Sir Ahmadu Bello (1910–1966), the Sardauna of Sokoto, was a Nigerian statesman and the first and only Premier of the Northern Region, serving from 1954 until 1966. As leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), the largest party in the First Republic, he was one of the three most powerful politicians of his era, alongside Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo, and he led a major drive to modernise and educate Northern Nigeria.
Early life and family
Ahmadu Bello was born on 12 June 1910 in Rabah, in present-day Sokoto State. His father, Ibrahim Atiku Bello, was the district head of Rabah. The family belonged to the ruling house of the Sokoto Caliphate and traced its descent to Usman dan Fodio, the founder of the caliphate, through his son Muhammad Bello. This royal background shaped Bello’s sense of duty and his close attachment to Northern traditions throughout his life.
Education
As a child he received a traditional Islamic education at home, learning the Qur’an and Islamic law. He then attended the Sokoto Provincial School and Katsina Training College (now Barewa College), the leading school in Northern Nigeria at the time, where he trained as a teacher and finished in 1931. In 1948 he went to England on a government scholarship to study local government administration.
Early career
Teacher and district head
After leaving Katsina, Bello taught English at Sokoto Middle School. In 1934 he was appointed District Head of Rabah, succeeding his brother, and in 1938 he was promoted to head the Gusau division and joined the Sultan of Sokoto’s council.
The 1938 succession and the title of Sardauna
In 1938, aged 28, Bello was a candidate to become Sultan of Sokoto but lost to Siddiq Abubakar III. The new Sultan gave him the title of Sardauna of Sokoto, a senior traditional office, and he was known by this title for the rest of his life. By the mid-1940s he was serving as a senior official in the Sokoto Native Authority.
Political career
The Northern People’s Congress
The Northern People’s Congress grew out of a Northern cultural association, Jam’iyyar Mutanen Arewa, and became a political party in 1951. Bello became its leader and turned it into the dominant political force in the North. In 1952 he entered the Northern House of Assembly and served as Minister of Works and then Minister of Local Government and Community Development.
Premier of the Northern Region
In 1954 Bello became the first Premier of the Northern Region, the largest region in Nigeria by land area and population. His government expanded schools, encouraged Northerners to enter the civil service and the professions under a “Northernisation” policy, and set up institutions such as the Northern Nigeria Development Corporation and the Bank of the North. Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, founded in 1962, was named in his honour.
At independence in 1960 the NPC was the largest party in the federal parliament. Rather than move to Lagos, Bello chose to remain Premier in Kaduna, and his deputy in the party, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, became Prime Minister of Nigeria.
Autobiography
In 1962 Bello published his autobiography, My Life, which describes his upbringing, his views on Northern society and his political career.
Death
Ahmadu Bello was killed at his residence in Kaduna on 15 January 1966 during Nigeria’s first military coup, which also took the lives of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and other leaders. His senior wife, Hafsatu, was also killed. The coup and its aftermath contributed to the crisis that led to the Nigerian Civil War.
Legacy
The Sardauna is remembered in Northern Nigeria as a builder of institutions and a champion of education. His portrait appears on the 200-naira note, and his former residence in Kaduna, Arewa House, is now a museum and research centre managed by Ahmadu Bello University. He was knighted (KBE) during his lifetime.
