146 african appropriations
chase. During the chase, he knocked down a motorcyclist, and when the
police finally apprehended Rabo, they found a teenage girl in the backseat
of his car. Out on bail, he left for Saudi Arabia the very next day to perform
the lesser hajj, a series of virtuous acts recommended during Ramadan
(Abdulaziz 2010; Aliyu 2010). According to Adamu, the Islamic estab-
lishment rallied in support of Rabo, one imam even saying in his Friday
sermon that Rabo should be excused because he “was human” (Abdalla
Uba Adamu, email, May 18, 2011). Although the case was dropped, allega-
tions of an illicit relationship with the girl persisted. Rabo’s power further
declined when Kano state got a new government following the gubernato-
rial elections in April 2011. Compared with the former governor, Ibrahim
Shekarau, who entertained close ties to the religious establishment, newly
elected Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, who had already run the state from 1999
to 2003, was known to be less strict in religious matters (see figure 4.3). In
November 2011, the director general of the Kano State Censorship Board
was replaced and a number of filmmakers, among them Rabilu Musa Dan-
lasan, who had been imprisoned by the former director general, were given
figure 4.3
New hopes for Kanywood after the gubernatorial elections in Kano state, 2011.
Courtesy of Daily Trust.