Muktar Shagari
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Barrister Mukhtar Shehu Shagari, CFR (born 26 December 1956) was appointed
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n Minister of Water Resources in a June 2001 reshuffle of the cabinet of President
Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...
. He was later appointed President of the African Ministers Council On Water (AMCOW). Shagari held office until January 2007 when he left to compete for Deputy Governor of
Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Niger, Republic o ...
. He was elected Deputy Governor of Sokoto State in April 2007, and after a legal challenge was reelected in May 2008.


Background

Shagari is the cousin of former president
Shehu Shagari Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari (25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018), titled Turakin Sokoto from 1962, was the first democratically elected President of Nigeria, after the transfer of power by military head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo in ...
. He was born in the town of Shagari,
Sokoto State Sokoto State (Hausa: Jihar Sokoto Fula: Leydi Sokoto 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤧𞤮𞥅𞤳𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤮𞥅) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the extreme northwest of the country on the national border with the Niger, Republic o ...
in 1956. He attended Kanta College, Argungu until 1974, and the College of Arts and Science, now the
University of Maiduguri The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) is a Federal higher institution located in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in northeast Nigeria. The university was created by the federal government of Nigeria in 1975, with the intention of its b ...
(1974–1976). He attended
Ahmadu Bello University Ahmadu Bello University Zaria is a federal government research university in Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. ABU was founded on 4 October 1962, as the pioneer university in Northern Nigeria. It was founded and named after the Sardauna of Sokoto, Al ...
,
Zaria Zaria is a metropolitan city in Nigeria which at the present time lies within four (4) local government areas in Kaduna state; it happens to be the capital city to the Zazzau Emirate Council, and one of the original seven Hausa city-states ...
(1976–1979) and earned an LLB degree, and the
Nigeria Law School The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up by the Government of Nigeria in 1962 to provide a Nigerian legal education to foreign-trained lawyers, and to provide practical training for aspiring Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. ...
(1979–1980), when he was called to the bar. After national service in Port Harcourt,
Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...
he worked in the magistrate court, then served as state counsel to the Ministry of Justice, Sokoto State. He was then appointed as Sokoto State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice. Shagari later set up a private legal practice. During the
Nigerian Second 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 en ...
, he was legal adviser to the
National Party of Nigeria The National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was the dominant political party in Nigeria during the Second Republic (1979–1983). History Formation The party's beginning could be traced to private and sometimes secret meetings among key Northern Nigerian ...
in Sokoto State. He was a member of the Sokoto State branch of the
National Republican Convention The National Republican Convention was a Nigerian political party established by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida and ultimately disbanded by the military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1993. Alignment The party was organized to cat ...
in the
Nigerian Third Republic The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution. Founded (1993) The constitution of the Third Republic was drafted in 1989. General Ibrahim Badamasi B ...
, disbanded in November 1993 when General
Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military officer and politician who ruled as the military head of state of Nigeria from 1993 until his death in 1998. He seized power on 17 November 1993 in the last successful c ...
came to power. In the lead-up to the return of democracy in 1999, he was legal advisor to the
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP) in Sokoto State.


Minister of Water Resources

Shagari was appointed minister of Water Resources in June 2001. In December 2001, Shagari signed contracts for the N4.9 billion Hadeijah Valley Irrigation Project in
Jigawa State Jigawa State (Hausa: ''Jihar Jigawa'' (Fula Leydi Jigawa 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤮𞤤 𞤶𞤭𞤺𞤢𞤱𞤢) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. Created in 1991 from the northeastern-most region of Kan ...
and for the N468 million Egbe/Little Ose water supply project. In April 2002, Shagari became the president of the African Ministerial Council on Water. In the same month, Federal Government announced that 1,400 water projects across Nigeria had been revoked. Shagari said that the decision to revoke contracts was because several of the contracts were awarded to individuals, rather than to companies. In August 2002 Shagari spoke out against move to impeach President Obasanjo, supporting the President's record to date. In August 2003, the
African Development Bank The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) or (BAD) is a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, since September 2014. The AfDB is a financial provider to African governments and private companies i ...
announced that it was cancelling 80% of its projects in Nigeria due to corruption and misuse of funds, but that the recipients were still liable to repay loans disbursed for these projects. Reacting, Shagari told Nigerian officials to put the interests of the people before their own interests. He said the government was now placing priority on small dams. The same month, Shagari gave the Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority the go-ahead to start rehabilitation of the Oyan dam. He also noted that the Abeokuta-Ota Water schemes would soon be completed. In October 2003 Shagari announced that the Federal Government had approved N10.7 billion for water projects across the country. He said the government had completed 2,500 water projects nationwide, but about 195 other water projects were still under construction. In February 2004, Shagari said that an N677 million contract awarded to a Korean company in May 2002 to build the Inkari Dam in
Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...
had been transferred to a Nigerian company. The Koreans, who moved to site in January 2003, had been deported. The N191 million contract for the Sabke Dam in
Katsina State Katsina State ''(Hausa: Jihar Katsina) (Fula: Leydi Katsina 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞥁𞤭𞤲𞤢)'' is a state in the northwestern geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Katsina State was created in 1987, when it split from Kaduna State. Today, K ...
had also been transferred, and the project was near completion. In May 2005 Shagari said the Federal Government had spent over N180 billion on water supply from 1999 to the end of 2004, and water supply coverage had increased in this period from 35% to almost 65%. Shagari retained his ministry in a major cabinet shake-up in July 2005. In September 2005, Obasanjo wrote a commendation letter to Shagari in which he said minister had demonstrated humility, vision and patriotism in ensuring that communities across the country gained potable water. In October 2005 Shagari accepted a free-aid offer from China to help Nigeria to drill 598 boreholes 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 18 states. In January 2006, former Lagos State police commissioner Abubakar Tsav claimed that the authorities had embezzled N240 million given to
Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...
to improve water supply in
Makurdi Makurdi is the capital of Benue State, located in central Nigeria, and part of the Middle Belt region of central Nigeria. The city is situated on the south bank of the Benue River. In 2016, Makurdi and the surrounding areas had an estimated popula ...
. Shagari said the allegation was unfounded. In June 2006, Shagari said the government had surpassed the
Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
target for water supply by about 10%. In a cabinet reshuffle on 10 January 2007, Shagari was released to run for Governor of Sokoto State in the April 2007 elections, and his ministry was merged into the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources under Adamu Bello.


Deputy Governor of Sokoto State

Shagari was nominated by the
People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...
(PDP) as its gubernatorial candidate for Sokoto State in the 2007 elections. He polled 2,701 votes while the two other contestants polled 447 and 431 votes. However, after
Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (born March 1, 1953) was elected governor of Sokoto State, Nigeria in April 2007, representing the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Background Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State was born on 1 March 1953 in Wamakko, Sokoto ...
, who had been nominated as candidate for the
All Nigeria Peoples Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...
(ANPP), crossed over to the PDP before the election, the PDP ruled that Shagari should run for Deputy Governor in partnership with Wamakko. In April 2008, the Court of Appeal in
Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Region, Nigeria, Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the ...
nullified the election of Wamakko and Shagari on the basis of irregularities in the registration process due to the last-minute changes. After a re-run of the election, Wamakko and Shagari were reinstated in May 2008. In April 2010, there were reports that former president Olusegun Obasanjo was pushing to have Shagari appointed vice-president to acting president
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...
, who had taken over after the extended illness of President
Umaru Yar'Adua Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 19515 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who, was the President of Nigeria from 2007 to 2010. He was declared the winner of the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 20 ...
. Other sources said that Shagari was Obasanjo's back-up choice after Adamu Bello of
Adamawa State Adamawa state () is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Borno to the northwest, Gombe to the west, and Taraba to the southwest, while its eastern border forms part of the national border with Cameroon. It tak ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shagari, Muktar 1956 births Living people Federal ministers of Nigeria National Party of Nigeria politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians