Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura
Dan Masanin Daura, CON, Chairman, Maryam Endowment Fund
Former Minister of Agriculture & Environment
University of Lagos Alumni
Zangon Daura, Katsina State
Former Minister of Agriculture & Environment
University of Lagos Alumni
Zangon Daura, Katsina State
Biography by Maikano Bashir Yola
1938 - Born in Zangon Daura Town, Katsina State, into a traditional Hausa/Fulani family.
1944-1948 - Attended Zangon Daura Elementary School for his elementary education.
1948-1952 - Studied at Katsina Middle School in the defunct Katsina Province.
1953-1957 - Attended School for Arabic Studies in Kano.
1957-1958 - Taught at Daura Central Primary School and later at Daura Senior Primary School under Mallam Dauda Daura.
1958-1959 - Transferred to Dutsinma Senior Primary School where he taught under Mallam Labo Mahuta.
1959 - Returned to his alma mater, School for Arabic Studies, Kano, as a teacher.
1961-1963 - Studied at University Tutorial College, Russell Square in London for GCE Ordinary and Advanced levels.
1963-1966 - Attended University of Lagos, graduating with a B.Sc. 3rd Class Honours in Business Administration.
After graduation from the University of Lagos in June 1966, he returned to Kaduna and was employed by the defunct Northern Nigerian Public Service Commission as an Administrative Officer, Class IV on 26th June, 1966.
1967-1968 - Posted to Borgu Division as Assistant District Officer (A.D.O.) under Alhaji Sulyman Abbo Jimeta.
1968 - Appointed Commissioner by Brigadier Abba Kyari, first Military Governor of North-Central State, posted to Information Division.
1972-1975 - Deployed to Ministry of Health and Social Welfare as Commissioner.
1976-1977 - Appointed Daura Local Government Authority Care-taker Chairman.
1978 - Elected to Constituent Assembly to review Nigeria's Constitution.
1994-1995 - Elected Delegate to Constitutional Conference during General Sani Abacha's regime.
1999-2001 - Appointed Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development under President Olusegun Obasanjo.
2001-2002 - Transferred to Federal Ministry of Environment as Minister.
From 1994 to 1999, Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura served as Chairman or Director in numerous companies and organizations:
Awarded the prestigious National Honour of C.O.N. (Commander of the Order of the Niger) by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in 2007.
Alhaji Sani Zangon Daura began his political activism in 1953 while at the School for Arabic Studies in Kano during the era of Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Northern Elements People Unity (NEPU).
As an undergraduate at the University of Lagos, he formed "All Universities NPC Students" with other Northern students to support the NPC. Despite his official alignment with NPC, his sympathies leaned toward NEPU due to his empathy for the less privileged.
His group at the university constituted a formidable political pressure group that countered attempts to stop the appointment of Dr. Saburi Biobaku as Chancellor of the University of Lagos.