•City People Reveals The Inside Story
In the ongoing political process, his name keeps recurring like a decimal. At every point in time, the name of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, the NNPP presidential candidate keeps popping up.
Over the last few months he has become a beautiful bride that is being courted by all the political parties, especially by the other political parties. The APC wants to collaborate with him, the PPD is talking to him and the Labour Party will love to work with Senator Kwankwaso. But he has rebuffed all their overtures.
Some have called on him to fuse into their party, whilst some others want him to simply collaborate with them. Interestingly all the presidential candidates of these parties are his friends. He enjoys fantastic relationship with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and he is very close to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Of course, Peter Obi loves him.
What the 3 of them want is for Kwankwaso to say. Yes to their request.
Why are they after him? It is because of his electoral value. Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is a grassroot man with large followership not only in Nigeria but even abroad. He is not only strong in Kano, Kaduna, Borno, Gombe, Katsina and other Northern States, he has a huge following among the Hausas across the South-West.
They know he can deliver huge votes. He has the numbers they need. He controls a large voting bloc that can help them achieve the spread that they need.
Recently, Gov. Samuel Ortom of Benue State called on Atiku Abubakar to join hands and unite and pave way for Kwankwaso to get to Presidential Villa in this forthcoming General Election, if really what He (Atiku) is talking about the North is true deep down in his heart.
New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) recently responded that its presidential candidate, Kwankwaso will not step down for his PDP counterpart and that it is Atiku that should step down.
Kwankwaso’s running mate, Bishop Isaac Idahosa has told City People that his principal will not step down. “Kwankwaso is in the race to win”.
Some have also revealed that when the time comes, NNPP might look into the possibility of an alliance which would be done on NNPP’s terms.
Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party NNPP and he is so sure he will win the 2023 Presidential elections. Within political circles, he is considered to be a strong candidate. He has a huge followership across the country.
He controls the popular Kwankwasiyya Movement, and members are always in red caps. The fact that he is a seasoned politician who understands the game will help. He has been in the corridors of power since 1999. was the Governor of Kano state from 1999 to 2003 and 2011 to 2015. After he lost his re-election in 2003, he was appointed the first Minister of Defence of the Fourth Republic with no prior military background from 2003 to 2007, under the administration of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. He was later elected to the Senate in 2015, serving one term under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) representing Kano Central Senatorial District.
He is currently the National leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. Kwankwaso enjoys widespread support in Kano and North-Western Nigeria; he has been viewed as a charismatic populist. In 2011, he was re-elected governor of the state and went on to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014. 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 People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and contested the presidential primaries losing out to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso is the presidential candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the 2023 general elections.
Let’s tell you more. 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 by the Kano Emirate Council of Emir Ado Bayero.
He attended Kwankwaso Primary School, Gwarzo Boarding Senior Primary School, Wudil Craft School and Kano Technical College before proceeding to Kaduna Polytechnic where he did both his National Diploma, and Higher National Diploma.
Kwankwaso was an active student leader during his school days and was an elected official of the Kano State Students Association. He also attended postgraduate studies in the United Kingdom from 1982 to 1983 at the Middlesex Polytechnic; and Loughborough University of Technology where he received a master’s degree in Water Engineering in 1985. He also bagged his PhD in water engineering at Sharda University India, in 2022.
He joined the Kano State Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency of the Government of Kano State in 1975. He served there for 17 years in various capacities and rose through the ranks to become the principal water engineer.
In 1992, Kwankwaso made his entry into politics on the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was a member of the People’s Front faction of the SDP led by General Shehu Yar’adua and other popular politicians such as his former boss Senator Magaji Abdullahi, Babagana Kingibe, Atiku Abubakar, Bola Tinubu, Tony Anenih, Chuba Okadigbo, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Abubakar Koko and Lamidi Adedibu amongst others.
In 1992, he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives representing Madobi Federal Constituency. His subsequent election as Deputy Speaker in the House brought him to the limelight of national politics. During the 1995 Constitutional Conference, Kwankwaso was elected as one of the delegates from Kano, as a member of the People’s Democratic Movement led by Yar’adua. He later joined the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) in the political transition program of General Sani Abacha.
He joined the PDP in 1998 under the platform of People’s Democratic Movement in Kano led by Mallam Musa Gwadabe, Senator Hamisu Musa and Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila. In 1999, he contested the PDP primaries alongside Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Mukthari Zimit, Alhaji Kabiru Rabiu. The Santsi/P.S.P. were behind the candidature of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje but they lost to Kwankwaso in the primaries.
He was elected for his first term as the governor of Kano State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003. His first tenure as the governor of Kano State was very eventful because of several other groups who were opposed to his governorship and his attempt at supporting Yoruba President, Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2003, he lost re-election to his rival Malam Ibrahim Shekarau.
He was re-elected for a second term in office as Governor of Kano State from 29 May 2011 to 29 May 2015. During this time, he set out to rejig the political structure of Kwankwassiya: building roads, hospitals and schools and sending residents to study abroad. In August 2013, Kwankwaso was amongst 7 serving governors who formed the G-7 faction within the Peoples Democratic Party. In November 2013, Kwankwaso, alongside 5 members of the G-7, defected to the new opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In June 2014, he was at loggerheads with long-time Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero over his appointment of Waziri (Vizier) of the Kano Emirate Council. On 6 June 2014, Ado Bayero died and a succession crisis loomed amongst the royals.
On 8 June 2014, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi suspended Central Bank governor and Dan Majen Kano (Son of Emir-Maje) emerged as the new Emir of Kano. His ascension led to widespread protests from supporters of Sanusi Ado Bayero son of the late Emir and Chiroman Kano (Crown Prince), and allegations that Kwankwaso supported Sanusi because of the 2015 presidential election.
In October 2014, Kwankwaso used his large political following in Kano to contest the APC presidential primaries. The presidential primaries results held in Lagos were: Muhammadu Buhari with 3,430 votes, Kwankwaso with 974 votes, Atiku Abubakar with 954 votes, Rochas Okorocha with 400 votes and late Sam Nda-Isiah with 10 votes. Coming in second, Kwankwaso endorsed the winner Muhammadu Buhari. This time around, will he be able to win the 2023 Presidential elections? He is seriously working on it, traversing the whole country.
