Hafsat Abdullahi Ganduje (popularly known as Gwaggo; born 28 December 1960) is a

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

academic, politician, and a member of All Progressives Congress (APC).

Early life

Hafsat Ganduje was born in

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

. She attended Malam Madori Primary School, Shekara Boarding Primary School, and Women Teachers College. She completed a

Bachelor of Science in Education A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ye ...

Bayero University The Bayero University Kano (BUK) is a university situated in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria. It was founded in 1975, when it was renamed from Bayero University College and upgraded from University College to University. It is the first university in ...

in 1981, and went on to earn a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in 1992 and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

in 2004, and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

in Administration and Planning in 2015.

Career

Ganduje began her career as a teacher, later becoming a principal. She lectured at the Faculty of Education of

. She was promoted to

Associate Professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

in 2019 by the Maryam Abacha American University of Niger. She is a fellow of the

Nigerian Institute of Management The Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) is a non-profit institution that defines the required skills and standards for professional managers, and offers courses leading to diplomas in Management. History The Nigerian Management Group was formed ...

. In 2019 she was given the Great Matron Award by the Nigerian Association for Administration and Planning.

First lady

Ganduje married Kano

State Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

Abdullahi Umar Ganduje Abdullahi Umar Ganduje OFR (born 25 December 1949) is a Nigerian politician who is currently serving as the Governor of Kano State. He took over office in 2015. He previously served as Rabiu Kwankwaso's deputy governor twice, between 1999 to ...

. Although there is no office of first lady, she campaigns on his behalf and creates

women's empowerment Women's empowerment (or female empowerment) may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training.Kabeer, Naila ...

campaigns that include the distribution of educational materials, sewing machines, and small-business grants. The ''

Daily Trust Media Trust is a privately held Nigerian newspaper publishing company based in Abuja that publishes the English-language ''Daily Trust'', ''Weekly Trust'', ''Sunday Trust'' and the Hausa-language ''Aminiya'' newspapers, as well as a new pan-Afric ...

'' reported that Ganduje was rumored to influence the governor regarding political appointments, contract awards, and other government affairs. She is also said to have been behind most of the appointments and cabinet reshuffles since 2015. In a report published by ''Legit.ng'', Governor Ganduje dismissed claims that his wife is linked to his government operations.

Corruption allegations

Like her husband, Ganduje has been hit by allegations of corruption, most notably a supposed EFCC report by her own son, Abdulazeez Ganduje, about Hafsat's involvement in bribery and land fraud. According to a report by

Premium Times ''Premium Times'' is a Nigerian online newspaper based in Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory. It was launched in 2011. The online medium is notable for investigative journalism and Reports among other fields. Awards and nominations In 2013 ...

, Abdulazeez had obtained a bribe from a real estate developer for land grants; Abdulazeez claimed that he passed the bribe to his mother but the land was later sold to different developers. After the original developer asked for the money back, Abdulazeez went to the

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud (419 fraud) and money laundering. The EFCC was established in 2003, partially in response to pre ...

to report the case before supposedly fleeing overseas with the EFCC later inviting Hafsat for an interview in September 2021. Hafsat didn't honour the invitation, EFCC arrested her early October 2021, in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

and taken to EFCC Headquarters.

References

External links