“People Laughed at Me When I Was Recording Rogon Baban Doya – Today It’s a Hit”: How Salmanu Kaura Rose from Hunger to Stardom

Salmani Aminu Ahmad, popularly known as Salmanu Kaura, whose song Rogon Baban Doya has become a campaign anthem for the APM. Photo Paul Orude

From Paul Orude, Bauchi

Salmani Aminu Ahmad, popularly known as Salmanu Kaura, is famed for waxing the single Rogon Baban Doya for the Allied People’s Movement (APM) shortly after many of the People’s Democratic Party’s supporters left the party.

From the small, dusty village of Miya in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, where he was always hungry and lacked money to buy food, Salmani is now a household name.

His hit song, Rogon Baban Doya Ko Yunwa Na Soro (“Cassava, elder brother of yam, even hunger is afraid of you”), has catapulted him to heights unimaginable.

He has met national figures such as Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, his counterpart from Ogun State, and APM presidential candidate Governor Seyi Makinde, among heavyweights in the APM who love his song.

The song’s reach was on full display in September when Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), joined Governor Bala Mohammed and Governor Seyi Makinde in dancing to the APM campaign song during the commissioning of the party’s campaign office in Abuja. The moment was captured on video and widely shared online, cementing the song’s status as a campaign anthem.

But the most remarkable thing about Salmanu, apart from the track Rogo (Cassava), which has since gone viral and become a household anthem, is his small stature. What many who are much taller than this remarkable singer could not achieve, Salmanu has, within a space of six months, become a sensation.

Speaking exclusively with Metoric Post in Bauchi, the Rogo crooner, a father of two, said he suffered a lot in life but now seems to be reaping the fruit of his labour.

“I wrote my songs myself,” he said. “I was inspired by the excellent work that Governor Bala Mohammed has done for the people of Bauchi State and his departure from PDP to APM. That is why I decided to follow him, and I have no regret. He inspired me a lot, and he is the reason I write my songs.”

“I am really happy to know that my songs are making waves not only in Bauchi but across the country,” he said.

“I thank God for this, and I am also happy that my party, the APM, is also gaining popularity just like my songs across the country.”

Salmanu said he was inspired to write the song because of the coming of his party, the APM, which was relatively new in the country.

“This is why I sang the song about my party, the APM, and the cassava song for the citizens of the country to pay attention to its manifesto and support the party.”

When asked if he has any artiste he looks up to as a role model, Salmanu said there is none.

“Truly, I don’t see anyone as a model. I just look up to those that God has given me grace above, and I thank Him for bringing me to where I ordinarily would not be. My constant prayer is for God to give me the enablement to support those who are less fortunate.”

An indigene of Miya in Ganjuwa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Salmanu lost his father at an early age and was brought up by his single mother.

“My mother is overjoyed because of my rising popularity, and she is always praying for me,” he said.

“Growing up was very difficult, particularly because of my small stature, but I didn’t give up. I suffered in the process of trying to break through in my singing career. I suffered a lot, and nobody ever imagined that I would get to this stage, that I would even meet with governors and prominent people within such a short time.

“I never imagined that I would arrive at where I am today, and now I am being talked about everywhere because of my songs. From everywhere I get gifts, praise, and goodwill immeasurable.”

Salmanu recalled unforgettable times when he stayed hungry for days, with no means to buy food.

“In hunger, I sometimes trekked long distances to get to wherever I was going because I had no money. Life was very tough and difficult for me. I can never forget those days.”

Salmanu said when he remembers where he is today, he cannot help but marvel at how it all came to be.

“Last year I was a nobody. This thing came suddenly, although I have been writing songs and trying to survive as a musician. Few people gave me a chance.

“When my governor and all his associates were planning to move to APM from PDP, I felt it was good for me to come out and lend my support to the efforts of my governor. I saw his leadership efforts. I saw how he travelled around the country trying to make the right decisions. When he finally moved to APM, this was what gave me strength, and I sat and wrote the song myself. I went to the studio to record it, and many people were laughing at me when I was recording it. But today God has changed my story. The song became a hit campaign songs in this political dispensation, not only in Bauchi State but among Hausa songs in the country.”

Salmanu said his hit song Rogo has opened unimaginable doors for him.

“I got money, I got vehicles, I got so much praise and encounters with the high and mighty in society, and I got much love from many of my fans.”

Salmanu advised artistes who are struggling to make it to be patient and not give up.

“I will advise them to keep on pushing and do good deeds that will uplift them, and God willing, they will succeed.”

Salmanu would not end the interview without some words for the Governor of Bauchi State, whom he greatly adores.

“We have nothing much to say to you than to wish you success in your future endeavours for all the good things you have brought to us in Bauchi State,” he said.

Salmanu’s rise reflects a broader pattern in Nigerian politics, where campaign songs and grassroots artistes have become powerful tools for mobilising support.

Whether his music endures beyond the 2027 election cycle remains to be seen, but for now, the one-time hungry boy from Miya is enjoying a spotlight he once only dreamed of – and he is determined not to let it slip away.