Rabiu Kwankwaso

Life

Rabiu Kwankwaso is a prominent Nigerian politician.

He was born in Kwankwaso village of Madobi Local Government Area of Kano State in 1956.

His father Musa Salihu was the village head of Kwankwaso. Young Rabiu attended Kwankwaso Primary School, Gwarzo Boarding Senior Primary School, Wudil Craft School and Kano Technical College before proceeding to Kaduna Polytechnic for his tertiary education. He also did his post graduate studies in the United Kingdom.

working career

He started his working career at the Kano State Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency. He later resigned and joined partisan politics in 1990 (Third Republic) and he was elected to the Federal House of Representatives (Lower House of Nigerian Parliament) where he became the Deputy Speaker. That Republic was aborted. In 1999 he joined the Peoples Democratic Party and he was elected the Governor of Kano State.

politics

He was elected as the Executive Governor of the northern Nigerian state of Kano between 1999 and 2003, under the flag of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). He lost re-election to Ibrahim Shekarau whom he had demoted from the highest civil service position of permanent secretary to a classroom teacher. His tenure as the Governor of Kano State was very eventful because there were several groups opposed to his high handed governorship. His party the PDP also became split between his supporters and those who opposed him.

His 2003 bid to serve for a second term was unsuccessful. He was then appointed as the Minister of Defence in President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet in 2003. In 2007, he was appointed as the Presidential Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur by the Obasanjo administration after losing the bid from his party to contest the 2007 general governorship election. He continued to use his influence at the Federal level to undermine his opponents especially the Kano State Government. He resigned his ministerial position to contest the election in 2007 but he lost because he had been indicted by a Government White Paper.

Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is now the party leader in Kano and is currently nominated into the party's most powerful political circle in PDP, the Board of Trustees. Recently, he has also been shortlisted for ambassadorial appointment by the Yar'adua administration.