Little is known about Balewa but, not
anymore coz, today - I'll give very
insightful details about his personal
life...enjoy... - Balewa had very humble origins. His
father was a slave who rose in service
of the Madaki of Bauchi and became a
district head. - Balewa’s paternal grandfather Isa was
murdered in front of his family by his
rival’s agents. - Abubakar was born in December 1912
in the village of Tafawa Balewa, in
modern day Bauchi state. He was his
father’s only child. - The name of his birthplace was
appended to Abubakar’s name
(Abubakar Tafawa Balewa). - Tafawa Balewa village takes its name
from two corrupted Fulani words:
“Tafari” (rock) and Baleri (black). - Although it is widely (incorrectly)
presumed that he was Hausa, Balewa’s
father Yakubu Dan Zala was in fact of
Bageri ethnicity, and his mother Fatima
Inna was Fulani. - He learnt the first chapter of the
Qur’an by heart. For his Western
education he attended Bauchi Provincial
School. - He was a shy, quiet and not
outstanding student. Although reserved
by nature, he did commit a disciplinary
infraction when he was caught outside
school without permission, and smoking
with his friends to boot. He was whipped as punishment. - He later attended Katsina Teacher
Training College (1928-1933) and
graduated with a third class certificate.
His best subject was unsurprisingly,
English. *and yes, he spoke "eloquent
Victorian English" - better than any Nigerian President I've listened to* - He became a teacher and irritated by
a friend’s remark that no Northerner
had ever passed the exam for a Senior
Teacher’s Certificate, Balewa duly sat
the exam, and obtained the Certificate. - In 1945 he and other northerners
(including Aminu Kano) obtained a
scholarship to study at the University
of London’s Institute of Education
(1945-1946). - Balewa upon returning said he: "returned to Nigeria with new eyes,
because I had seen people who lived
without fear, who obeyed the law as
part of their nature, who knew individual
liberty" - Balewa helped found the Northern
People’s Congress (NPC), which was
originally intended as a cultural
organisation. - Balewa was called into political
service as the Bauchi Native Authority’s
representative to the Northern House
of Assembly. - The House of Assembly also selected
him to become a member of the
Nigerian Legislative Council. - He later became the federal Minister
of Works and in 1954 Minister of
Transport and the senior minister and
leader of the NPC in the House of
Representatives. - The NPC leader the Sardauna of
Sokoto sent Balewa to Lagos to
become the federal Prime Minister in
1957 - When Nigeria became independent in
1960, he became the newly
independent country’s first Prime
Minister but he still received
instructions from his boss - The
Sardauna. - He gained several awards from the
British: OBE in 1952, CBE in 1955,
Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in
January 1960 and was awarded an
honorary degree by the University of
Sheffield in May 1960 - On January 15, 1966 he was
kidnapped from his official residence by
armed soldiers who were executing
Nigeria’s first military coup. - Hopes were dashed when his
decomposing corpse was found a few
days later, dumped in a roadside bush. - His corpse was taken to Ikeja airport
in the company of a Police
Commissioner, I.G of Police and his
wives Laraba and Jummai who
accompanied it as it was flown to
Bauchi where he was buried. - His mother Hajiya Inna died less than
a year after him. He was survived by his
four wives Jummai, Umma, Zainab and
Laraba, and 19 children. - He married Jummai (from Sokoto)
when she was 13 years old. He also
had a posthumous daughter (Zainab)
who was born by Jummai two weeks
after his death. - Although all of Balewa’s widows
remarried after his death, their
subsequent marriages collapsed and
they returned to the Prime Minister’s
house in Bauchi to live together. ..hmmm...his life and death resonates
that of an individual who went from the
lowest depths of living (his father was a
slave) to the highest peaks (he became
a Prime Minister)...one lesson - DESPITE
HIS IMMENSE FLAWS, HE NEVER STOPPED BELIEVING IN HIMSELF... ...to be human is beautiful...

Don't Just view, reply and say something about this great NigeriaDon't Just view, reply and say something about this great NigeriaDon't Just view, reply and say something about this great Nigeria

God bless our nation and all noble men, amen.

Hausa people have been over-populating this country since independence, giving rise to unwanted humans. Lord have mercy

lol....it because of the large land scale of the North

He has no doubt achieved some personal feats, his people would definitely call him a hero but he is no hero of mine.....

Nonybb: Hausa people have been over-populating this country since independence, giving rise to unwanted humans. Lord have mercy

Apparently, your ppl must have done even worse, they produced you

The Clown: He has no doubt achieved some personal feats, his people would definitely call him a hero but he is no hero of mine.....

But a pace setter for u & ur like.U re only playing catch up.