Sabo Bakin Zuwo

Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo
Governor of Kano State
In office
1 October 1983 – 31 December 1983
Preceded by Abdu Dawakin Tofa
Succeeded by Hamza Abdullahi
Personal details
Died 1989

Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo was a Senator in the Nigerian Second Republic who was elected Governor of Kano State, Nigeria in October 1983, holding office briefly until the military coup on 31 December 1983 that brought General Mohammadu Buhari to power. He was elected on the People's Redemption Party (PRP) platform.[1]

Zuwo's origins could be traced to Nupe in Niger state, from where his great grand parents migrated to Kano, where he was born and raised.[2] He had no formal education, but said that he attended "Mallam Aminu Kano Political School, Sudawa, Kano", referring to the famous politician and champion of the people's rights.[3]

A colorful and outspoken politician, it was said that he made more effective use of the radio in the run-up to the Second Republic than any other politician in Northern Nigeria.[4] Elected to the Senate in 1979, Zuwo sponsored more bills than any other Senator.[3] In the 1983 Kano State gubernatorial elections he defeated former governor Abubakar Rimi, who had resigned earlier that year and defected to the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP).[5] One of Zuwo’s first acts as governor was to remove all the Emirs installed by Rimi.[6] In a popular gesture, he closed down the Palace Cinema in Kano, which had become a venue for young men to take drugs and engage in sex, and converted it into a clinic.[7]

He was arrested by the Buhari regime which came to power in a coup on 31 December 1983.[4] N3.4 million was said to be found "stacked up" in Zuwo's home when it was searched by the new military government.[8] In 1985 a Special Military Tribunal sentenced him to 300 years in jail. He died in 1989.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Nigeria States". World Statesmen. http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Nigeria_federal_states.htm. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  2. ^ Hassan a Karofi (15 December 2008). "Ancient Kano - How Settlers Become Indigenes". http://allafrica.com/stories/200812160231.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  3. ^ a b Abba Mahmood (21 April 2010). "Random Thoughts". Leadership. http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/columns/daily-columns/thursday-column. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  4. ^ a b c MAHMUD JEGA (11 APRIL 2010). "The colour is faded". Daily Trust. http://www.news.dailytrust.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17121:the-colour-is-faded&catid=47:daily-columns&Itemid=31. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  5. ^ Ibrahim Shuaibu (5 April 2010). "Ex-Gov Rimi Dies After Armed Robbery Attack". ThisDay. http://allafrica.com/stories/201004050071.html. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  6. ^ "Controversy, intrigues trail Shekarau-Bayero romance". Champion. 30 January 2010. http://www.champion.com.ng/index.php?news=27012. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
  7. ^ Brian Larkin (2008). Signal and noise: media, infrastructure, and urban culture in Nigeria. Duke University Press. p. 144. ISBN 0822341085. 
  8. ^ William R. Roff (1987). Islam and the political economy of meaning: comparative studies of Muslim discourse. Routledge. p. 101. ISBN 0709942486. 
State governors in the Nigerian Second Republic (1979 - 1983)