment
Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment
The Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, is the U.S. Government's central database on known or suspected international terrorists, and contains highly classified information provided by members of the Intelligence Community such as CIA, DIA, FBI, NSA, and many others.There are about 550,000...
, a database of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center
National Counterterrorism Center
The National Counterterrorism Center is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in a modern complex near McLean, Virginia called Liberty Crossing...
. It was not added, however, to the FBI's 400,000-name Terrorist Screening Database
Terrorist Screening Database
The Terrorist Screening Database or TSDB is the central terrorist watchlist consolidated by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center and used by multiple agencies to compile their specific watchlists and for screening. The list consists of 400,000 unique names and over 1,000,000 records as of...
, the terror watch list that feeds both the 14,000-name Secondary Screening Selectee list
Secondary Security Screening Selection
Secondary Security Screening Selection or Secondary Security Screening Selectee, known by its acronym SSSS, is an airport security measure in the United States and Canada which selects passengers for additional inspection. This may also be known as Selectee, Automatic Selectee or the Selectee list...
and the US's 4,000-name No Fly List
No Fly List
The No Fly List is a list, created and maintained by the United States government's Terrorist Screening Center , of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has also been used to divert away from U.S. airspace aircraft not...
. Nor was his U.S. visa revoked. A little over a month later, his son, directed by al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
in Yemen, tried without success to blow up a U.S. flight to Detroit, Michigan.
External links
- Biography at Daily Trust
- "Father Fears Son Is Suspect in Plane Attack", Associated Press via Yahoo News (December 26, 2009)
- AfDevInfo profile
- Nigerian Bulletin on bank succession
- Bank profile
- Bank board website (from 2008 via Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
) - Egene, Goddy, "Mutallab: Profile in Courage," ThisDay, December 28, 2009