Kanu was an elected member of Sierra Leone House of Parliament representing Port Loko District from 2002 until 2007.
Kanu is a muslim and a member of the Temne ethnic group from Port Loko District in northern Sierra Leone.
Upon graduation, he attended Fourah Bay College in Freetown and later proceeded to the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom where he received a Master of Philosophy (M.Phil) in geophysics.
While in Parliament Kanu was one of the fierce critics of Ahmad Tejan Kabbah lead Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) government.
When Ernest Bai Koroma was elected president in 2007, Kanu was appointed Minister of Presidential and Public Affairs from October 2007 to February 2009 when he was moved to the Ministry of Mineral Resources.