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Mahmud Kanti Bello is a Nigerian senator who represents the People's Democratic Party in the Katsina North Senatorial District of Katsina State, and is the Senate majority whip. He became a senator in 2003 and was reelected in 2007. Mahmud Kanti Bello was born in January 1945, and is of Hausa origin. He received a Bachelor of Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria.
Mahmud Kanti Bello was elected as a Katsina senator in 2003 on the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) platform. In the 2004 local elections in his state, he protested strongly against electoral fraud which resulted in People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidates being returned. However, in 2007 he successfully ran for reelection on a PDP slate. By the middle of his second term in the senate, Mahmud Kanti Bello was among those senators who had not solely sponsored any private bills.
In a statement in January 2009, Mahmud Kanti Bello lashed out against governors who withhold local government funds, releasing them only at their convenience, including the governor of his state, Alhaji Ibrahim Shema. In discussion over the proposed bill to control desertification, senator Bello strongly opposed Senator Grace Folashade Bent, chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, who wanted to include other environmental issues in the bill.
In July 2009, South-South senators initiated a motion to demand dismissal of Minister of Petroleum, Dr. Rilwan Lukman and Mr. Mohammed Barkindo of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on the basis of alleged anti-Niger Delta policies. Senator Bello opposed the motion on a point of order, without success.
Katsina is a city, formerly a City-State, in Northn Nigeria, and is the capital of Katsina State. Katsina is located some 160 miles East of the city of Sokoto, and 84 miles Northwest of Kano, close to the border with Niger at approximately 12°59′N 7°36′E / 12.983°N 7.6°E / 12.983; 7.6. As of 2007, Katsina's estimated population was 459,022. The city is the centre of an agricultural region producing groundnuts, cotton, hides, millet and guinea corn, and also has mills for producing peanut oil and steel. The city is largely Muslim and the population of the city is mainly from the Fulani and Hausa ethnic groups. The current Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua is a native of Katsina.
Surrounded by city walls 13 miles (21 km) in length, Katsina is believed to have been founded circa 1100. In pre-Islamic times Katsina's semi-divine ruler was known as the Sarki, who faced a summary death-sentence if found to be ruling incompetently. From the 17th to the 18th century, Katsina was the commercial heart of Hausaland and became the largest of the seven Hausa city-states. Katsina was conquered by the Fulani during the Fulani War in 1807, becoming subsidiary to nearby Kano. In 1903 the Emir (Abubakar dan Ibrahim) accepted British rule, which lasted until Nigerian independence from Britain in 1960. Modern day Katsina has many information technology companies, providing internet access to the people of Katsina.
The city's history of western education dates back to the early 1950s when the first middle school in the whole of northern Nigeria was established. There are now several institutions of higher learning including two universities: Umaru Musa Yar'adu University and the private Katsina University. The city of Katsina is also home to a famous 18th century mosque featuring the Gobarau Minaret, a 50 foot tower made from mud and palm branches
The people of Nigeria have an extensive history. Archaeological evidence shows that human habitation of the area dates back to at least 9000 BC.[4] The area around the Benue and Cross River is thought to be the original homeland of the Bantu migrants who spread across most of central and southern Africa in waves between the 1st millennium BC and the 2nd millennium.
The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was coined by Flora Shaw, the future wife of Baron Lugard, a British colonial administrator, in the late 19th century.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eighth most populous country in the world, and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population is 'black'. It is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies, and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The economy of Nigeria is one of the fastest growing in the world, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a growth of 9% in 2008 and 8.3% in 2009.It is the second largest economy in Africa, and is a regional power that is also the hegemon in West Africa.
Ibrahim Shema was born on 22nd September, 1952 at Dustin-ma in Katsina State. He attended Nasarawa Primary School, Katsina (1964-1971) and Government Secondary School, Kafanchan (1972-1976). He studied at the College of Arts, Science & Technology, Zaria from 1977 to 1980, when he gained admission into Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating with an LLB in 1983. A year later, he obtained his B.L at the Nigeria Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos. While practicing law, he studied for a Master of Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University, which he obtained in 1998.
Ibrahim Shehu Shema was Chief Legal Executive to National Fertilizer Company Limited (1984 – 1985), and Principal Partner in Shema, Oscar & Co Legal Practitioners in Lagos (1985-1987). He was Managing Director of Solidarity Holding Ltd, Kaduna (1987-1989), then Managing Director of Tools Manufacturing Company in Lagos.
Ibrahim Shehu Shema was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Katsina State (August 1999 - May 2003), after which he returned to his private legal practice in Kaduna. In January 2005, he was appointed a member of the People democratic party (PDP) Special Committee on the Anambra Crisis. He became National Chairman (North) of the PDP (September 2005 - November 2006). At the same time, he was Chairman, PDP National Disciplinary Committee and Chairman, Governing Council, Peoples Democratic Institute. He was appointed Chairman, National Reconciliation Committee for the South-South (May to June 2006). He also served as Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) (December 2005 to November 2006)
Ibrahim Shema was elected Governor of Katsina State in April 2007, as successor to Ummaru Yar'adua, who had been elected President. He took office in May 2009. Shema has been described as a "stingy governor," since he has refused to open the State's vault for Katsina politicians, a characteristic he shares with his sponsor, Yar'Adua .
A PDP leader in Katsina, Tasiu Umar Mashi, was killed in November 2009 in the office of Katsina State Commissioner of Police Danazumi Doma. Controversy over the event stirred up tensions between rival PDP factions, the one supporting Shema and the other led by the the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr. Abba Sayyadi Ruma.
Yar'Adua was born into an aristocratic Fulani family in Katsina;[3] his father, a former Minister for Lagos during the First Republic, held the royal title of Mutawalli (custodian of the treasury) of the Katsina Emirate, a title which Yar'Adua has inherited.[4][5] He started his education at Rafukka Primary School in 1958, and moved to Dutsinma Boarding Primary School in 1962. He attended the Government College at Keffi from 1965 until 1969. In 1971 he received a Higher School Certificate from Barewa College.[6] He attended Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria from 1972 to 1975, attaining a BSc in Education and Chemistry, and then returned in 1978 to achieve an M.Sc Degree in Analytical Chemistry
Yar'Adua's first employment was at Holy Child College in Lagos (1975–1976). He later served as a lecturer at the College of Arts, Science and Technology in Zaria, Kaduna State, between 1976 and 1979. In 1979 he began working as a lecturer at College of Art Science, remaining in this position until 1983, when he began working in the corporate sector.
He worked at Sambo Farms Ltd. in Funtua, Katsina State as its pioneer General Manager between 1983 and 1989. He served as a Board Member, Katsina State Farmers' Supply Company between 1984 and 1985, Member Governing Council of Katsina College of Arts, Science and Technology Zaria and Katsina Polytechnic between 1978 and 1983, Board Chairman of Katsina State Investment and Property Development Company (KIPDECO) between 1994 and 1996. Yar'Adua served as a director of many companies, including Habib Nigeria Bank Ltd. 1995–1999; Lodigiani Nigeria Ltd. 1987–1999, Hamada Holdings, 1983–1999; and Madara Ltd. Vom, Jos, 1987–1999. He was Chairman, Nation House Press Ltd., Kaduna, from 1995 to 1999.
During the Second Republic (1979–1983), Yar'Adua was a member of the leftist People's Redemption Party, while his father was briefly the National Vice chairman of the National Party of Nigeria. During the Transition Programme of President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, Yar'Adua was one of the foundation members of the Peoples Front, a political association under the leadership of his elder brother, the late Major-General Shehu Musa Yar'Adua. That association later fused to form the Social Democratic Party. Yar'Adua was a member of the 1988 Constituent Assembly. He was a member of the party's National Caucus and the SDP State Secretary in Katsina and contested the 1991 Governorship election, but lost to Saidu Barda, the candidate of the National Republican Convention and an ally of Babangida. In 1999, he ran for the same position and won. He was re-elected in 2003. He was the first governor to publicly declare his assets.
In 2000, during his administration as governor, Katsina became the fifth northern Nigerian state to adopt sharia, or Islamic law. In 2002 Amina Lawal, a woman from Katsina, was sentenced to death by stoning by a sharia court in the town of Bakori for committing adultery; the story attracted international attention. Her sentence was at first upheld by a court in the town of Funtua, then overturned a year later following an appeal.
In the presidential election, held on 21 April 2007, Yar'Adua won with 70% of the vote (24.6 million votes) according to official results released on 23 April. The election was highly controversial. Strongly criticized by observers, as well as the two primary opposition candidates, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Action Congress (AC), its results were largely rejected as having been rigged in Yar'Adua's favor.
After the election, Yar'Adua proposed a government of national unity. In late June 2007, two opposition parties, the ANPP and the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), agreed to join Yar'Adua's government.[15] On 28 June 2007, Yar'Adua publicly revealed his declaration of assets from May (becoming the first Nigerian Leader to do so), according to which he had ₦856,452,892 naira (US$5.8 million) in assets, ₦19 million ($0.1 million) of which belonged to his wife. He also had ₦88,793,269.77 ($0.5 million) in liabilities. This disclosure, which fulfilled a pre-election promise he made, was intended to set an example for other Nigerian politicians and discourage corruption.
President Yar'Adua was absent at the United Nations General Assembly Meetings in September 2009. Local media sources claimed the president has travelled to Saudi Arabia for treatment of his illness, however Mr. Ojo Maduekwe the Nigerian Foreign Minister was present at the United Nations meeting to represent the Country.
In June and July 2007, several governors who served with him before 2007 were charged by EFCC, the anti-corruption commission. Many decisions of the former government like the hike in prices of petroleum products and VAT have been overturned by his government. Many see this as a sign that he is not a puppet of the former president Olusegun Obasanjo.
Yar'Adua's new cabinet was sworn in on 26 July 2007.[16][17] It includes 39 ministers, including two for the ANPP.
Buhari and Abubakar filed petitions to have the results of the 2007 presidential election invalidated due to alleged fraud, but on 26 February 2008 a court rejected the petitions. Buhari and Abubakar said that they would appeal to the Supreme Court. Marred by corruption, many argued that this election was rigged by Obasanjo as well, as he wanted his successor to have the same basic ideals that he possessed as President.
President Yar’Adua left Nigeria on 23 November 2009, and is reported be receiving treatment for pericarditis at a clinic in Saudi Arabia. He has not been seen in public since and his absence has created a dangerous power vacuum in Nigeria.[19] There has been speculation that Yar'Adua has suffered serious brain damage and can no longer recognise his wife and personal aides, and that his true condition is being covered up by the first lady. The Government of Nigeria was left leaderless at the crucial period following the alleged attempted bombing of a US airline by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23 year old Nigerian man. This left many calling for the swearing into office of the Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan.
In December 2009 Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) stated that Yar'Adua, should have handed over to Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan in an acting capacity during his illness, a statement that was backed up by the NBA national executive committee.[21] On January 22, 2010, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that the Federal Ministries of Nigeria had 14 days to decide on a resolution about whether he "is incapable of discharging the functions of his office". The ruling also stated that the Federal Ministries should hear testimony of five doctors, one of whom should be Yar'Adua's personal physician.[22]
On February 9, 2010, the Senate determined that presidential power should be transmitted to the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. He will serve as President, with all the accompanied powers, until Yar'Adua has returned to full health. The power transfer has been called a "coup without the word" by opposition lawyers and lawmakers. However, there are others that felt the power vacuum would lead to instability and a possible military takeover.
On February 24, 2010, Yar'Adua returned to Abuja. His state of health was unclear, but there was speculation that he was still on a life support machine.
Mahmud Kanti Bello is a Nigerian senator who represents the People's Democratic Party in the Katsina North Senatorial District of Katsina State, and is the Senate majority whip. He became a senator in 2003 and was reelected in 2007. Mahmud Kanti Bello was born in January 1945, and is of Hausa origin. He received a Bachelor of Engineering from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria.
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