All you need to know about the Mai Deribe house made of gold in Nigeria

In the heart of Maiduguri, Nigeria, stands a residence owned by the late Alhaji Ahmed Mai Deribe. People call it Fadar Deribe's palace or Deribe's house. This house was said to have been built using a mixture of liquid gold.

Late Alhaji Ahmed Mai Deribe, the former owner of the remarkable Mai Deribe house made of gold in Nigeria, was a man of immense wealth and lavish indulgence. In the 1980s, he owned a customised Gulfstream G550 private jet, making him one of just twelve people in the world to own that private jet at the time. This ownership placed him in the esteemed company of great men such as Japan's richest man, Yoshiaki Tsutsumi, Saudi Arabia's Khalid Ibn Mahfouz, and CNN's owner, Robert Edward ‘Ted’ Turner.

The great Deribe Palace is located in Maiduguri. This resplendent mansion attracted dignitaries and eminent personalities from around the world, including the late Princess Diana and her husband, Prince Charles, as well as King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who graced its halls for a two-day stay in 1986. King Juan Carlos I, was reportedly amazed by such opulence amid the vast desert landscape. The commissioning of this architectural masterpiece was handled by none other than the military president, General Ibrahim Babangida.

It was reported that the Deribe Palace boasts a plethora of lavish apartments and suites, including five sets of four-bedroom accommodations. Each of these was allocated to his wives. Shettima Abubakar Deribe, his son, confirmed that the construction of this massive residence spanned ten years.

When asked about the vastness of the residence by Daily Mail, Alhaji Shettima Abubakar Mai Deribe said, “Honestly, I can’t say the exact number of rooms and apartments in this building because if you enter some parts of the building, it will seem to be a hall, but it’s not. You can go and see things for yourself, and then see if you can figure out rooms, apartments for our mums, boys’ quarters, apartments for domestic workers, and of visitors. There are so many that I don’t have a definite number of how many rooms the house contains. There are car parking spaces in almost every corner of this house. There’s no specific parking space for us except that of our late father so everyone parks their vehicle wherever they wish. Because of the swathe of landscape, in the morning you will think it’s a car mart.” 

The Deribe Palace's grandeur came at a staggering cost of $100 million for its construction, with cleaning operations alone costing ₦‎5 million monthly.

Catch a glimpse of the magnificent structure here:

Mai Deribe's philanthropic legacy

Beyond his opulent lifestyle, Mai Deribe earned respect by all for his philanthropic work. Born in 1924, he fathered 27 children and left his legacy through numerous charitable endeavours. Some of the notable philanthropic feats of Mai Deribe include:

• Deribe Central Mosque: A magnificent religious edifice commissioned by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
• Maiduguri Central Mosque donation: On January 1, 1987, Mai Deribe gave out a generous sum of ₦‎5 million naira to the Maiduguri Central Mosque on behalf of his family and his late brother, Alhaji Kuli Deribe.
• Neighbouring communities and mosques: Mai Deribe's benevolence extended to his neighbours in Fezzan and Old Maiduguri. Monthly allocations of millet were dispatched to families during the Ramadan month, alongside the construction of numerous mosques, including the Bulumkutu Central Mosque, Aminu Deribe Mosque, Doggon Masalanchi, Deribe Hotel Mosque, School Mosque, Government College, Maiduguri, Fillin Polo Mosque, and Airport Mosque, culminating in a total of 78 mosques.
• His charitable acts also extended to rural districts through the construction of over 60 boreholes in Borno and Yobe States.
• Mai Deribe's sponsored indigent students from Borno State, providing scholarships for their studies abroad, with some residing in his residence in Gloucester, London.
• Disaster relief: During the devastating flood disaster in September 1994, Mai Deribe's home served as a sanctuary for displaced residents. He was indeed a patriarch for the people of Borno State.

The life of Mai Deribe was a fulfilling one characterised by immense generosity and a lasting impact on the community. His legacy continues to be revered by the people of Borno. 

Mai Deribe passed away in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in 2002.