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Sule Lamido

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Sule Lamido
Foreign Minister of Nigeria
In office
1999–2003
Preceded byIgnatius Olisemeka
Succeeded byOluyemi Adeniji
Governor of Jigawa State
In office
29 May 2007 – 29 May 2015
Preceded bySaminu Turaki
Succeeded byBadaru Abubakar
Personal details
Born30 August 1948
Bamaina, Birnin Kudu LGA, Jigawa State, Nigeria
Political partyPeople's Democratic Party (PDP)

Sule Lamido (born 1948) served as Foreign minister of Nigeria from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor of Jigawa State in April 2007. He is a member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). He ran successfully for reelection on 26 April 2011.[1] In 2015 he and his sons were put on trial for embezzling state fund by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Early career

Lamido was born on 30 August 1948 in Bamaina, Birnin Kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa State.

Lamido entered politics as a member of the left-of-center People's Redemption Party (PRP) in the Nigerian Second Republic. He became National Secretary of the Social Democratic Party during the Nigerian Third Republic, where he received criticism for his handling of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections won by Moshood Abiola, who was prevented from taking office.[2]

When the military ruler General Sani Abacha announced his plan to return to democracy, Lamido was a founding member of the Social Progressive Party, and was National Secretary of the new party.[3] He was imprisoned in 1998 by Abacha for criticising Abacha’s plan to perpetuate himself in office.[2] After Abacha's unexpected death in June 1998, General Abdulsalami Abubakar announced a revised transition strategy and new parties were formed to contest the 1999 elections. Lamido became a member of the PDP.[3] He ran for Governor of Jigawa State in the 1999 elections at the start of the Nigerian Fourth Republic, but was narrowly defeated by the All People's Party (APP) candidate Ibrahim Saminu Turaki.[4]

Foreign minister

President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed Lamido Foreign Minister in June 1999, causing friction with Lamido's patron Abubakar Rimi who had been turned down as Obasanjo's Vice-Presidential partner and was lobbying for the Foreign Minister job.[5] Tensions between Lamido and Rimi lingered on. In December 2003 the two disagreed over the choice of chairman of a committee to investigate the zonal chairman of the party, with the argument degenerating into what one delegate described as "unseeming behavior".[6] In October 2006 Lamido described Rimi as "a contradiction of his political past".[7] However, during a courtesy visit to Rimi in December 2007 Lamido described him as a major factor that cannot be ignored in Nigerian politics.[8]

In January 2001, Nigeria turned over the Chairmanship of Group of 77 to Iran. Speaking at the hand-over ceremony, Lamido gave an enthusiastic account of G77 progress under Nigeria's leadership. Delegates from other countries agreed that much had been achieved.[9] After a September 2001 meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London, Lamido told the BBC that Britain was passionate over the numerous problems retarding Africa's its peace, progress and prosperity, described the meeting as "fantastic".[10] The same month, he inaugurated a committee to organize an international conference on human trafficking, child abuse, child labor and slavery. He noted that hundreds of trafficked Nigerians had died while trying to cross the Sahara and the Mediterranean to reach Europe.[11] Speaking at the United Nations in November 2001, Lamido described the corrosive impact of corruption on new democracies such as Nigeria, and called for "an international instrument" against transfer of looted funds abroad.[12]

In January 2003 a nine-member Joint Committee of the House of Representatives visited Pakistan, apparently seeking to mediate in the dispute over Kashmir, without consulting the Foreign ministry. Lamido wrote to Sadiq Yar'Adua, the president of the Committee, pointing out the risk of such a trip without background knowledge of the delicate balance of alliances. Yar'Adua reacted angrily, saying "...nobody is here as an appendage of Sule Lamido's Ministry. We are not his boys; we are not bound by his whatever foreign policy strategy."[13]

In March 2003, Lamido reacted to a claim by Governor Turaki of Jigawa State that the Federal government had neglected the state, calling on him to account for the way in which he had spent federal funding, and he was indeed the best man for the 2015 presidential candidate.[14]

Later career

In May 2003, after the PDP had again lost the elections in Jigawa State, Lamido claimed that the polls had been rigged in favor of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP).[15] In August 2006 it was reported that the North West zone of the PDP had rejected Lamido as a candidate for the 2007 governorship election.[16] However, in April 2007, Lamido contested and won the governorship election in Jigawa State. He took office on 29 May 2007.[2] After the election, his predecessor Saminu Turaki was jailed and was unable to raise bail. Turaki accused Lamido of intimidating Jigawa leaders to not stand as sureties.[17]

In June 2007, Lamido accused new generation banks of helping state governors to loot their treasuries, and called for tighter regulations.[18] In July 2007 Lamido announced plans to spend N2 billion in the next six months on education, using the money to rebuild schools and provide basic teaching materials.[19] The state also invested N450 million naira for training teachers teaching core courses in junior secondary schools.[20] He initiated major construction programs, led by the Dutse Capital Development Authority and the Jigawa State Housing Authority.[21] In September 2009 Lamido offered to provide free plots of land and basic infrastructure to investors in the tourism and hospitality business in Jigawa State.[22] In December 2009 Lamido announced a plan by which beggars would be given a basic monthly payment to stay off the streets.[23]

In December 2009 it was reported that Olusegun Obasanjo had started to lobby for Lamido to be the PDP's vice presidential candidate in the 2011 elections.[24] Lamido ran successfully for reelection on 26 April 2011. He polled 676,307 votes, with runner-up Badaru Abubakar of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) scoring 343,177 votes.[1]

In 2015 Lamido and his two sons were briefly jailed after being arrested and tried for allegedly arranging for contracts to be placed by companies that they controlled. Lamido blamed this on his enemies.[25]

References

  1. ^ a b "Ruling party leads in Nigerian governorship elections". People's Daily. April 29, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-29.
  2. ^ a b c "Those who could be vice president". Next. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  3. ^ a b Bolaji Abdullahi and Kola Ologbodiyan (2001-03-11). "How Far Can the Progressives Go?". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  4. ^ "PDP's Men of Power". ThisDay. 2001-11-10. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  5. ^ "Obasanjo Is On His Way Out". ThisDay. 2002-09-08. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  6. ^ Chuks Okocha, Tokunbo Adedoja and Agaju Madugba (2003-12-08). "PDP Crisis: Rimi, Lamido Trade Words". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  7. ^ Yakubu Musa (10.06.2005). "Lamido to Rimi: You're a Contradiction of Your Past". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Taiwo Olawale (2007-12-24). "Rimi's a Factor in Nigerian Politics - Lamido". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  9. ^ Adagbo Onoja (2001-02-04). "G-77: Nigeria's Graceful Exit". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  10. ^ Andrew Ahiante (2001-09-19). "Britain Concerned over Plight of Africa -Lamido". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  11. ^ "Hundreds of Trafficked Nigerians Die, Trying to Cross African Deserts, Mediterranean". People's Daily. September 21, 2001. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  12. ^ Kayode Komolafe (2001-11-17). "Lamido Calls for Global Action Against Corruption". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  13. ^ Bola A. Akinterinwa (2003-02-03). "Legislative Misdirection in Foreign Policy". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  14. ^ Bala Nasir (2003-03-07). "Lamido Chides Turaki over State's Revenue". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  15. ^ Eddy Odivwri (2003-05-10). "How the Polls Were Rigged". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  16. ^ "PDP Drops Buhari, Zubairu, Lamido, Others". ThisDay. 12.08.2006. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Funso Muraina (08.03.2007). "Turaki Accuses Lamido of Frustrating Bail Bid". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Chuks Okocha (2007-06-23). "Lamido: Banks Assist Govs to Loot Treasuries". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  19. ^ Taiwo Olawale (08.07.2007). "Jigawa to Rescue Education with N2bn". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ "NUT endorses Gov Lamido ahead of 2011 election". Newsday Weekly. 05/5/2008. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  21. ^ ISMAILA MUHAMMAD (15 March 2010). "Lamido's housing revolution in Jigawa state". Daily Triumph. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  22. ^ Taiwo Olawale (2009-09-30). "Jigawa Woos Investors with Land, Facilities". ThisDay. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  23. ^ "Jigawa's Heart for the Beggars". ThisDay. 12.06.2009. Retrieved 2010-04-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  24. ^ Iyobosa Uwugiaren (2 December 2009). "Obasanjo Positions Lamido for Vice President". Leadership. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  25. ^ My prison experience, Sule Lamido, August 2015, VanguardNGR, Retrieved 10 February 2016
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