Vice-President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Alhaji Aminu Dantata.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday.

In his condolences message on Saturday in Abuja, Shettima said the nation had lost an irreplaceable institution.

The vice president praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution.”

He described Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marked the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them.

”He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” Shettima added.

The vice president extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

Shettima prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures.

His empire spanned construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools and mosques and health centres and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.