Hard Facts About Alhaji (sir) Ahmadu Bello

His father died when he was 6 years old.

He was the only surviving son of his father and mother, Mariyamu.

He was a great grand-son of Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, the great Fulani jihadist.

He got his Islamic and Arabic education as a teenager from Mallam Garba who was the Imam of Rabbah village.

He finished at the age of 16 top of his class.

He attended the Teacher’s Training College, Katsina (later Barewa College) where he was a School Prefect and Class Captain.

Thereafter, he graduated as a Teacher in 1931 with a credit equivalent Grade III result.

He was appointed by the Sultan of Sokoto to work as a teacher at the Sokoto Middle School, where he was once a student and taught from
1931-1934.

He was appointed a rural administrator (District Head) at the age 25 in 1934.

He gave birth to a daughter after his death (posthumously).

He became a candidate for the succession to the throne of the Sultan of Sokoto at the age of 29.

He made attempts to become the Sultan of Sokoto but was not successful, losing to Sir Siddiq Abubakar III who reigned for 50 years until his death in 1988.

The new Sultan immediately made Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna (Warlord) of Sokoto, a honourary title and promoted him to the Sokoto Native Authority Council, these titles automatically made him the Chief Political Adviser to the Sultan. Later, he was put in charge of the Sokoto Province to oversee 47 districts.

In 1943, a drama played out when he was thrown before the Sultan’s court for misappropriating jangali (cattle) tax for the Gusau region where he was the Councillor.

He was sentenced to 1 year in prison, but spent 3 months in jail.

By 1944, he was back at the Sultan’s Palace to work as the Chief Secretary of the State Native Administration.

In 1949, at the age of 40, he was nominated for a seat in the Regional House of Assembly.

He spoke impeccable English, and respected many European values.

Sir Ahmadu Bello keenly encouraged female education.

In 1954, Sir Ahmadu Bello became the first Premier of Northern Nigeria.

He never had material accumulation instincts, did not accumulate wealth and gave out whatever came into his possession. He was scrupulous and prudent with public finance but generous with his own money.

In 1955, he made his first pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The ‘Work and Worship’ motto on the Northern Nigerian crest was adopted by him.

He chose to remain the Premier of Northern Nigeria and gave the position of Prime Minister to his hand-picked candidate, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who was then the Deputy President of the NPC.

Sir Ahmadu Bello never sought the leadership of Nigeria.

He once stated that he would rather be the Sultan of Sokoto than to be the leader of Nigeria.

At various times, he made inflammatory statements about the Ibos as He once referred to them as the ‘Jews of Nigeria’ whose sole purpose is to dominate wherever they find themselves.

In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926) made him a Knight of the British Empire (KBE), and that explains the ‘Sir’ in his title.

In 1962, he became Pioneer Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria.

He founded the Bank of the North (now Unity Bank).

He founded the Northern Nigerian Development Company.

He established the 16,000-seater Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

He established the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna (the only military university in Nigeria)

He established the University of Northern Nigeria, which stretched from Samaru in Kaduna State to Funtua in Katsina State, on the 4th of October, 1962 now known as Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

By the beginning of 1966, it was quite clear that the Sardauna was one of the most powerful figures in the country, and many believed that he was actually the most powerful, even much more powerful than the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

His party, Northern People Congress (NPC), held sway over 29 million out of 55 million Nigerians.

On his way to Umrah (the Muslim lesser pilgrimage), he received a letter with threats to kill him.

The letter was said to have stated: “We have arranged to kill you and the Prime Minister (Alhaji Tafawa Balewa).”

As a devout Muslim, the Sardauna believed that giving his life in the service of Northern Nigeria was worth the sacrifice and that death was a certain end.

He later said of the threat: “Don’t worry, continue to get useful information. I know what to do.”

On the evening of 14th January, 1966, armed soldiers, led by Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, arrived at his residence at Lugard House, Kaduna, with the message of death.

He told his family to stay away in safety but they would have none of that. They all trooped behind him as he came out of the family quarters and in a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by the soldiers led by Nzeogwu who fired at his babanriga. And immediately, blood sputtered from the point of impact through the beard on his face.

At that point, his first and eldest wife, Hafsatu, threw herself at him in a final embrace. They were both shot.

He was believed to have been killed instantly when a bullet penetrated his spinal cord.

Brave till the very end, he had faced the soldiers and introduced himself as the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region.

He once referred to Nigeria as the ‘mistake of 1914′ but he later worked for and gave his best for the new nation of Nigeria.

He died leaving £10 in his bank account.

Source: http://www.historyvilleng.com/2016/03/13/what-you-may-not-know-about-alhaji-sir-ahmadu-bello/

Respect Sir, A great Man I must Say, May ALLAHU {S.W.T} grant you Al-Janat Firduos, Amin.

Nice lesson

Tribalism in Nigeria stated with this man and awolowo... .. zik was the one who really wanted one Nigeria. .. . And if we had 3 zik.. . Nigeria would have been a more integrated country

seunny4lif:

Nice lesson

His father, Sarkin Rabah Ibrahim dan Atiku , commanded the left wing of the Sokoto army against Lord Lugard's troops, at the battle of Sokoto (1903).
While the battle was occurring, at Dange, the future Sultan Sir Siddiq Abubakar came to life.

#Trivia4You

he was a tribal bigot and hated the Igbos
by the way am Yoruba

mrvitalis:
Tribalism in Nigeria stated with this man and awolowo... .. zik was the one who really wanted one Nigeria. .. . And if we had 3 zik.. . Nigeria would have been a more integrated country

I never knew Osogbo weed has such high effect

I love history bro

GorkoSusaay:


His father, Sarkin Rabah Ibrahim dan Atiku , commanded the left wing of the Sokoto army against Lord Lugard's troops, at the battle of Sokoto (1903).
While the battle was occurring, at Dange, the future Sultan Sir Siddiq Abubakar came to life.

#Trivia4You

juniorportland:
he was a tribal bigot and hated the Igbos

by the way am Yoruba

And Awo was also a tribal bigot and love the Ibos right ?

by the way am Hausa fulani.

mrvitalis:
Tribalism in Nigeria stated with this man and awolowo... .. zik was the one who really wanted one Nigeria. .. . And if we had 3 zik.. . Nigeria would have been a more integrated country

Zik was the one with the lower IQ amongst them, no wonder the North and Southwest were more United than the southeast.

Suurulere:
Hard Facts About Alhaji (sir) Ahmadu Bello

His father died when he was 6 years old.

He was the only surviving son of his father and mother, Mariyamu.

He was a great grand-son of Shehu Uthman dan Fodio, the great Fulani jihadist.

He got his Islamic and Arabic education as a teenager from Mallam Garba who was the Imam of Rabbah village.

He finished at the age of 16 top of his class.

He attended the Teacher’s Training College, Katsina (later Barewa College) where he was a School Prefect and Class Captain.

Thereafter, he graduated as a Teacher in 1931 with a credit equivalent Grade III result.

He was appointed by the Sultan of Sokoto to work as a teacher at the Sokoto Middle School, where he was once a student and taught from
1931-1934.

He was appointed a rural administrator (District Head) at the age 25 in 1934.

He gave birth to a daughter after his death (posthumously).

He became a candidate for the succession to the throne of the Sultan of Sokoto at the age of 29.

He made attempts to become the Sultan of Sokoto but was not successful, losing to Sir Siddiq Abubakar III who reigned for 50 years until his death in 1988.

The new Sultan immediately made Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna (Warlord) of Sokoto, a honourary title and promoted him to the Sokoto Native Authority Council, these titles automatically made him the Chief Political Adviser to the Sultan. Later, he was put in charge of the Sokoto Province to oversee 47 districts.

In 1943, a drama played out when he was thrown before the Sultan’s court for misappropriating jangali (cattle) tax for the Gusau region where he was the Councillor.

He was sentenced to 1 year in prison, but spent 3 months in jail.

By 1944, he was back at the Sultan’s Palace to work as the Chief Secretary of the State Native Administration.

In 1949, at the age of 40, he was nominated for a seat in the Regional House of Assembly.

He spoke impeccable English, and respected many European values.

Sir Ahmadu Bello keenly encouraged female education.

In 1954, Sir Ahmadu Bello became the first Premier of Northern Nigeria.

He never had material accumulation instincts, did not accumulate wealth and gave out whatever came into his possession. He was scrupulous and prudent with public finance but generous with his own money.

In 1955, he made his first pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

The ‘Work and Worship’ motto on the Northern Nigerian crest was adopted by him.

He chose to remain the Premier of Northern Nigeria and gave the position of Prime Minister to his hand-picked candidate, the late Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, who was then the Deputy President of the NPC.

Sir Ahmadu Bello never sought the leadership of Nigeria.

He once stated that he would rather be the Sultan of Sokoto than to be the leader of Nigeria.

At various times, he made inflammatory statements about the Ibos as He once referred to them as the ‘Jews of Nigeria’ whose sole purpose is to dominate wherever they find themselves.

In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II (b.1926) made him a Knight of the British Empire (KBE), and that explains the ‘Sir’ in his title.

In 1962, he became Pioneer Chancellor, Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria.

He founded the Bank of the North (now Unity Bank).

He founded the Northern Nigerian Development Company.

He established the 16,000-seater Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

He established the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna (the only military university in Nigeria)

He established the University of Northern Nigeria, which stretched from Samaru in Kaduna State to Funtua in Katsina State, on the 4th of October, 1962 now known as Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

By the beginning of 1966, it was quite clear that the Sardauna was one of the most powerful figures in the country, and many believed that he was actually the most powerful, even much more powerful than the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

His party, Northern People Congress (NPC), held sway over 29 million out of 55 million Nigerians.

On his way to Umrah (the Muslim lesser pilgrimage), he received a letter with threats to kill him.

The letter was said to have stated: “We have arranged to kill you and the Prime Minister (Alhaji Tafawa Balewa).”

As a devout Muslim, the Sardauna believed that giving his life in the service of Northern Nigeria was worth the sacrifice and that death was a certain end.

He later said of the threat: “Don’t worry, continue to get useful information. I know what to do.”

On the evening of 14th January, 1966, armed soldiers, led by Major Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu, arrived at his residence at Lugard House, Kaduna, with the message of death.

He told his family to stay away in safety but they would have none of that. They all trooped behind him as he came out of the family quarters and in a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by the soldiers led by Nzeogwu who fired at his babanriga. And immediately, blood sputtered from the point of impact through the beard on his face.

At that point, his first and eldest wife, Hafsatu, threw herself at him in a final embrace. They were both shot.

He was believed to have been killed instantly when a bullet penetrated his spinal cord.

Brave till the very end, he had faced the soldiers and introduced himself as the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region.

He once referred to Nigeria as the ‘mistake of 1914′ but he later worked for and gave his best for the new nation of Nigeria.

He died leaving £10 in his bank account.

Source: http://www.historyvilleng.com/2016/03/13/what-you-may-not-know-about-alhaji-sir-ahmadu-bello/

He was humble to the poor and intimidating to the rich and powerful.

" Sai baka nan Maza suka kuri suce Maza ne, in ka taho uban ajiya kowa bai motsawa"
In the words of one of the prominent Hausa singers ( Dankwairo ).


Meaning "only in your absence men boost to say they are men, but the moment you arrive everyone of them bow before you"

He was a bigot. Not different from present day arrogant, divisive Fulani leaders.

Baaballiyo:


Zik was the one with the lower IQ amongst them, no wonder the North and Southwest were more United than the southeast.

It that the best u can come up with??

juniorportland:
I never knew Osogbo weed has such high effect

Is it that u can't see the truth or that u are just wanting to start trouble

mrvitalis:
Tribalism in Nigeria stated with this man and awolowo... .. zik was the one who really wanted one Nigeria. .. . And if we had 3 zik.. . Nigeria would have been a more integrated country

If you think so, then I suggest you read this; perhaps you may appreciate how the Igbo agenda to dominate had played itself out again and again and also failed to date - including where the Sardauna was coming from with the statement accredited to him against the Igbos.

”It would appear that the God of Africa has created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of ages ….” – Dr Azikiwe, President of the Pan-Igbo Federal Union. (The West African Pilot of July 8, 1949).


https://www.nairaland.com/3083310/igbo-introduced-tribal-politics.by-ffk

Ndigbo's new ally had this to say awhile back... HOW THE IGBO INTRODUCED TRIBALISM TO NIGERIAN POLITICS. BY Femi Fani-Kayode October 28, 2012 Premium Times. ”
Igbo domination of Nigeria is only a matter of time”- Charles Onyeama, a prominent igbo lawyer and member of the Central Legislative Council, 1945. (Page 204 ”Ethnic Politics In Kenya and Nigeria” by Godfrey Mwakikagile). ”It would appear that the God of Africa has created the Igbo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of ages ….” – Dr Azikiwe, President of the Pan-Igbo Federal Union. (The West African Pilot of July 8, 1949). The first statement from Charles Onyeama, which was made in 1945, was the first overtly tribal and divisive comment that was made and recorded in the politics of southern Nigeria in our history.
That is where and when tribalism in the south actually started. After that comment, and as a direct reaction to it, the Yoruba established the ”Egbe Omo Oduduwa” to further and protect Yoruba interests and after that came the formation of the Action Group in 1948. The second statement from Zik, which was made in 1949 (and which clearly shows that the great Zik of Africa had forgotten that the NCNC was not an Igbo party at the beginning and that it had in fact been established by an upper class and very well educated Yoruba man by the name of Sir Herbert Macaulay, one of the famous ”Black Victorians” from the Lagos Colony, and who, at his death bed, was gracious enough to hand over the leadership of the party to him even though he was Igbo) confirmed that tribalism was here to stay in the south and that ever since that time the Igbo had an agenda to dominate others.
This sentiment and this unfortunate Igbocentric attitude is what cost Zik the premiership of the Western Region in 1953 when the NCNC narrowly lost to the Action Group. It is clear from this that if you want to know who started tribalism in southern politics and the politics of the southern protectorate of Nigeria, it was not the Yoruba or the southern minorities but the Igbo. The excesses of the Igbo State Union and their treatment of the southern minorities and the Yoruba from 1943 till 1967 was completely unacceptable. The rest of the south were prepared to accept the Igbo as equals with open arms but they were not prepared to be politically dominated or conquered by them. Worst still, the first coup in the history of Nigeria, which was the Jan 15th 1966 coup d’etat, led by Major Ifejuana and Major Kaduna Nzeogwu, was essentially an Igbo coup and an Igbo grab for power. I say this because 95 per cent of those that took part in it were Igbo and 99 per cent of the political and military leaders that were brutally murdered during its execution were non-Igbo. It was this coup and its sheer brutality that led to the even more brutal northern officers counter-coup of July 1966 (in which 300 Igbo officers were killed in one night including the Igbo Head of State, Gen. Aguiyi-Ironsi, and his Yoruba host, the Military Governor of the Western Region, Adekunle Fajuyi who sought to protect him), the pogrom of Igbos in the north (in which over 100,000 Igbo civilians were killed in a few weeks) and the Nigerian civil war (in which 2 million Nigerians and Biafrans died). These are the facts of our history. Live and learn.
If you want to know who introduced tribalism into southern politics, it was the Igbo. If you want to know who carried out the first coup in our country, it was the Igbo. Having done the painstaking research over a number of years these are my findings and this is my conclusion. I will open my Facebook wall for a robust discussion and debate on this issue and I will accommodate contributions from even those that are not my Facebook friends just for thism debate. I will accommodate all shades of opinion and contributions from anyone that cares to join in the fray and I want to encourage those that disagree with my findings to state their case. We are all still learning but please take note that any rude or insulting comments will be deleted. This is a historical debate and I would encourage all those that seek to quote anyone or make any assertions to mention their sources so that we can cross check the facts
Femi-fani kayode.