Alhaji Attahiru Dalhatu Bafarawa (born 4 November 1954) is a Nigerian politician who served as the executive

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on 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 ...

from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.

Early career

He was a one-time local government councillor in charge of education. In 1979, he ran unsuccessfully for election to the House of Representatives on the platform of the Great Nigeria Peoples Party (GNPP). He was a member of the National Constitutional Conference of 1994–1995, during the military rule of

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

. He was a founding member of the

United Nigeria Congress Party The United Nigeria Congress Party (UNCP) was a Nigerian political party. It was one of the five state-sanctioned political parties allowed by the government of General Sani Abacha to participate in state assembly elections held in December 1997, i ...

(UNCP) in 1997 and the All People's Party (APP) in 1998.

Governor of Sokoto State

In 1999, Bafarawa was elected governor of Sokoto State on the platform of the

All Nigeria Peoples 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 ...

(ANPP), and was re-elected for the ANPP in 2003. In March 2002, a

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

court in Sokoto State freed a 35-year-old woman Safiya Hussaini, who had been sentenced to death by stoning after being found guilty of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

. Nigeria's justice minister declared Sharia as unconstitutional. Bafarawa, however, said the Sharia states would not adhere to this declaration. Under the Bafarawa administration the state made significant improvements in the quality of roads. Schools were upgraded, and enrolment greatly improved due to assurances that all pupils would be taught morals and Islamic religion.

Later career

Bafarawa founded the Democratic People's Party (DPP) and became its presidential candidate at the 2007 presidential elections in Nigeria. As presidential candidate, while meeting with officials of the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

in Washington, D.C., he promised to scrap the

Niger Delta Development Commission The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) is a federal government agency established by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in the year 2000, with the sole mandate of developing the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In Septemb ...

(NDDC) if elected, describing the commission as "a conduit of corruption and waste." On 30 April 2024, Bafarawa while meeting with

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

s in his home state of Sokoto, said he would neither contest for elective positions or accept any

political Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

appointments in the future, stressing that he had been in active politics for 40 years and it was time to leave the stage for younger people. On 13 January 2025, he resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) through a letter addressed to the party executives, stating that he wanted to focus more on programs that inspire young people.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bafarawa, Attahiru 1954 births Living people Governors of Sokoto State Great Nigeria People's Party politicians United Nigeria Congress Party politicians All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Democratic People's Party (Nigeria) politicians Candidates for President of Nigeria Candidates in the Nigerian general election, 2007