Ahmed Rufai Sani Yerima (born 22 July 1960) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

politician who was Governor of

Zamfara State Zamfara (; ; Adlam script, Adlam: ) is a States of Nigeria, state in northwestern Nigeria. The capital of Zamfara state is Gusau and its current List of Governors of Zamfara State, governor is Dauda Lawal. Until 1996, the area was part of Soko ...

from May 1999 to May 2007, and served as

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Zamfara West and Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate. He is a member of the

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, t ...

(APC).

Early years

Ahmed Rufai Sani was born on 22 July 1960 in Anka town, Zamfara State.

Career

As part of the National Youth Service, he was posted to

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

where he worked in the Budget Department of the Governor's office and also taught at the Borno College of Basic Studies, Maiduguri. In 1983, he began his career in the

Sokoto state Sokoto ( Hausa: ; Fula: , ''Leydi Sokoto'') is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country. It is bounded by Republic of the Niger to the north and west for 363 km (226 miles), and the states of Zamf ...

civil service as an economic planning officer in the Ministry of Finance. In 1994, Yerima returned to the Sokoto state civil service as the Director of Budget in the Ministry of Finance. In September 1998, he left the civil service to pursue a political career.

Presidential candidacy

Yerima met President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

, to inform him of his intention to run for president. He announced his candidacy on 6 May 2022. He said the President gave him the nod to contest the ticket. He further explained that he is acting within the provisions of the Nigerian constitution. Yerima said if elected he would fight insecurity, poverty and ignorance. However, the party did not clear him to contest the party primaries.

Governor of Zamfara State

Yerima was elected governor of Zamfara State in 1999. He was re-elected in 2003 for a second term, which ended on 29 May 2007.

Sharia Law

Yerima was the first Nigerian state governor to implement

Sharia law Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, inta ...

in his state, which came into effect on 27 January 2000. This was greeted with enthusiasm by the state's Muslim majority; thousands of people gathered on the streets of Gusau cheered and shouted "God is great". Sharia implementation bodies were established in Zamfara, including the Council of Ulama, Hisbah Commission, Zakkat and Endowment Board, Sharia Research and Development Board, and the Preaching Commission. The Governor stressed his commitment to Nigeria as a multi-faith society. However, some of the changes introduced affected all citizens of the state. The sale and consumption of alcohol and prostitution were subject to a statewide ban. The introduction of Sharia in Zamfara was challenged in the courts by Huri-Laws, a Nigerian human rights NGO, and by a Christian citizen from the state. The Zamfara State High Court dismissed both cases, ruling that the statute did not infringe upon the rights of either claimant.

Senate career

Yerima put his name forward to be the ANPP candidate for the 2007 presidential election and won backing from the Christian Alliance, but withdrew from the contest at the party's 2007 national convention to back former Head of State

as the ANPP candidate. Yarima was elected Senator representing Zamfara West constituency for the

All Nigeria People's Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. The ANPP was a household party in the extreme north of Nigeria, primarily due to its mass appeal among more religious voters. It was the strongest opposition party, controllin ...

in April 2007. He was appointed to committees on Selection, Federal Character & Inter-Government Affairs, Drugs and Narcotics, Anti Corruption and Agriculture. Yerima ran again in the 9 April 2011 elections for Senator for Zamfara West on the ANPP platform. He was reelected with 154,359 votes.

Marriage controversy

Senator Sani was accused of marrying a 13 year old

child bride ''Child Bride'', also known as ''Child Brides'', ''Child Bride of the Ozarks'' and ''Dust to Dust'' (US reissue titles), is a 1938

from Egypt and was investigated for having violated Nigeria's Child Rights Act of 2003. However, under Article 61 Second Schedule of the Nigerian Constitution, the Nigerian Government has no power to legislate on “marriages under Islamic law and Customary law including matrimonial causes relating thereto”, meaning that Senator Yerima had no legal case to answer and the investigation was dropped. He maintained that he has not violated sharia: "History tells us that

Prophet Muhammad In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...

did marry a young girl as well. Therefore I have not contravened any law." According to Al Jazeera, he paid $100,000 as

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

for the 13-year-old Egyptian.

March 2013 arrest

Senator Yerima was arrested on 9 March 2013 after taking part in a live Hausa radio programme broadcast by the

Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria The Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) is a Nigerian state radio broadcasting organization. Its flagship station is the syndicated radio network '' Radio Nigeria'', with FM stations across the 36 states and Zonal station in the 6 geopoliti ...

. The Kaduna State Police Commissioner arrested the Senator immediately after the programme for making 'inciting' comments. Yerima was released three hours later after questioning. A spokesperson for the All Nigeria Peoples Party condemned the arrest and claimed that it suggested that the ruling People's Democratic Party were determined to frustrate the opposition coalition for the 2015 election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yerima, Ahmad Sani 1960 births Living people Governors of Zamfara State All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria) Senators of the 7th National Assembly (Nigeria) Senators of the 6th National Assembly (Nigeria) Nigerian Muslims Bayero University Kano alumni People from Zamfara State