Lawal Kaita
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lawal Kaita | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Kaduna State | |
| In office October 1983 – December 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Abba Musa Rimi |
| Succeeded by | Usman Mu'azu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 4 October 1932 Katsina, Nigeria |
| Died | 2 January 2018 (aged 85)[1] Abuja, Nigeria |
| Alma mater | • Barewa College • London School of Economics |
Lawal Kaita ⓘ (4 October 1932 – 2 January 2018) was a Nigerian politician elected on the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) platform as governor of Kaduna State, Nigeria, holding office between October and December 1983, when the Nigerian Second Republic ended with the coup that brought General Muhammadu Buhari to power.
He continued to be an influential politician in the Nigerian Fourth Republic and was one of the founders of the Action Congress of Nigeria (AC) party in September 2006. Some sources have attributed the following quote to him prior to the 2011 presidential election: "The North is determined if it happens, to make Nigeria 'ungovernable' for President Jonathan or any other Southerner who finds his way to the seat of power on the platform of the PDP against the principle of the party's zoning policy.[2][3][4]
Kaita was born on 4 October 1932 in Katsina, in the far north of Nigeria.[5] He is a blood relative of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and a member of the royal family of Nagogo, traditional rulers of the Emirate of Katsina.[6][7]
He attended Barewa College, Zaria (1946–1950) and later studied at the London School of Economics (1971–1972).[8]
Career
After returning to Nigeria, Kaita joined the Kaduna State civil service. He served as Secretary to the State Water Board (1973–1975), Commissioner for Economic Planning (1975–1976) and Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Works of Kaduna State (1976–1977).[5]
Early political career
Kaita was appointed a Member of the Constituent Assembly of Nigeria (1977–1978) and became Special Assistant to President Shehu Shagari (1980–1982).[5]
In 1979, he was narrowly defeated by Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa in the election for Governor of Kaduna State.[9] Kaita helped the NPN to impeach Governor Musa in June 1981.[10] In 1982, after the death of the Emir, Kaita contested the emirship of Katsina.Usman Nagogo.[2] He was elected Governor of Kaduna State in the 1983 election, holding office for a few months until the military coup in December of that year.[10]
In 1995, after General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua was jailed by the Sani Abacha government, Kaita was appointed leader of Yar'Adua's Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) which comprised politicians such as Atiku Abubakar, Abdullahi Aliyu Sumaila, Magaji Abdullahi and Rabiu Kwankwaso. The PDM merged with The New Dimension, The National Transformation Congress, some prominent members of the Eastern Mandate Union and some State chapters of the Committee for National Consensus (CNC) to form Peoples Consensus Party under which they seek registration during the Sani Abacha transition but they were not registered.[11] Kaita was a member of the Constitutional Conference (1994–1995).[5] He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party PDP in 1998.[2]
