Kashim Ibrahim-Imam is a Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n politician who was twice the People's Democratic Party

People's Democratic Party (Nigeria)

The People's Democratic Party is a political party in Nigeria. Its policies generally lie towards the right wing of the political spectrum. It has won every single Presidential elections since 1999, namely: 1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011, and is the dominant party in the Fourth Republic.-History:In...

 (PDP) candidate for Governor of Borno State

Borno State

Borno State is a state in north-eastern Nigeria. Its capital is Maiduguri. The state was formed in 1976 from the split of the North-Eastern State...

 in 2003 and 2007, losing both times to the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) candidate Ali Modu Sheriff

Ali Modu Sheriff

Ali Modu Sheriff was elected governor of Borno State in Nigeria in April 2003. He is a member of the All Nigeria People's Party .Ali Sheriff was the first governor in Borno state to win the seat two consecutive times.-Background:...

.

Early career

Ibrahim-Imam was born into a political family.
His father, Ibrahim Imam

Ibrahim Imam

Ibrahim Imam was a Kanuri politician from Borno, Nigeria who was the secretary of the Northern People's Congress and later became a patron of the Borno Youth Movement. He was elected into the Northern House of Assembly in 1961, representing a Tiv district...

 was the motivating force of the progressive Borno Youth Movement

Borno Youth Movement

Borno Youth Movement was a Nigerian political party founded on June 26, 1954. The party was founded by young radicals of Kanuri heritage who were indignant with the administrative course of native authorities in Borno and wanted to reform the authority....

.
He earned degrees in political science and international economic relations from Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University

Ahmadu Bello University is the largest university in Nigeria and second largest in Africa, second only to Cairo University, Egypt. It is situated in Zaria. It was founded on October 4, 1962 as the University of Northern Nigeria....

, Zaria

Zaria

Zaria may refer to:*Zaria, a city in Kaduna State, Nigeria*Zaria , or Zoria, the Slavic goddess of beauty*Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, a member of the Dutch royal family...

 and the University of Maiduguri

University of Maiduguri

The University of Maiduguri is located in Maiduguri, a city in Borno State in northeast Nigeria. The university was created by the federal government in 1975, with the intention of its becoming one of the country's principal higher-education institutions...

.
He then entered the banking industry.
He was given the title of "Mutawalli Borno", a senior councillor to the Shehu (traditional ruler) of Borno

Bornu Empire

The Bornu Empire was an African state of Nigeria from 1396 to 1893. It was a continuation of the great Kanem Empire founded centuries earlier by the Sayfawa Dynasty...

.
He was a childhood friend and business partner of his political opponent in Borno State, Ali Modu Sheriff.

During the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic

Nigerian Third Republic

The Third Republic was the planned republican government of Nigeria in 1993 which was to be governed by the Third Republican constitution.- Founding :...

 Ibrahim-Imam was Borno State chairman of the National Republican Convention

National Republican Convention

The National Republican Convention was a Nigerian political party established by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida and ultimately disbanded by the incoming military regime of General Sani Abacha in 1993.-Alignment:...

 (NRC). He was removed from this position by Maina Maaji Lawan

Maina Maaji Lawan

Maina Maaji Lawan is a Nigerian politician and former governor of Borno State in Nigeria who is now a member of the Senate for the Borno North constituency.-Background:...

, the Borno State Governor at that time.
Ibrahim-Imam was a member of Hope 93, the political group at the forefront of the MKO Abiola campaign in the 1993 elections.

Fourth Republic

Ibrahim-Imam was appointed Presidential Liaison Officer to the Senate at the start of President Olusegun Obasanjo's administration.

In the February 2003 PDP primaries for Borno State Governor candidate, Ibrahim-Imam was said to be competing in part to prevent Lawan becoming governor again.
He easily beat four other contestants to represent the PDP in the gubernatorial elections, gaining 177 of the 185 votes cast.
In the April elections, Ali Modu Sheriff of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) gained 581,880 votes, Kashim came second with 341,537 votes for the PDP and the incumbent Governor Mala Kachalla

Mala Kachalla

Mala Kachalla was governor of Borno State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003.-Borno Governor:Mala Kachalla was elected as governor of Borno State in April 1999, running for the All People's Party , which was renamed All Nigeria People's Party due to a factional split...

, who had moved from the ANPP to compete on the Alliance for Democracy

Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria)

The Alliance for Democracy was a progressive opposition political party in Nigeria. It was formed on September 9th 1998. At the 2003 legislative elections, 12 April 2003, the party won 8.8 % of the popular vote and 34 out of 360 seats in the Nigerian House of Representatives and six out of...

 (AD) ticket, gained 336,165 votes. Kashim said the election was not fair or free.
He competed again in the 2007 elections and lost to Sheriff again.

In April 2008 Ibrahim-Imam claimed that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar

Atiku Abubakar

Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alias Turakin Adamawa, GCON was the Vice-President of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007. He is a Muslim native of Adamawa State, and was an influential member of the ruling People's Democratic Party until 2006 when he switched affiliation to the Action Congress party...

had ordered the demolition of his house because of his loyalty to former president Obasanjo. Atiku denied the charge.