Aminu Kano

Aminu Kano was born in 1920 to a Fulani clan known for their Islamic scholarship. He attended Kaduna College and later studied at the University of London. He became a teacher and a political activist, opposing British colonial rule and advocating for democracy, women's empowerment and freedom of speech. He formed the Northern Teachers Association and later joined the Northern Elements Progressive Union, a radical party that challenged the conservative Northern People's Congress. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1959 and served as a federal commissioner for communications and health in the first republic. After the military coup of 1966, he was detained and later released. He formed the Northern Progressive Front, a coalition of opposition parties, and contested the 1979 and 1983 presidential elections under the banner of the People's Redemption Party, which he founded. He died of a heart attack in 1983 and was buried at his residence, Mambayya House, which is now a museum and a research center. He is widely regarded as a champion of the masses and a symbol of progressive politics in Nigeria.