Born
December 1912
in
Bauchi
Sir
BALEWA
Abubakar
Tafawa
The Golden Voice. by (Mazim Uzoatu) He was not a Fulani and did not belong to the Hausa aristocracy, yet Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa rose to become the first Prime Minister of independent Nigeria. Theamazingstoryof Balewaexemplifies theShake spearean dictum ofa man having greatness thrust upon him. Born in Tafawa Balewa village near Bauchi ofHabe-Hausa peasantancestry in 1912,Balewatri umphed overHerculean oddsto become a teacher. In thestrictly hierarchical Muslim societyofNorthern Nigeria, Balewa could noteven boast ofa'mallam' in hisbackground. He hadstrength of character, how ever,and he was dependable. Fromthe very begin ning, his golden voice drew attention to him in any gathering. He was among the leading lights that formed the Bauchi Improvement Association in 1943, with outquestion oneofthefirstmodern political groups in Northern Nigeria. His hardworking nature easily won him respect amongst hisassociates. In 1949, he teamed up with titans like Sir Ahmadu Bello and Alhaji Muhammadu Ribadu to found the Northern People's Congress (NPC). He was later appointed the parlia mentary leader of the all embracing political party that dominated politics in Nigeria through its vice-like con trol ofthe largestregion inthe country. While the likes of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Muhammadu Ribadu were unbendable hardliners, Balewa was a moderate who reached out to the Western-educated politicians from the south of Nigeria. While the likes of Sir Ahmadu Bello and Muhammadu Ribadu were unbendable hardliners, Balewa was a moderate who reached out to the West ern-educated politicians from the south of Nigeria. Even asa moderate, Balewahadstrongviews. Speaking ofthe defects of the native administration system of the British in the Northern House of As sembly in 1950, Balewa said: "One of the biggest defects of the system is the complete ignorance of everyone from top to bottom about his rights, his ob ligations and his powers. This ignorance must some how be removed and the people be made to realize that they too have a share in their own government.. . The illiterate mass ofthepeople have recognized no change in their status since the coming ofthe British. They are still ruled by might and administration is still none oftheir concern. ..." Hewasof coursea conservative inhispoliti cal views. According to Balewa, "in pre-British days, it was impossible for a commoner to attack a national ruler directly... now you find some illiterate people, who for one reason or the other were trained by some evil people not to respect authority... 1will even go so far as to say not to respect religion." Balewa described the run-up to Nigeria's in dependence, especially 1957-1960, as "a time ofna tional emergency." When the NPC won the 1959 in dependence elections in Nigeria due to its total con trol of the North, Balewa was appointed the counr try's prime minister only because the leader of the party,Sir Ahmadu Bello, the powerful Sardaunaof Sokoto, preferred to stay on in Kaduna as the pre mier ofthe Northern Region instead ofgoing down to Lagos to administerthe entire country. To that ex tent, Balewa was the surrogate of the Sardauna in Lagos.Hetook direction from Kaduna. As Prime Minister, Balewa found it well-nigh impossible to master the powerful forces pulling at him from manydirections. Somehowhis moderate views served as a soothing balm in a Federal Parlia ment, where he was surrounded by very divisive forces. To give him hisdue, Balewa wasa Nigerian patriot. Said he: "it must be obvious that no Nigerian can be contented so long as any major sector of the economy is controlled by foreigners." Balewa obviously lacked thestature of themajor Nigerian players such as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowoand Sir Ahmadu Bello. Evenwith theallianceof hisNPC withNnamdi Azikwe's NCNC, Balewa failed to stem the tide ofthe less than friendly relations existing amongst the regions of Nigeria. Balewa found itextremely hardto riseabovetheeth nic imperative of Ahmadu Bello who was the power behindthe throne. When in 1962,a split occurred in ChiefAwolowo's Action Group(AG), Balewa and the NPC lavishly promoted the dissident faction of Chief S.L Akintola. Balewa was quick to declare a state of emergency in the Western Region, which more than greatly irked the restive Yoruba. Balewa's gov ernment imprisoned Chief. Awolowo in 1963 for trea sonable felony. This made him very unpopular in La gos and much ofthe West, and as recounted by Bola Ige in his book, People, Politics and Politicians in Power in Nigeria, Balewa was greeted with shouts of Ole\ (thief) in the streets. Balewa's regime was literally brought to its knees by the split in the Action Group, the emergency rule declared in the west and the crises following the elections in 1964 and 1965. When Balewa upheld Akintola's blatantly rigged elections in the West, all hell broke loose. People were burnt in the streets, houses were torched and anarchy was the order of the day in Western Nigeria. Balewa was quick to declare a state of emergency following the crisis in the Western House of Assembly in 1962, but did next to nothing to contain the arson and mayhem that followed Akintola's scan dalous success. He actually said he had 'no power 'to do something even as many concerned Nigerians and foreigners called on him to declare a state of emergency, dissolve the Akintola regime and order fresh elections. While the country burned, Balewa convened a commonwealth Prime Ministers, Conference in Lagos "to discuss the question of restoring law and order in rebellious Rhodesia." He lost his life in the coup of 15 January 1966. His body was discovered on the road to Abeokuta by Segun Osoba, then a journalist, now the executive governor of Ogun State. He was buried in his native village, Tafawa Balewa. Balewa was not just a politician; he wrote a historical novel,Shaihu Umar, that has been dramatized and filmed. The first winner of the Usmaniyya award instituted by the Sardauna, Ahmadu Bella, to unitethe north, Balewa has been immortalized by the naming of Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos.
Marital Status
- Married
Name of Spouse
State of Origin:
Bauchi State,
Father's Name
Yakubu Dan Zala
Father's Status
N/A
Mother's Name
Fatima Inna
Mother's Status
N/A
Profession
Politician , Administrator
Working Experience
Teacher Bauchi Middle School. , Northern House of Assembly, , Vice President Northern Peoples Congress , Minister of Works, , Minister of Transport , Prime Minister of Nigeria
Tafawa Balewa Elementary School, Bauchi Provincial School,. Barewa College, University of London's Institute of Education,
Tertiary
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was knighted by Her Majesty Queen 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 [1]. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from the New York University in July 1961.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abubakar_Tafawa_Balewa
Alive
15 January 1966
Last Update
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