Aminu Kano

=== Second republic (1979—1983) ===
After General Muhammad announced the plan to return to civilian rule by 1979, Aminu reaching out to his contacts to form a political association. He also maintained relationships with student organisations nationwide.<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=50}} Aminu later joined a political association called the National Movement which was made up of influential figures, primarily from the North. The association was a direct successor to the Kaduna discussion group formed just after the 1966 counter-coup that ended the First Republic. The group held secret meetings throughout this period and eventually invited influential political figures in the South in an effort to "form a truly national party". After the ban on politics was lifted in September 1978, its successor, the [[National Party of Nigeria]] (NPN), was launched.<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=|pages=206-207}}<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|pages=57-58}}

==== Formation of PRP ====
A day before the launch of NPN however, Aminu left the association to form and was holding a meeting in Yaba, Lagos. The NPN quickly sent Joseph Tarka and [[Inuwa Wada]] (who was his cousin) to persuade him to return. Aminu agreed to send five aides to the launch while he continued his meeting and was never to return to the NPN.<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=207}}

The precise reasons behind Aminu's departure from the NPN remain unknown, however, there are various differing theories. According to Shehu Shagari, an early member of the NPN and later the party's sole presidential candidate, a pre-inaugural meeting concluded that certain coordinating committee members should assume specific interim posts. Aminu was nominated for the position of publicity secretary by Chief [[Augustus Akinloye|Adisa Akinloye]]. However, he promptly proposed [[Tanko Yakasai]] instead, a former NEPU member whom he felt was a better person for the postion as he had the relevant experience. It has been suggested by the NPN that Akinloye's suggestion lead to Aminu's resignation as it was considered "insulting to his national status". Shagari described this interpretation as "a plausible but erroneously derived deduction".<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=207}} The PRP later claimed that this interpretation was false as the position could have provided Aminu with "a good platform for image building".<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|pages=58-59}}

A different perspective on the incident emerged from Aminu's political associates, particularly from Kano, such as Lawan Dambazau, Lili Gabari, Dauda Dangalan, and [[Sabo Bakin Zuwo]]. According to them, upon learning of Aminu's refusal to return to the NPN, [[Aminu Dantata]] hurried to Kano and convened a meeting at his residence with various influential figures, including businessmen, politicians, public servants, and professionals from Kano. The purpose of this gathering was to explore ways to persuade Aminu to reconcile with the NPN. Several attendees took turns addressing the issue and appealing to him to reunite with the party. Dr. Ibrahim Datti Ahmed, former President-General of the Supreme Council for Sharia in Nigeria, was eventually given the opportunity to speak, and according to Dambazau, "castigated Mallam Aminu as an enemy of the north; an enemy of traditional institutions; an enemy of Islam; and as such, they could not cohabit with him in the NPN". Dambazau noted that nobody defended Aminu nor attempted to restrain Datti during his speech. Following Datti's remarks, Aminu defended himself, and the meeting descended into chaos, leading to its postponement until the next day.<ref name=":28" />{{Rp|pages=59-60}}

Aminu fell sick before the next meeting, and was bedridden for days. During his illness, Aminu's supporters from different parts of the country, including [[Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa|Balarabe Musa]] (from Kaduna), A.D. Yahya, Ananobi (from [[Port Harcourt]]), B.K. Benson (from Lagos), and Dandatti Abdulkadir, Dahiru Liman, and Dambazau (all from Kano), convened in Kano to discuss with him on the next steps to follow.<ref name=":28" />{{Rp|pages=60-62}}

Aminu's supporters organised a large gathering, later named ''Taron Rami'', meaning "meeting of the ditch." Attendees of this gathering concluded that Aminu had been insulted and disrespected by the NPN and its members, leading to the decision that he should establish his own political party. Speakers at the event included Dambazau, Usman Nagado, and [[Abubakar Rimi]]. Despite being ill and bedridden, Aminu dispatched delegates across the nation to engage with his supporters and allies to deliberate on the next course of action. Following positive responses, he formed a committee to lay the groundwork for the party. The [[People's Redemption Party]] (PRP) was inaugurated in Kaduna on 21 October 1978, attracting radical trade unionists, artisans, the peasantry, progressive lecturers, journalists, authors, and former NEPU members among its ranks. Notable early members of the party included influential figures nationwide, such as [[S.G. Ikoku|Sam Ikoku]], [[Abubakar Rimi]], [[Chinua Achebe]], [[Wole Soyinka]], [[Bala Usman|Yusufu Bala Usman]], [[Umaru Musa Yar'Adua]], [[Sule Lamido]], [[Ghali Umar Na'Abba]], [[Sabo Bakin Zuwo]], [[Michael Imoudu]], and [[Edward Ikem Okeke]]. The launch in October reportedly drew an "unbelievable number of people from all walks of life."<ref name=":28" />{{Rp|pages=62-65}}<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|pages=56-58}}

==== 1979 Nigerian election ====
{{Main articles|1979 Nigerian presidential election}}
Elections were held between 7 July and 11 August in 1979. Only five parties were allowed to contest in these elections, apart from the NPN and PRP, the other three were Awolowo led [[Unity Party of Nigeria]] (UPN), Azikiwe led [[Nigerian People's Party]] (NPP), and the [[Great Nigeria People's Party]] (GNPP), led by [[Waziri Ibrahim]], a former NPC politician. The election was the first held in 15 years and the first in Northern Nigeria that allowed women to participate.

Aminu was chosen as PRP's presidential candidate, however, he was refused clearance by [[FEDECO]] to contest due to tax irregularities, and was required to submit "more convincing evidence". Aminu denied liability for any tax other than the flat rate of tax imposed on all Nigerians irrespective of income. He was eventually cleared after a court declaration was released supporting Aminu's claim of not missing any tax payment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ojo |first=Olatunde J. B. |date=1981 |title=The Impact of Personality and Ethnicity on the Nigerian Elections of 1979 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4185981 |journal=Africa Today |volume=28 |issue=1 |pages=47–58 |issn=0001-9887}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Panter-Brick |first=Keith |date=1979 |title=Nigeria: The 1979 Elections |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40173962 |journal=Africa Spectrum |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=317–335 |issn=0002-0397}}</ref>
[[File:Map of the 1979 Nigerian presidential election.svg|thumb|Results of the 1979 Nigerian presidential election]]
It became increasingly apparent that the NPN was "on its way to power" as the elections progressed. After the party experienced widespread success during the [[1979 Nigerian parliamentary election|National Assembly election]], the participating parties began proposing and forming alliances. On July 28, three out of the five parties — namely UPN, NPP, and GNPP — met in Lagos to form an alliance against the NPN. The PRP was invited to join this alliance but did not respond.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 July 1979 |title=NIGERIA: LEADERS OF NIGERIAN PARTIES MEET TO NEGOTIATE ALLIANCE TO OPPOSE THE NPN. |url=https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/238002 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Reuters Archive Licensing |language=en |type=Video}}</ref> A similar arrangement was proposed to the PRP by the NPN through Shehu Shagari, NPN's presidential candidate. In his autobiography, he claimed to have made this proposal while Aminu was still trying to get FEDECO to clear him. He tried to convince Aminu to withdraw from the presidential race "since we both knew his chances to be bleak". In return, the PRP could focus more on other elections and "participate in an NPN federal government". According to Shagari, Aminu agreed but on two conditions: he would consult his party members and seek approval, and also challenge FEDECO's decision in court in order to "defend his good name". Aminu was cleared on 1 August 1979, hours before the deadline for presidential nominations. He flew from Kano to Lagos on the same day to file his nomination papers with FEDECO. This led Shagari to conclude that the PRP did not endorse their agreement.<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=225}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-22 |title=How Aminu Kano fought tax certificate saga |url=https://dailytrust.com/how-aminu-kano-fought-tax-certificate-saga/ |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Daily Trust |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":33">{{Cite book |last=Mwakikagile |first=Godfrey |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=gqTjUjdvTQwC |title=Ethnic Politics in Kenya and Nigeria |date=2001 |publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=978-1-56072-967-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=90}}

The presidential election held on 11 August saw Aminu winning only in his home state of Kano, where he garnered 76% of the votes. Nationwide, he received 1,732,113 votes, amounting to 10% of the total votes cast.<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=187}} The PRP framed the election as a [[class struggle]] in Kano and conducted an extensive propaganda campaign to promote this narrative, contributing to the party's significant success in the state.<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=110}}<ref name=":33" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bienen |first=Henry |url=http://archive.org/details/politicalconflic0000bien |title=Political conflict and economic change in Nigeria |date=1985 |publisher=London, England ; Totowa, N.J. : F. Cass |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-135-17409-5}}</ref>{{Rp|page=83}} Additionally, the PRP secured victories in two gubernatorial elections: [[Abubakar Rimi]] in [[1979 Kano State gubernatorial election|Kano]] (with 79% of the votes) and [[Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa|Balarabe Musa]] in [[1979 Kaduna State gubernatorial election|Kaduna]] (with 45% of the votes). According to Shagari, Aminu was a skillful campaigner and "genuinely cared about people and empathized with them pretty well" but failed to be more successful nationwide because "his PRP lacked the large organizational base and resources necessary for an effective nationwide campaign".<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=223}}

On 16 August, FEDECO announced the results of the presidential election. Shagari was declared the winner with 5,688,857 votes nationwide.<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=139}}

===== Reactions =====
FEDECO's announcement was controversial, with Azikiwe, representing the four unsuccessful parties, rejecting "in its entirety and without any reservation the declaration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari as president-elect".<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=145}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=NIGERIA: UNSUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES OPPOSE DECLARATION OF NEW PRESIDENT BY ELECTORAL COMMISSION. |url=https://reuters.screenocean.com/record/1053477 |access-date=2024-03-01 |website=Reuters Archive Licensing |language=en |type=video}}</ref>  Awolowo appealed to the [[Supreme Court of Nigeria|Supreme Court]], which dismissed the appeal.<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|page=148}} 

After the declaration of Shagari as president-elect, the alliance between the opposing parties, which now included PRP, stregnthened, leading the ruling NPN to search for its own alliance. They approached the other four parties to initiate talks, which the PRP was the first to accept, according to Shagari. However, it was Azikiwe's NPP that ended up reaching an 'accord' with the ruling party. The terms of the accord were finalized by representatives of the two parties on August 22, two days after Azikiwe's address rejecting Shagari's declaration. Meetings regarding the terms of the accord began on August 20, the same day as the speech. According to historian [[Oyeleye Oyediran]], one of the agreements made during the meetings concerned Aminu, outlining that "special arrangements were to be made for Alhaji Aminu Kano, leader of the PRP, were his party to join the alliance."<ref name=":32" />{{Rp|pages=156-158}}

Over a year into Shagari's administration, the NPN-NPP accord broke down despite the allocation of key leadership positions to NPP members by the ruling party. The accord formally ended on 6 July 1981, after a joint agreement from the two parties.<ref name=":34">{{Cite journal |last=Diamond |first=Larry |author-link=Larry Diamond |date=1982 |title=Cleavage, Conflict, and Anxiety in the Second Nigerian Republic |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/160342 |journal=The Journal of Modern African Studies |volume=20 |issue=4 |pages=629–668 |issn=0022-278X}}</ref>

==== The PRP split ====
Some months into the Second Republic, nine governors from UPN, GNPP, and PRP held monthly meetings where they held discussions and aired their grievances against Shagari's government. These governors were seen as the main political opposition to the ruling party. This caused tension within the PRP as the party's most influential leaders—its President Aminu and its National Secretary, S.G. Ikoku—emphasized cooperation with the NPN, while some more radical members, including the two governors, Abubakar Rimi and Balarabe Musa, who were both members of the nine Governors, denounced the NPN and opposed any form of cooperation.<ref name=":34" />
[[File:Aminu Kano and Abubakar Rimi.jpg|thumb|261x261px|Aminu and Abubakar Rimi. Likely taken before the party split.]]
Two factions formed within the party. The 'radical' faction were more or less "deeply committed to radical change and [[Socialism|socialist principles]]." They had the desire for an "open confrontation of class forces". It contained some of the founding members of the party, most of its House of Representatives members, its prominent intellectuals, and the two governors. While the other faction represented the more moderate and ideologically varied members of the party. They encouraged the more moderate 'democratic humanism' of Aminu Kano, and held the belief that confrontation with the Shagari government "should yield, at least for the time being, to the imperatives of national unity and inter-party co-operation." This group included prominent [[leftists]]—like Ikoku—businessmen, professionals, and other party members loyal to Aminu.<ref name=":34" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Joseph |first=Richard A. |url=http://archive.org/details/democracyprebend0000jose |title=Democracy and prebendal politics in Nigeria : the rise and fall of the Second Republic |date=1987 |publisher=Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] ; New York : Cambridge University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-521-34136-3}}</ref>{{Rp|page=143}} The radical faction was called ''Santsi'' ('slippery' in Hausa) after Aminu said they were on a slippery slope. Rimi then replied that 'some party leaders' were 'stuck in the mud', hence the pro-Aminu faction were known as ''Taɓo'' ('mud' in Hausa).<ref name=":28" />{{Rp|page=432}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jega |first=Mahmud |title=Red, Blue and Swing States |url=https://issuu.com/thisdaylive/docs/tdla_0116_5adc568f6292ba |work=Thisday Newspapers |pages=48}}</ref>

During the spring of 1980, while Aminu was abroad for medical treatment, the PRP leadership formally prohibited the two governors from attending the nine governors' meetings. Upon his return, unable to mediate between the two factions, he aligned himself with the Taɓo faction, thereby endorsing the actions of the party establishment. As the two governors persisted in attending the meetings despite the directive, they were expelled from the party. In response, the Santsi faction, claiming to be the authentic PRP, convened a party convention in December 1980, where they expelled Aminu and Ikoku, replacing them with Chief [[Michael Imoudu|Michael Imodu]] and Abubakar Rimi, respectively. However, despite the significant number of PRP legislators who sided with the Santsi faction, FEDECO recognized Aminu as the legitimate leader of the PRP.<ref name=":34" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Jr. |first=C S Whitaker |url=http://archive.org/details/perspectivesonse0000unse |title=Perspectives on the second republic in Nigeria |date=1981 |publisher=Waltham, Mass. : Crossroads Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-918456-43-4}}</ref>{{Rp|page=13}}

==== The 1981 Kano riot ====
On 7 July 1981, Governor Rimi issued a letter to the Emir of Kano, Ado Bayero, accusing him of deliberate disrespect toward the [[Kano State Government]]. The letter demanded a response within 48 hours to justify why disciplinary action should not be taken. The letter was described by the ''[[West Africa (magazine)|West Africa magazine]]'' as "most disrespectful...suitable for admonishing a clerk, but...most unsuitable for addressing a [venerated] traditional and religious leader". Other conservative religious and intellectual figures also condemned the letter, along with a spokesperson from the ''Taɓo'' faction. The NPN promptly capitalized on the situation, urging "people of goodwill" to "defend their traditional institutions".<ref name=":34" />

Violence erupted on 10 July 1981, in Kano, resulting in the burning of several government buildings, including the State Government Secretariat, Radio Kano, and the [[Kano State House of Assembly|State House of Assembly]]. The headquarters of the Santsi faction and the residences of key officials in Rimi's government were also targeted. Dr. Bala Mohammed, Rimi's chief political adviser and a leading intellectual in the party, was killed in the fire. The ''West Africa magazine'' estimated the total damage from the riots at ₦100 million in its 20 July 1981 issue. The leaders of the ''Santsi'' faction accused the NPN and Aminu of orchestrating the riots to "preserve their political power".<ref name=":34" />

==== Aftermath ====
The killing of Dr. Bala Mohammed deepened the division within the PRP. Earlier in the year, Balarabe Musa, the PRP Governor of Kaduna, was impeached by the NPN-dominated [[Kaduna State House of Assembly|State House of Assembly]]. In 1982, he released a book titled ''Struggle for Social and Economic Change'', in which he accused Aminu of orchestrating the 1981 killings. Musa further asserted that despite "all his rhetoric, fables, gestures, and tricks, Mallam Aminu Kano failed to get our government and the bulk of the party to betray our General Programme."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Musa |first=Balarabe |author-link=Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa |url=http://archive.org/details/struggleforsocia0000musa |title=Struggle for social and economic change |date=1982 |publisher=Zaria : Northern Nigerian Pub. Co. |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-978-169-216-1}}</ref>{{Rp|page=162}}

Following the expulsion of several influential members from the PRP, the ''Santsi'' faction fragmented, due to issues like electoralism, a crisis of survival, and strategic conflicts. Abubakar Rimi joined Azikiwe's NPP, while [[Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa|Balarabe Musa]] attempted to reconcile with Aminu.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Abdulraheem |first=Tajudeen |last2=Olukoshi |first2=Adebayo |date=1986 |title=The Left in Nigerian Politics and the Struggle for Socialism: 1945-1985 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4005819 |journal=Review of African Political Economy |issue=37 |pages=64–80 |issn=0305-6244}}</ref> Musa disclosed in a 2012 interview that Aminu's illness during this period left him "largely unaware of his surroundings," which was exploited by "some evil people around him." Musa also mentioned Aminu's intention to organise a reconciliation gathering at his house, but his deteriorating health prevented it, leading to his eventual passing.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tilde |first=Dr Aliyu U. |date=2012-05-26 |title=Interview (1): An Evening with Balarabe Musa |url=https://aliyuutilde.wordpress.com/2012/05/26/interview-1-an-evening-with-balarabe-musa/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=Discourse With Dr. Tilde |language=en}}</ref>

In preparation for the 1983 presidential election, Aminu chose Bola Ogunbo as his running mate, the first time a woman ever held the position in the country.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mama |first=Amina |date=1995 |title=Feminism or Femocracy? State Feminism and Democratisation in Nigeria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43657968 |journal=Africa Development / Afrique et Développement |volume=20 |issue=1 |pages=37–58 |issn=0850-3907}}</ref> However, he passed away on 17 April 1983, several months before the election.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mahmud |first=Sakah S. |date=1988 |editor-last=Feinstein |editor-first=Alan |title=Mallam Aminu Kano and the Politics of Change in Nigeria |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4186467 |journal=Africa Today |volume=35 |issue=1 |pages=57–60 |issn=0001-9887}}</ref>