Sabo Bakin Zuwo


Aliyu Sabo Bakin Zuwo was a Nigerian politician of the People's Redemption Party. He was a Senator in the Second Nigerian Republic and was elected Governor of Kano State in October 1983, holding office briefly until the military coup on 31 December 1983 that brought General Mohammadu Buhari to power.

Background

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.

Early political career

He had no formal education, but said that he attended "Mallam Aminu Kano Political School, Sudawa, Kano". In the run-up to the Second Republic, Zuwo, an outspoken politician, was said to had made effective use of the radio more than any other politician in Northern Nigeria. Elected to the Senate in 1979, Zuwo sponsored more bills than any other Senator.

Governor of Kano

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. One of Zuwo's first acts as governor was to remove all the Emir's installed by Rimi. 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 to a clinic.

Corruption

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

Death

He died in 1989. Before his death he had aligned with the Peoples Front of Nigeria led by General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua together with some Kano State politicians such as his deputy Governor Wada Abubakar, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, and Rabiu Kwankwaso.