Profile
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a former governor of Kano and the senator representing the Kano Central Senatorial District at the National Assembly. He is currently the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. In 2015, Kwankwaso unsuccessfully contested the presidential primaries nomination under the opposition All Progressive Congress but lost to Muhammad Buhari. In 2018, he returned to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and contested the presidential primaries losing out to Atiku Abubakar. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has been confirmed as the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the 2023 general elections.
Personal Life
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was born on 21 October 1956 in Kwankwaso, a village located at Madobi, to a Sunni Muslim Fulani family. His father was the village head of Kwankwaso with the title of Sarkin Fulani, Dagacin Kwankwaso; he was promoted to the District Head of Madobi with the title of Majidadin Kano, Hakimin Madobi. Kwankwaso married his wife Salamatu Rabiu Musa in 2000 and the couple is blessed with six (6) children
Education
| School | Qualification | Year |
| Kwankwaso Primary School | Primary School Certificate | |
| Gwarzo Boarding Senior Primary School | Primary School Certificate | |
| Wudil of Craft School and Kano Technical College | West African Senior School Certificate | |
| Kaduna Polytechnic | ND/HND | |
| Middlesex Polytechnic | Postgraduate studies | 1982-1983 |
| Loughborough University of Technology | Masters Degree | 1983 -1985 |
| Sharda University India | PhD | 2022 |
Work History
| Place | Position | Date |
| Kano State Water Resources | Government of Kano State | 1975 |
Ganduje Village, Dawakin Tofa Local government Kano state
21 October 1956 (age 65)
Kano State
New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP)
Islam
Governor Kano State
Senator
Political History
Kwankwaso’s political journey began in 1992, when he was elected as a member of House of Representatives representing Madobi Federal Constituency. His subsequent election as Deputy Speaker in the House brought him to the limelight of national politics. He was a member of the Peoples Front faction of the SDP led by late General Shehu Yar’adua. In the 1999 elections, Kwankwaso contested and won the election to the governor of Kano Sate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He contested again for a second term in 2003 but was unsuccessful, losing out to Ibrahim Shekarau in the PDP primaries. However, he was appointed Minister of Defence during the regime of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Relentlessly, Kwankwaso contested again for the governorship position of Kano State in the 2011 general elections and was successfully elected for the second time. Kwankwaso represented Kano Central Senatorial District at the Senate of Nigeria from May 2015 to May 2019.
In July 2018, Kwankwaso alongside fourteen serving senators of the APC defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In October 2018, Kwankwaso contested the PDP presidential primaries. At the presidential primaries held in Rivers, amongst twelve presidential aspirants Kwankwaso came in fourth behind Atiku Abubakar. In April 2022, Kwankwaso joined the race for the seat of the President in the 2023 general election on the platform of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP)
Leadership Style/Philosophy
Awards & Honours
Project
Kwankwaso’s time in office was characterised by a number of notable achievements.
- Established the Kano University of Science and Technology in Wudil, the first and only state university in Kano at the time
- Established the North West University, Kano, the second state University in Kano.
- Established 26 academic and manpower development training institutes and through these institutes over 360,000 youth and women were trained and empowered.
- Introduced free school feeding and uniforms for primary school pupils. This exponentially increased the school enrolment figures from 1 million in 2011 to over 3 million in 2015 when he left office.
- Established 230 secondary schools of which there are 47 technical colleges, 44 schools of Islamic studies, a Chinese college, a French college, and the first boarding girls’ college as well as a boys’ college in Damagaran and Niamey jointly with the Government of Niger Republic.
- Awarded over 2,600 postgraduate and undergraduate foreign scholarships in 14 countries across the world. This is in addition to the local private university scholarship in Nigeria.
- Three flyover bridges were constructed, 5 km dual-carriage lighted roads were being constructed in each of the 44 Local Government Areas of Kano, and two underpass bridges were constructed.
- Initiated the covering of drainages with interlocking tiles in the state, including the covering of the Jakara River which cuts across the city of Kano with a dualised road
- Built many houses and estates in both his first and second tenure in office.
- Three modern cities, Kwankwasiyya, Amana and Bandirawo were built with about 3000 housing units of various capacities put up for sale to the general public.
- 1500 houses have been constructed and donated free to rural poor communities and victims of flood disasters.
- Launched the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation (KDF)
- Secured the release of 170 inmates in various prisons across Nigeria by paying their fines and providing transport to enable them to get to their destinations and reunite with their families.
- Donated sports kits and cash worth over 150 million naira to amateur football clubs across states in Nigeria.
- Inaugurated a 300-pupil capacity school which he built in Rano local government, Kano. The school is solar-powered and has a block housing six classrooms. The school was built through KDF in line with Kwankwaso’s vision and mission to support education.
Criticism/Controversy
- Feud with Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
- On 9 March 2004, the chief judge of Kano state swore in the six-member commission of inquiry which was headed by Hon. Justice Ahmed Badamasi as chairman to inquire into the activities of Kwankwaso. In 2015, the Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners group filed a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) claiming that Kwankwaso had broken the Kano State Pension and Gratuity Law of 2007 right before leaving office earlier in 2015. According to the group, Kwankwaso had directed that pension remittances be used for housing development but supposedly intervened in a housing project to allocate houses to his associates. Ultimately, the housing allocations and alleged misappropriation of funds reached around 10 billion naira according to the Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners group.On 2 July 2015, Justice Mohammed Yahaya of the Kano High Court restrained the EFCC from arresting or restraining Kwankwaso in its investigation of the alleged misappropriation of N10 billion pension funds while serving as Kano State governor. Two weeks later on 16 July 2015, the same judge in the Kano High Court voided his earlier order and granted the EFCC a judgement to enable the commission to investigate, arrest and prosecute Kwankwaso. Justice Muhammed Yahaya also fined Kwankwaso N50,000 for “time-wasting.”. Later in 2016, The EFCC denied and refuted claims of any pending corruption case and prosecution against Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso strongly denied all allegations against him, describing it as mere political blackmail, mischievous and untrue which is sponsored by his enemies and political rivals to tarnish his image and reputation. In September 2021, the Premium Times found that the EFCC had invited Kwankwaso for questioning earlier that month on the alleged pension fund misappropriation from 2015; Kwankwaso initially ignored the commission before turning himself in on 16 October for questioning.