History

Vocal IT expert averse to political status quo, floats shunned app

There is a popular saying in Nigeria that “all politicians are the same”, and this axiom cannot be detached from Adamu Garba. Although not professionally trained in the art of politics, Garba has become known to be one of the most vocal voices of seemingly young people who constantly speaks about the state of affairs in the country.

He is renowned to hold controversial views on issues of politics, ethnicity and religion, to the extent that he fervently clashes with netizens on social media. His thoughts have continuously provoked censures from all and sundry, a situation which has impacted his business.

So, who is Adamu Garba, the capricious politician and technology specialist who launched a social media application that eventually got blacklisted on online stores?

Adamu Garba biography 

Adamu Garba an APC member

Adamu Garba was born on June 6, 1982, in Jimeta, Adamawa State. He was born into the family of Alhaji Adamu Jauro Garba and Hajiya Hadiza Garba, who hail from Adamawa State.

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He had his primary education at Jambutu Primary School until Primary Four (4) when he was transferred to Luggere primary school. His secondary school was at Government Day Secondary School (GDSS) Doubeli, where he obtained his West African Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) in 2001.

Garba gained admission to the Kano State University of Technology to study electrical engineering. However, during his third year at the institution, he got expelled after he reportedly got involved in a row with the school authorities over his religious preachings. 

Rather than abandoning his education, Garba enrolled at the National Institute of Information Technology (NIIT) Kano. He obtained an MSCE certification after he studied Microsoft systems and technology.

Career 

Adamu Garba

Garba relocated to Lagos State after his graduation and got a job in a firm in the Apapa area of the state. He then moved on to Torrent Technology, a technological firm, where he worked for a while. He subsequently worked for an oil company in Warri, Delta State, for nine months after which he resigned.

After he left his job in Warri, Garba returned to Lagos State and established IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited at the age of 26. IPI Solutions Nigeria is a cloud computing business, with its core competence in Microsoft Solutions.

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The company is recognised as one of Nigeria’s well-known providers of cloud computing services, earning numerous awards, including Best CSP Partner of the Year 2017 from Microsoft, Top 10 Fastest-Growing Microsoft Solution Providers 2017, and Most Reliable Quality Business Technology Solution Provider in Africa.

Politics

Garba announced his desire to run for president of Nigeria in February 2018 under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He was the youngest person to declare his bid at the time, at age of 35. He was largely unknown until he declared his candidacy, citing the need for young people to assume positions of leadership and for seasoned politicians to step down as one of the factors motivating him to do so.

He, however, dropped his bid months after and supported the eventual candidate of the ruling party, President Muhammadu Buhari.

He declared in 2022 his interest to contest, once again, for the highest political office in the country under APC. However, after having raised about N83 million to purchase the party’s ticket, Garba left the ruling party in dramatic circumstances. In a video filmed at his office and published on social media, he removed the APC flags and accused the party of being undemocratic and preventing young persons who are serious about public service to get into office.

He then defected to the Young Progressives Party (YPP) in a bid to realise his ambition. He, however, lost the party’s presidential primary.

Despite his criticism of the party, Garba returned to the APC in July 2022, saying he would “do more harm to my country” if he “did not support a combination of a great strategist and a great tactician on a single ticket”.

Controversies 

Adamu is famous for his contentious politics and beliefs. He filed a $1 billion lawsuit against Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and then-Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, at the Federal High Court, Abuja, in October 2020 for his participation in the #EndSARS protests. 

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During that same period, he used the avenue of the Nigerian government’s suspension of the microblogging site, Twitter, to launch his social media application called Crowe. His decision, however, backfired as many Nigerians criticised him for launching the app and subsequently inputted negative reviews of the app on the Google Play Store. Crowe was subsequently removed from the app store after the reviews, as well as allegations of plagiarism by Sporty.

Garba seemed to have antagonised Nigerians again in February 2021, when he publicly supported the proposal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to outlaw cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria. The controversial politician defended his stance, insisting that the country’s apex bank is saving Nigerians from an alien currency of the transaction. He challenged Nigerians via a tweet to developing what he named “cowtocurrency”, saying that doing so is preferable to using cryptocurrencies.

Adamu Garba net worth

Garba is, by reports, estimated to be worth between $1 to $5 million.

Adamu Garba family 

Garba and his family

Garba is married to Khadija Garba. The couple has four children: Innawuro Khadija, Bapetel, Dadaji, and Muhammad Hammajam.

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