The once youngest civilian governor in the country, Ali Sa’ad Birnin Kudu, a lawyer, enjoyed popularity, not only in his state, Jigawa, which he led for about two years, but also across the country. Although he occupied such exalted seat at a youthful age of 32, Kudu refused to be power-drunk.
The first civilian governor of Jigawa State was said to have earned the respect of the then military president, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and his vice, the late Real Admiral Augustus Aikhomo, under whose regime he served civilian governor.
He was said to be among the few governors who were very close to the seat of power at the national level. As a result of that he was said to have enjoyed a lot of privileges from Aso Rock when compared to most of his colleagues from other states.
The Law graduate from the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria made his debut into politics in 1983 during the Second Republic. He secured a ticket to contest for the House of Representatives on the platform of the defunct Nigerian People’s Party (NPP) in old Kano State. He did not win the election.
He contested alongside the late former governor of Kano State, Mohammadu Abubakar Rimi, who was seeking for re-election after abandoning his original political party, the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), founded by the late Mallam Aminu Kano and the former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, who also contested for a seat in the National Assembly.
Kudu’s political career was disrupted after a bloodless military coup spearheaded by the late General Sani Abacha. Following the coup, political activities were banned in the country.
As a result of this, the former governor decided to seek for employment in the First Bank of Nigeria, where he served from 1984 to 1991.
When the ban on political activities was lifted in the country, Kudu went back to politics and pitched his tent with the PRP, alongside his political mentors, Mohammadu Abubakar Rimi and Alhaji Sule Lamido. For the second time, he secured a ticket to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives.
Although the ban on political activities was lifted, the then military government dissolved all the political parties founded by those they tagged bandwagon of old politicians.
As a result of this action, big-time politicians in the country were disqualified from occupying public offices. Consequently, this paved way for new-breed politicians like Sa’ad Kudu to go for higher positions.
Having banned other political parties, the military government of the day created a two-party system in the country by introducing the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Kudu joined the SDP and actively participated in the primary election for the governorship of Jigawa State. He won the election in 1992 as the first civilian governor of the state. Unfortunately, his government was short-lived.
After leaving office as the first civilian governor of Jigawa State, Kudu withdrew from active politics in the state until sometime in 2003 when he staged a comeback to contest for the governorship position under the auspices of the National Democratic Party (NDP). He contested against the then incumbent governor of the state, Saminu Turaki; but he lost.
After losing in the 2003 general elections, the former governor again withdrew from the political arena of the state until in 2007 where he pitched his tent with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He is still a member of the party.
Kudu’s close associate told Daily Trust on Sunday that after the civilian government was chased out of office by the military in 1993, the former governor decided to go into private practice as a lawyer. He established a legal firm in Kano State.
Recently, he decided to stage a comeback into politics, with an ambition to contest for the governorship position of the state for the third time.
His associate said the former governor had already expressed interest to vie for the number one seat in the state on the platform of the PDP. He added that his posters could be seen all over the state.
“It may interest you to know that despite his age while in power, he governed the state with full grip of authority. Jigawa was newly created, so when he came in he emphasized on water and education.
“Despite finding himself in power at a tender age, he did not allow himself to become power-drunk. He consulted wisely and listened to advice. As governor, one thing he emphasized with passion was that on no account should any woman be allowed into the Government House without appointment. Considering his age and power at his disposal, this order earned him a lot of respect,’’ he said.
