Preceded by Abdu Dawakin Tofa Succeeded by Hamza Abdullahi Died 1989, Kano, Nigeria | Role Politician Name Sabo Zuwo | |
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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.
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. He had no formal education, but said that he attended "Mallam Aminu Kano Political School, Sudawa, Kano", referring to the politician and champion of the people's rights.
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. Elected to the Senate in 1979, Zuwo sponsored more bills than any other Senator. 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). One of Zuwo’s first acts as governor was to remove all the Emirs 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 into a clinic.
He was arrested by the Buhari regime 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. He died in 1989. Before his death he had aligned with the Peoples Front of Nigeria led by Major General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua together with some Kano State Politicians such as his Deputy Governor Alhaji Wada Abubakar, Alhaji Ahmadu Rufai, Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila and Alhaji Dauda Dangalan.