Mohammed Rabi'u Musa Kwankwaso, (born 21 October 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Kano State from 1999 to 2003 and from 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 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.
Formerly the national leader of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Kwankwaso resigned on Sunday, March 29, 2026, to facilitate a strategic political realignment. On Monday, March 30, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) officially welcomed Kwankwaso to the party at his residence on Miller Road, Bompai, Kano State. After a brief tenure with ADC, the former Kano Governor defected to the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) in May 2026. He currently serves as a key figure in the OK Movement—an alliance between his Kwankwasiyya base and Peter Obi's supporters—maintaining a powerful opposition bloc with significant influence in Kano and across Nigeria. In September 2026, Kwankwaso was listed as the running mate to Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), for the January 2027 Nigerian presidential election. 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 primary on the platform of the All Progressives Congress but lost to Muhammadu Buhari. In 2018, he returned to Peoples Democratic Party and contested the presidential primaries, losing to Atiku Abubakar. In 2023, Kwankwaso unsuccessfully ran for President of Nigeria under the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), receiving 6.23% of the vote.
Background
Family Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso was born on 21 October 1956 in Kano, to a Fulani Genawa Muslim family. The Genawa has produced learned islamic clerics, judges, politicians and leaders such as Aminu Kano, Murtala Mohammed, Inuwa Wada and Aminu Wali. His father held the position of the Village Head of Kwankwaso with the title of Sarkin Fulani Dagacin Kwankwaso before being elevated to the position of the District Head of Madobi with the title of Majidadin Kano, Hakimin Madobi by the Kano Emirate Council under the leadership of the 13th Fulani Emir of Kano Alhaji Ado Bayero CFR, LLD, JP. His paternal grandfather was Sarkin Fulanin Kwankwaso Saleh Abdullahi, the grandchild of Malama Aisha, daughter of Sarkin Kano Abdullahi Maje Karofi and granddaughter of Sarkin Kano Ibrahim Dabo.
Education 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 civil engineering in 1985. He also Awarded a PhD in civil engineering from Sharda University India, in 2022.
Early career Kwankwaso joined the Kano State Water Resources and Engineering Construction Agency of the Government of Kano State in 1975. He served there for seventeen years in various capacities and rose through the ranks to become the principal water engineer.
Entry into politics 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, Kwankwaso 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.
Kwankwaso 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 and Ambassador Kabiru Rabiu Dansista. The Santsi/P.S.P. were behind the candidature of Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the party electoral committee chaired by Chief Tony Momoh with Alhaji Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Senator Bala Tafidan Yauri as members amongst others declared Rabiu Kwankwaso as winner of the primary election. The declaration was made at the Party State Secretariat situated at Gidan Akida Hotoro GRA, Tarauni Local Government.
Governor of Kano State
First term Kwankwaso 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 high-handed governorship and his attempt at supporting Yoruba President Olusegun Obasanjo. In 2003, he lost re-election to his rival Ibrahim Shekarau.
Second term Kwankwaso 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 his own political structure called the Kwankwassiya movement: building roads, hospitals, and schools and sending residents to study abroad. In August 2013, Kwankwaso was amongst seven serving governors who formed the G-7 faction within the Peoples Democratic Party. In November 2013, Kwankwaso, alongside five members of the G-7, defected to the new opposition party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In June 2014, Kwankwaso 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 accession 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.
2015 presidential campaign 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 Sam Nda-Isiah with 10 votes. Coming in second, Kwankwaso endorsed the winner Muhammadu Buhari.
Post-governorship
Defence Minister From 2003 to 2007, Kwankwaso was appointed as Minister of Defence by President Olusegun Obasanjo's second cabinet, replacing Theophilus Danjuma.
Governorship election of 2007 In 2007, Kwankwaso resigned his ministerial position to contest the Kano State governorship election but he lost because he had been indicted by a Government White Paper. Alhaji Ahmed Garba Bichi later replaced him as the governorship candidate of the party. After losing the bid from his party to contest the 2007 elections, he was appointed as the Special Envoy to Somalia and Darfur by President Olusegun Obasanjo; and was later appointed by President Umaru Yar'Adua as a Board Member of the Niger Delta Development Commission, a position he resigned from in 2010.
Senate of Nigeria
Kwankwaso represented Kano Central Senatorial District at the Senate of Nigeria from May 2015 to May 2019.
2019 presidential campaign In July 2018, Kwankwaso alongside fourteen serving senators of the APC defected to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In October 2018, Kwankwaso contested the PDP presidential primaries. At the presidential primaries held in Rivers, amongst twelve presidential aspirants Kwankwaso came in fourth behind Atiku Abubakar with 1,532 votes, Aminu Tambuwal with 693 votes, Bukola Saraki with 317 votes and Kwankwaso with 158 votes. Kwankwaso later endorsed the winner Atiku Abubakar and refused to seek re-election into the senate, with Ibrahim Shekarau replacing him. Kwankwaso campaigned heavily for his son-in-law Abba Kabir Yusuf to emerge as the governor in Kano State. The election was later declared inconclusive in favour of incumbent Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Establishing the National Movement On 22 February 2022, Kwankwaso set up the National Movement as a political movement against the staying power of the two major political parties the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. He co-opted the New Nigeria Peoples Party as the political wing of the movement and became the national leader of the party on 30 March 2022.
Ideology and public image Kwankwaso is considered socially conservative and economically left-leaning. He attributes the ideological roots of his leftist economic views to Aminu Kano, a prominent 20th-century socialist politician from Kano. However, Kwankwaso's party has been described as mainly focused on regional and pragmatic considerations and not on any particular ideology.
Infrastructure and education Kwankwaso's time in office was characterised with a number of notable achievements. During his first tenure in office as governor (1999 to 2003), he established the Kano University of Science and Technology in Wudil, the first and only state university in Kano at the time. During his second tenure (2011 to 2015), Kwankwaso established the North West University, Kano, the second state University in Kano. He also established 26 academic and manpower development training institutes and through these institutes over 360,000 youth and women were trained and empowered. He is the first governor in Nigeria to introduce free school feeding and uniforms for primary school pupils. This exponentially increased the school enrolment figures from 1 million in 2011 to over 3 million in 2015 when he left office.
His passion for education saw to the introduction of free education at all levels in the state and saw to the adequate provision of teaching and learning materials. He established 230 secondary schools of which there are 47 technical colleges, 44 schools of Islamic studies, a Chinese college, a French college, and the first boarding girls' college as well as a boys' college in Damagaran and Niamey jointly with the Government of Niger Republic. In his four years as the governor of Kano State, he has awarded over 2,600 postgraduate and undergraduate foreign scholarships in 14 countries across the world. This is in addition to the local private university scholarship in Nigeria.