Sha'aba Lafiagi was elected governor of

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

in January 1992 on the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

(SDP) platform, and was removed from office by the administration of General

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 ...

in November 1993. As governor he initiated construction of new headquarters for the Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, but they were not opened until 2002, and in 2010 were slated for

demolition Demolition (also known as razing and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction (building), deconstruction, which inv ...

Political career

He was a protégé of

Olusola Saraki Abubakar Olusola Saraki (; 17 May 1933 – 14 November 2012) was a Nigerian politician, who was a Senator in the Nigerian Second Republic (1979–1983). He was the holder of the chieftaincy title of the Waziri of the Ilorin Emirate, and belonge ...

, Senate Leader during the

Second Nigerian Republic The Second Nigerian Republic was a brief formation of the Nigerian state which succeeded the military governments formed after the overthrow of the first republic. Background Contested elections and political turbulence in the Western region ...

, who helped him become elected governor in December 1991. He was a member of the Committee for National Consensus (CNC) together with Olusola Saraki later he fell out with Saraki when it became apparent

Bukola Saraki Abubakar Bukola Saraki (; born on 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician who served as the 13th president of the Nigerian Senate from 2015 to 2019. He was elected the President of Nigeria’s 8th Senate on 9 June 2015 under the All Progr ...

was backing Mohammed Lawal for Kwara governor in 1999. However, he remained a power in Kwara State politics. Lafiagi became a member of the board of trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In February 2009, he was appointed chairman of the National Sugar Development Council, a parastatal. He led the planning committee for the 20 April 2009 Special National Convention of the PDP, recommending a budget of N400 million. Given the economic climate, President

Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (; 16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 Ma ...

slashed the budget to N100 million. In April 2011, he was elected a senator representing Kwara North Senatorial District.

Tenure

Alhaji Mohammed Sha'aba Lafiagi was committed to improving the living standards of the people of

. He implemented a number of policies to encourage rural development, including the construction of new roads and the provision of financial assistance to farmers. He also created an enabling environment for investment in industrial ventures. Lafiagi also took education seriously. He rehabilitated existing schools and constructed new ones. He also provided financial assistance to students and motivated teachers to ensure higher productivity. As a result of his efforts, Kwara State's education system improved significantly, also an advocate for the development of the media. He established Kwara State Television and requested that '' The Herald'' newspaper give greater publicity to the government's activities. He also supported the establishment of banks by various communities in the state.

References

Living people Governors of Kwara State Social Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party members of the Senate (Nigeria) Senators of the 8th National Assembly (Nigeria) Senators of the 7th National Assembly (Nigeria) Kwara State politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Kwara-politician-stub