Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is the only prime minister of an independent Nigeria and only Nigerian to feature on the cover of Time Magazine.

Source: http://www.nnamdisblog.com/2016/11/throwback-photo-of-tafawa-balewa-on-time-magazine.html

Aboki na aboki, mallam na mallam. See him face.

izombie:
Aboki na aboki, mallam na mallam. See him face.

What is your business with his face? Anyway, you have nothing intelligent to say. That is why I don't blame you. I blame the the unwary person who dashed you a keyboard and allowed you to propagate your lack of intelligence on this forum.

izombie:
Aboki na aboki, mallam na mallam. See him face.

You can tell one attitude by their name

Jeremiah 32: 27 says it all

sarrki:



You can tell one attitude by their name

Jeremiah 32: 27 says it all

so u sabi Bible?

OZAOEKPE:

so u sabi Bible?

Mr righteous tell me something new

That religious divide don't thrive in my dictionary

We are all created by God

"Behold I am the lord of all flesh is there anything too hard for me to do ?"

But foolishness of mankind brings division among brethren

.

Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, KBE (December 1912 – January 15, 1966) was a Nigerian politician, and the only prime minister of an independent Nigeria. Originally a trained teacher, he became a vocal leader for Northern interest as one of the few educated Nigerians of his time. He was also an international statesman, widely respected across the African continent as one of the leaders who encouraged the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Nicknamed the Golden Voice of Africa because of his oratory, he stands one of the only three National Heroes of the Nigerian Nation.

Early life and career
In contrast with the largely aristocratic ruling elite in the north, many of whose ancestry derives from royal lineage, Balewa had very humble origins. His father was a slave who rose in service of the Madaki of Bauchi and became a district head.

According to family oral history, Balewa’s paternal grandfather Isa was murdered in front of his family by his rival’s agents. Isa’s widow then took her infant son to Bauchi, where the Madaki of Bauchi took her in. 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). This may have contributed to the “Black Rock” nickname he acquired in later life. 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.

Education
He attended Quaranic school and learnt the first chapter of the Qur’an by heart. For his Western education he attended Bauchi Provincial School. According to his teacher and classmates 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. One of his juniors at school was Nuhu Bamalli (later Foreign Minister). He later attended Katsina Teacher Training College (1928-1933) and graduated with a third class certificate. His best subject was unsurprisingly, English.

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. He became headmaster of the Bauchi Middle School. He reported that the first white woman he ever set eyes on was Dame Margery Perham (a renowned academic on African affairs) when she visited Nigeria on an investigation of native administration.

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), where he received a teacher’s certificate in history. When he returned to Nigeria he said he now saw the world with “new eyes”. Balewa 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”

He returned to Nigeria as a Native Authority Education Officer.

He was elected in 1946, to the colony's Northern House of Assembly, and to the Legislative Assembly in 1947. As a legislator, he was a vocal advocate of the rights of northern Nigeria, and together with Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, who held the hereditary title of Sardauna of Sokoto, he founded the Northern People's Congress (NPC).

Politics
Balewa was no firebrand political radical. He may have remained a teacher for the rest of his life had southern politicians such as the flamboyant intellectual Nnamdi Azikiwe not pushed for Nigerian independence. Although not overtly political he founded an organisation named the “Bauchi Discussion Circle” in 1943, and was elected vice president of the Northern Teacher’s Association (the first trade union in Northern Nigeria) in 1948.

Anxious not to be politically upstaged by the southerners, Northern leaders sought educated Northerners to serve in political posts. Balewa helped found the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), which was originally intended as a cultural organisation but by 1951 morphed into a political party due to the need to present a Northern response to the rapid and sophisticated political groupings emerging in the south. 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.

Despite political involvement, Balewa remained suspicious of Nigerian unification and feared that the Northern Region would be dominated by the better educated and dynamic south. He said that “the southern tribes who are now pouring into the north in ever increasing numbers…do not mix with the northern people in social matters and we…look upon them as invaders. Since 1914 the British government has been trying to make Nigeria into one country, but the Nigerian people themselves are historically different in their backgrounds, in their religious beliefs and customs, and do not show themselves any sign of willingness to unite. So what it comes to is that Nigerian unity is only a British intention in the country.”

Balewa administration

Balewa entered the government in 1952 as Minister of Works, and later served as Minister of Transport. In 1957, he was elected Chief Minister, forming a coalition government between the NPC and the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), led by Nnamdi Azikiwe. He retained the post as Prime Minister when Nigeria gained independence in 1960, and was reelected in 1964.

Prior to Nigeria's independence, a constitutional conference in 1954 had adopted a regional political framework for the country, with all regions given a considerable amount of political freedom. The three regions then were composed of diverse cultural groups. The premiers and some prominent leaders of the regions later took on a policy of guiding their regions against political encroachment from other regional leaders. Later on, this political environment influenced the Balewa administration. His term in office was turbulent, with regional factionalism constantly threatening his government.

However, as Prime Minister of Nigeria, he played important roles in the continent's formative indigenous rule. He was an important leader in the formation of the Organization of African Unity and creating a cooperative relationship with French speaking African Countries. He was also instrumental in negotiations between Moise Tshombe and the Congolese authorities during the Congo Crisis of 1960–1964. He led a vocal protest against the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960 and also entered into an alliance with Commonwealth ministers who wanted South Africa to leave the Commonwealth in 1961. However, a treason charge and conviction against one of the western region's leaders, Obafemi Awolowo, led to protest and condemnation from many of his supporters. The 1965 election in the region later produced violent protests. Rioting and violence were soon synchronous with what was perceived as inordinate political encroachment and an over-exuberant election outcome for Awolowo's western opponents.

As Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, from 1960 to 1961, doubled as Foreign Affairs advocate of Nigeria. In 1961, the Balewa government created an official Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations ministerial position in favour of Jaja Wachuku who became, from 1961 to 1965, the First substantive Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, later called External Affairs.

In 1963 he gave a spellbinding eloquent speech at the Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) inaugural conference of the Organisation of African Unity. As Prime Minister he maintained a thoroughly dignified comportment. A British acquaintance called him “perhaps the perfect Victorian gentleman”. 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.

Honors
In January 1960, Balewa was knighted by Elizabeth II as a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Sheffield in May, 1960.

Balewa's Overthrow
On January 15, 1966 he was kidnapped from his official residence by armed soldiers who were executing Nigeria’s first military coup. He was missing for several days and a search for him was ordered by the new military regime headed by Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi. His family and friends continued to believe he was alive. Rumours claimed the rebel soldiers were holding him alive and that he would be released as part of a prisoner swap involving the imprisoned Chief Awolowo.

However these 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 Police Commissioner Hamman Maiduguri, Inspector-General of Police Kam Selem, Maitama Sule and his wives Laraba and Jummai who accompanied it as it was flown to Bauchi where he was buried. His body now lies inside a tomb declared a national monument. The tomb includes a library and a mosque.

The famous race course square in Lagos was renamed “Tafawa Balewa Square” in his memory. His image appears on the 5 Naira note.The Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi is named in his honour.

You can read the rest of his life history here: http://logbaby.com/encyclopedia/alhaji-sir-abubakar-tafawa-balewa--biography_11790.html#.WCw71dIrLMx

Here is a speech by Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa on the occasion of the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at Addis Abba, Ethiopia, on May 24, 1963.

Your Imperial Majesty, Mr. President, Your Excellencies,

First, I want to express the thanks of my country to your Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Majesty’s Government and the People of Ethiopia for the warm reception which they have given to my delegation and myself. The presence of almost all the Heads of African States and Governments in Addis Ababa is a great tribute to your Imperial Majesty personally. The history of the new Africa will always have your name in the forefront, because the unity which we are trying to build in this conference is going to have quite a lot to do with the name of the capital city of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.

Mr. President, His Imperial Majesty sustained a double loss not long ago in the death of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress, and Prince Sahle Sellasie. During your period of sorrow which you have sustained with very great fortitude, our hearts were with you, Mr. President, may I ask all of you, Your Excellencies, to rise and observe two minutes silence in memory of Her Imperial Majesty, the Empress, and Prince Sahle Sellasie.

Mr. President, it is very difficult, after so many eloquent speeches which have exhaustively dealt with the subject, for me not to make some repetition of the points made. However, sir, I will try to explain the views and the stand of Nigeria as far as African unity is concerned. I feel that the mere presence of all the Heads of African States and Governments here shows the success of the Conference, and I have no doubt that all of us will leave Addis Ababa satisfied that we have done something.

It has always been our view in Nigeria that personal contacts and the exchange of ideas are the basis of mutual understanding. I am pleased to say that, from now on, there will be no question of the so- called Monrovia and Casablanca Blocs. We all belong to Africa.

There have been quite a lot of views on what we mean by African unity. Some of us have suggested that African unity should be achieved by political fusion of the different states in Africa; some of us feel that African unity could be achieved by taking practical steps in economic, educational, scientific and cultural co—operation, and by trying first to get the Africans to understand themselves before embarking on the more complicated and more difficult arrangement of p0litical union. My country stands for the practical approach to the unity of the African continent. We feel that, if this unity is to last, we must start from the beginning.

Nigeria’s stand is that if we want this unity in Africa we must first agree to certain essential things: The first is that African States must respect one another. There must be acceptance of equality by all the States. No matter whether they are big or small, they are all sovereign and their sovereignty is sovereignty. The size of a state, its population or its wealth should not be the criterion. It has been pointed out many times that the smaller States in Africa have no right to exist because they are too small. We in Nigeria do not agree with this view.

It was unfortunate that the African States have been broken up into different groups by the Colonial powers. In some cases, a single tribe has been broken up into four different States. You might find a section in Guinea, a section in Mali, a section in Sierra Leone and perhaps a section in Liberia. That was not our fault because, for over 6o years, these different units have been existing, and any attempt, on the part of any African country to disregard this fact might bring trouble to this continent. This is the thing we want to avoid and, for this reason, Nigeria recognizes all the existing boundaries in Africa, and recognizes the existence of all the countries in Africa. This I think, Sir, is the basis of the unity which we in Nigeria pray for on our continent.

As I have said, we have to start from the beginning. I have listened to speeches in this conference, and there have been only very few members who spoke on the desirability of having a political union. Almost all the speeches indicate that a more practical approach is much preferred by the majority of the delegation. I am glad to say that the stand we have taken right from the beginning is the stand of nearly almost all the countries in this conference.

It appears from the speeches as if we were just sitting idle and doing nothing towards the achievement of this unity. For our part, in Nigeria, we are already co-operating with some of our neighbours. For example, the other day, my friend, the President of Malagasy said he could not contact Lagos by telephone from Cotonou. This is no longer the case. Now he can speak direct.

What we are trying to do is to link up with all our neighbours by means of telecommunications and by exchanging more postal facilities; and we are already entering into bilateral agreements with many of our neighbours. We are discussing this matter with the Republic of the Cameroun, discussing our common problems with Tchad, Congo Leopoldville, with Dahomey, and also we have direct link with Togo.

We hope to continue in this work because we feel that, if we are to unite, it is important that our communications system should be excellent and transport facilities should be such that it would enable us to move freely around, to move not only ourselves but to move our goods to different parts of the continent.

Also, we have been trying in Nigeria to join other states in trying to discuss common problems—educational and scientific problems.

- See more at: http://www.blackpast.org/1963-sir-abubakar-tafawa-balewa-addis-ababa#sthash.wS0cm788.dpuf

Here is an interview granted by one of the late Tafawa Balewa's sons last year.

You can count on me for Jonathan – Tafawa-Balewa

Dr. Abduljhalil Tafawa-Balewa is a son of First Republic Prime Minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

Abduljhalil, a medical doctor, who holds a PhD in Nuclear chemistry and spent 49 of his 56 years outside the country, in this interview asserted that President Goodluck Jonathan has renewed confidence in the country through repair of infrastructure and empathy to northern interests and the dignity of women. He especially commended Dr. Jonathan’s affirmative action on women, which he said has promoted women to the highest level of governance as never before. Excerpts:

What is your assessment of developments in the country?
"I think this government has done wonderfully well. I am not saying that everything this government is doing is optimal. Those who are criticizing this government are those who were in government before. And it seems the way to become relevant in Nigeria is that just leave government so that you can criticize it. These were the people who were in government and nothing worked. They fleeced the government and there was no transparency, nothing worked. Now these sets of people are the ones criticising government.'

Remember that it is the first time that a President will say, “No, there must be no junketing again for ministers and high government officials to mark birthdays and host weddings of their children outside the country at very extravagant ways”. It was President Goodluck Jonathan that put his foot down on that."

What would you say about the state of insecurity in the North-East?
"There is no river without a source. This unrest has many factors to it. Many of our youths lack access to opportunities and jobs. The devil always finds jobs for idle hands. So, we need to start engaging these idle hands."

Prominent Northerners have been agitating for power shift in 2015. What is your position on this?
"Democracy is about education. It is not about right. What the constitution of PDP says is that if the party wins presidential election, other positions will be zoned to people of other geo-political zones. And constitutionally, President Goodluck Jonathan as a citizen of Nigeria has every right to run for a second term."

Against the background of his performance, does he deserve a second term and will you vote for him?
"You can count on me. I will vote for him. There has never been any Nigerian President since independence until now, that has done so well in appointing women who constitute half of our population to (positions) in ministries and embassies across the world. Terrorism as many people don’t seem to notice often takes a long time before it is calmed down.

Take a look at Iraq, Syria, Philippines of old and even Ireland where you can say there were long ethnic crises and you will see that Nigeria’s case is improving. Of course Nigeria is in dire need of peace and not only in the Northeast, but also the South as well. Today, the Nigerian currency is getting stable and stronger and foreign reserve is rising up. I think the President should be given kudos. I will vote for him.

Recently, a group of northern leaders stated unequivocally that the presidency should return to the North by 2015?
In democracy, there is freedom of speech. It is expected of any regional political party or group to state what they want. There is nothing wrong with that. I mean there is nothing wrong with somebody standing up here in Lagos to insist that the next governor of the state should come from Ikeja. So, I really don’t see any reason why we should lay more emphasis on that.

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/08/you-can-count-on-me-for-jonathan-tafawa-balewa/

realDONmikel:
Introducing Emmanuel Ifeajuna, He is most popular for being the The first Black African Commonwealth gold medalist. He was the pride not just of Nigeria but of a whole continent.

Ifeajuna, a military officer, had co-led a military coup in January 1966 in which, according to an official but disputed police report, he shot and killed Nigeria’s first prime minister. The Olympic Book was designed in honour of Emmanuel Ifeajuna, 1st African to win a Commonwealth Gold,he was executed in Enugu,1967. The next time Ifeajuna appeared before a crowd of thousands he was bare-chested and tied to a stake, facing execution before a seething mob

The coup failed but Ifeajuna escaped to safety in Ghana, dressed as a woman and was driven to freedom by a famous poet. Twenty months later, he was back, fighting for the persecuted Igbo people of eastern Nigeria in a brutal civil war that broke out as a consequence of the coup.

Ifeajuna and three fellow officers were accused by their own leader, General Emeka Ojukwu, of plotting against him and the breakaway Republic of Biafra. They denied charges of treason: they were trying to save lives and their country, they said, by negotiating an early ceasefire with the federal government and reuniting Nigeria. They failed, they died and, in the next two and a half years, so did more than a million Igbo
SOURCE: http://www.lagoslately.com/meet-the-man-who-triggered-the-bullet-that-killed-tafawa-balewa/

https://www.nairaland.com/2595517/meet-man-triggered-bullet-killed

Ifeajuna was said to have fired the shot that killed Tafawa Balewa.