Rabiu Kwakwanso Biography, Networth, family life and political ambitions
A well-known Nigerian politician who has held positions in a variety of the nation’s political arenas is Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. From 1999 until 2003, he presided as the governor of Kano State. Although he was unable to run again in the 2003 election due to his defeat, former President Olusegun Obasanjo nonetheless chose to designate him as the Minister of Defense. From 2011 to 2015, he was re-elected to serve as the governor of Kano State. He previously represented Kano Central as a senator. Kwankwaso proclaimed his intention to run for president in 2023 under the New Nigeria Peoples Party in 2022. (NNPP).
Biography
On October 21st, 1956, Rabiu Kwankwaso was born in the Madobi town of Kwankwaso. The title for the leader of the Kwankwaso village, Sarkin Fulani, was held by his father, Dagacin Kwankwaso. Later, Majidadin Kano, the Madobi District Head, was appointed in place of his father. Most of Kwankwaso’s education took place in Kano State. He received his primary and senior education at Kwankwaso Primary School, Gwarzo Boarding Senior Primary School, Wudil Craft School, and Kano Technical College. Kwankwaso continued his education at Kaduna Polytechnic, where he earned certificates for his Higher National Diploma (HND) and National Diploma (ND). Kwankwaso was a well-known student leader and a designated representative of the Kano State Students Association during his time in school. In addition, he conducted postgraduate studies between 1982 and 1983 at Middlesex Polytechnic in the UK and at Loughborough University of Technology, where he earned a master’s degree in water engineering in 1985. He earned a Ph.D. in water engineering from Sharda University in India in 2022.
Political Career
In 1992, Rabiu Kwankwaso joined the Social Democratic Party and began his political career (SDP). He was chosen to serve as a honored representative for Kano State’s Madobi Federal Constituency in the same year. When he was named the House of Assembly’s deputy speaker, he attained widespread fame. One of the Kano delegates to the 1995 Constitutional Conference was Kwankwaso, who served as a representative of the Yar’adua-led People’s Democratic Movement. He later joined the Democratic Party of Nigeria as part of General Sani Abacha’s political transition plan (DPN). Kwankwaso joined the PDP in 1998 on the platform of the People’s Democratic Movement in Kano, which was led by Mallam Musa Gwadabe, Senator Hamisu Musa, and Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila. Alongside Alhaji Kabiru Rabiu, Mukthari Zimit, and Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, he ran in the PDP primary elections in 1999. In the primary elections, he prevailed over them.
From 2003 until 2007, Kwankwaso served as the second administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in place of Theophilus Danjuma as the defense minister. In order to compete for governor of Kano State in 2007, he resigned from his ministerial position, however he lost. Alhaji Ahmed Garba Bichi, the party’s governor nominee, later took his place. After his party’s failed attempt to compete in the 2007 gubernatorial elections, Kwasnkwaso was chosen by President Olusegun Obasanjo to serve as the Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur. He was later appointed by President Umaru Yar’Adua to the Niger Delta Development Commission’s board, which he served on until his resignation in 2010. Kwankwaso represented the Kano Central Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019.
In July 2018, Kwankwaso joined fourteen other APC senators who were still serving in that position in joining the PDP. There were 12 candidates in the PDP presidential primary, which was conducted in October 2018. Kwankwaso received 158 votes, placing him fourth overall behind Atiku Abubakar (1,532), Aminu Tambuwal (693), Bukola Saraki (317), and Kwankwaso (158). After declaring Atiku Abubakar the winner, Kwankwaso made the decision not to seek re-election to the Senate, allowing Ibrahim Shekarau to fill his position. When Abba Kabir Yusuf, his son-in-law, ran for governor of Kano State, Kwankwaso actively supported him. The incumbent, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, won the contest.
In order to compete against other parties in the 2023 presidential election, Rabiu Kwankwaso was named the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s (NNPP) presidential candidate on June 8, 2022.
Personal Life
Rabiu Kwankwaso is a contented husband. He was divorced from his first wife in 1999, and the following year he married Salamatu Rabiu Musa. Eight of his children were born to his first wife and his second spouse.
Read Also: Aliko Dangote: Biography, Networth, family life and achievements
Achievements
After stepping down as governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso founded the Kwankwasiyya Development Foundation (KDF) to help the citizens of Kano state and all of Nigeria. Through the group, Kwankwaso offered countless young people continuing financial assistance so they may finish their school. The first cohort of 370 scholarship recipients from the foundation’s international program returned to Nigeria in 2021 after successfully completing their degrees. After completing their courses, several of the scholars were able to find jobs with numerous national and international companies, including Dangote and Bua. By paying their fines and providing transportation to get them to their destinations and let them to rejoin with their families, Kwankwaso also obtained the release of 170 prisoners from various prisons throughout Nigeria through the KDF. Additionally, Kwankwaso has given sports equipment and cash to amateur football clubs in several states of Nigeria totaling more than 150 million naira. This is a component of his efforts to promote the expansion and improvement of local sports in Nigeria, a nation that offers chances to young people all over the world. In an effort to reduce poverty, particularly among Nigerian women, the organization also gave money and food to the poor and needy, including widows, the disabled, and orphans.
In Kano’s Rano local government, Kwankwaso opened a school with a capacity for 300 students for his 64th birthday in 2020. The school has a block with six classrooms and is solar-powered. According to Kwankwaso’s goal and vision, the school was constructed through KDF.
Corruption Controversy
The six-member panel of investigation, which had Hon. Justice Ahmed Badamasi as chairman and was tasked with looking into the activities of Kwankwaso, was sworn in by the chief judge of Kano state on March 9, 2004. The commission began meeting on March 19, 2004, and by November 2004, when he was charged, it had made its report public and requested that the government release a white paper. The Kano State Pension and Gratuity Law of 2007 was allegedly broken by Kwankwaso just before he resigned from office earlier that year, according to a petition submitted in 2015 to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. The group claims that Kwankwaso instructed pension transfers to be spent for housing development but that he instead interfered in a housing project to assign homes to his buddies. According to the Concerned Kano State Workers and Pensioners organization, the total amount of housing allocations and alleged financial embezzlement was close to 10 billion naira.
In his investigation into the mismanagement of N10 billion pension funds while serving as governor of Kano State, Kwankwaso was under investigation by the EFCC. On 2 July 2015, Justice Mohammed Yahaya of the Kano High Court prevented the EFCC from arresting or restraining Kwankwaso. However, on July 16, 2015, the same Kano High Court judge reversed his earlier decision and gave the EFCC a ruling allowing it to conduct an investigation, make an arrest, and bring charges against Kwankwaso. Kwankwaso was also given a N50,000 punishment by Justice Muhammed Yahaya for “time-wasting.” Later in 2016, the EFCC denied and refuted accusations that Kwankwaso was the subject of any ongoing corruption investigations and prosecutions. Any claims of corruption against Kwankwaso have been vehemently refuted and denied by him, and he has called them political blackmail, malicious, and inaccurate, sponsored by his opponents and political competitors in an effort to damage his character. Through his attorney, Kwankwaso filed a lawsuit in court to recover damages for damage to his reputation.
Net Worth
Rabiu Kwankwaso is one of the richest politicians in Nigeria. His net worth is estimated to be around $10 million.
Hope you enjoy this article?
Share your thoughts in the comment session.
Contact us today for your business consultancy and business advisory services. We can help you fine-tune your idea, structure your business, market your business, train your staff, consult on your retirement plan, coach you for financial success. We also write a business plan and help with fundraising strategies and Grant applications. We can help you start, grow, and expand your business.
We help institutions and organizations write concepts, implement Business plans, and train on business Plan writing in Nigeria.
We can help you write a detailed, bankable and comprehensive business plan for your business idea.
Call any of our business plan consultants on 08105636015, 08076359735, and 08113205312.
Or send a WhatsApp message or email us either at dayohub@gmail.com or info@dayoadetiloye.com.
Related