From the Muslim North of Nigeria and considered a pro-British conservative, Balewa often clashed with Azikiwe. There is no biography of Tafawa Balewa, but one can read of his activities in Richard Sklar, Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation (1963). Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in 1912 in Bauchi State and educated at the Bauchi Provincial School and the Katsina Teachers Training College, He later joined the Northern Peoples' Congress, (NPC) and was a member of the Northern Nigeria team to the Ibadan Constitutional Conference in 1950. Although the country’s Prime Minister, he was not the leader of his own party (the NPC) and thus remained in the paradoxical position of being a head of government that had to defer to, and take instructions from his boss (the Sardauna). Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) was born in Tafawa Balewa, present-day, Bauchi State. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1922 and was killed on January 15, 1966. Throughout the 1950s he participated with great skill in the discussions on constitutional reform which ultimately led to independence. He marked the occasion with the address that follows. The famous Race Course Square in Lagos was renamed “Tafawa Balewa Square” in his memory. He was missing for several days and a search for him was ordered by the new military regime headed by Major-General Aguiyi-Ironsi. During his lifetime he emphasized that Nigerians should forget all kind of tribalism, “I appeal to all my countrymen and women to cooperate with me and my colleagues to create a better understanding among our peoples, to establish mutual respect, and trust, among all our tribal groups, and to unite in working together for the common cause, the cause for which no sacrifice will be too great. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, (born 1912, Bauchi, Northern Nigeria—died January 1966, near Ifo, Nigeria), Nigerian politician, deputy leader of the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), and the first federal prime minister (1957–66). Biography. He was nicknamed as the “Golden Voice Of Africa” over his eloquence and oratorical prowess. Unlike the majority of Northern Nigerian political leaders, he was of humble background, his father having been a client to a district head. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) was the first prime minister of independent Nigeria, serving from 1957 to 1966. History has begun to forget them. It is sad that the younger generation find it unsurprised not to know the Right Honourable 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. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) was the first prime minister of independent Nigeria, serving from 1957 to 1966. Balewa, Abubakar Tafawa, Sir, 1912-1966 - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress. In January 1966 a discontented segment of the army attempted a coup d'etat in which Tafawa Balewa was kidnaped and murdered. When Nigeria became independent in 1960, he became the newly independent country’s first Prime Minister and received the instruments of independence from Princess Alexandria (cousin of Queen Elizabeth II). Check your inbox now to confirm your subscription. National Issues, Forgotten Dairies The Latest Motherboards Of 2020 -By Abdulrouf Wasiu, How 18-year old girl died in Yobe Presidential lodge -By Muhammad Sani isah, Why Entrepreneurship Lecturers Should Also Be Entrepreneurs -By Adisa Muhammed Oluwatosin, Will You Make It Count? He was born on July 18, 1912 to an Itsekiri chief, Prince Okotie Eboh, and got married to his wife, Victoria, an Itsekiri lady, in 1942. He participated in numerous international development fora. Kabarin Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The son of the late Prime Minister’s oldest surviving daughter, Alhaji Ahmad Yakubu Wanka (who holds the traditional title of Sarkin Dawaki Mai Tutan Bauchi), graciously contacted me a day after my column was published. As a teacher and a political gladiator he left a legacy worth appreciating, but it seems the labour of our heroes has been forgotten. The Sardauna had no interest in living in the South. In 1949 he helped organize the Northern People's Congress (NPC), originally conceived as a cultural organization but by 1951 a political party. While in office Balewa worked to develop Nigeria’s transport systems by helping to build ports, river transport systems and railways. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in Tafawa Balewa, North East State, Nigeria. Balewa was called into political service as the Bauchi Native Authority’s representative to the Northern House of Assembly. Aminu Kano, Ahmadu Bello, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and others kept him moving. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was the first Prime Minister of Nigeria who was named in 1957 by the British government in preparation for Nigeria’s Independence. His father worked in the house of the district head of … He remains Nigeria's first and only Prime Minister. He was a “cool figure” who preoccupied himself with integration of Nigeria’s over 250 ethnic groups as before and during his tenure. He was also an international statesman, widely respected […] He lived without tribalism, nepotism, religious bias and showed love to his subjects and the entire nation. Copyright © 2020 Opinion Nigeria. Balewa’s father Yakubu Dan Zala was of Gere ethnicity, and … Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, KBE was a Nigerian politician, and the first prime minister of an independent Nigeria. The famous Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos was named after him as was the Federal University of Technology located in his hometown, Bauchi. Cikakken jawabin mai girma Firaministan Nageriya, Alhaji Sir. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, KBE (December 1912 – 15 January 1966) was a Nigerian politician, and the first prime minister of an independent Nigeria. He was born on December 1912 in Bauchi, the then Northern Nigeria in what is now known as Bauchi State, to Bageri Muslim, the then district head of the Bauchi divisional district of Lere. Tafawa Balewa was a vocal […] A commoner by birth, an unusual origin for a political leader in the NPC, Balewa was both a defender of northern special interests and an advocate of reform and Nigerian unity. Born December, 1912, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was assassinated at the age of 53 on January 15, 1966 in Lagos State. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1922 and was killed on January 15, 1966. Dr Asma'u Ahmed Giade ce ta dauki nauyi. Following Nigerian independence on October 1, 1960 Balewa continued in his post as Prime Minister of Nigeria in a power sharing arrangement with Nnamdi Azikiwe, the country’s first President. The late Bauchi illustrious son lived a life worthy of emulation, he sacrificed his day to beautify our today and tomorrow. A school teacher, politician. He remains Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister. His father was a district head in the pre-independence divisional administration. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) was the first prime minister of independent Nigeria, serving from 1957 to 1966. Throughout his career Tafawa Balewa played a leading role in national policy making. Academics at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in December 1912 in Bauchi State, in the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born October 1st, in the year 1912, he hails from a northern state, Bauchi precisely – one of the largest states in this country. After his graduation, he came back to Bauchi and took the role of a teacher and later the headmaster of Bauchi Middle school from 1933- 1944. A British acquaintance called him “perhaps the perfect Victorian gentleman”. Let’s meet one of Nigeria’s heroes of independence. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was the first Prime Minister of Nigeria before and after Nigerian independence from Great Britain in 1960.. Born in December of 1912 in Bauchi in Northern Nigeria, Balewa’s father, Mallam Yakubu, was a minor official in the Native Authority, part of the British colonial administration. It is apparent that Abubakar’s quest for togetherness has become a thing of concern as calls for separation sound more louder. Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, KBE(1) (December 1912 â January 15, 1966) was a Nigerian politician, and the only prime minister of an independent Nigeria. The Linked Data Service provides access to commonly found standards and vocabularies promulgated by the Library of Congress. 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. 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. 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. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in 1912 in Bauchi, Nigeria. DAGA Bashir Abdullahi El-bash. During his tenure as prime minister he also … He served from 1957 to 1966. Abubakar Tafawa Ɓalewa, Wanda Ya Gabatar A Karon Farko A Matsayin Firaminista A Shekarar (1957). Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in Tafawa Balewa, North East State, Nigeria. According to history, he was born in the village called Tafawa Balewa which was then attached to his name been his place of birth. He proposed that “Nnamdi Azikiwe shall be deemed to have been elected President and Commander in-Chief of the Armed Forces” because “Nigeria can never adequately reward Dr. Azikiwe” for the nationalist role he played in building Nigeria and achieving independence. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in Tafawa Balewa, North East State, Nigeria. Some observers have concluded that this relationship with Bello hindered Tafawa Balewa in handling the major crises which arose in the first years of Nigeria's independence. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was a true patriot, an excellent orator and a politician of uncommon finesse. He is the face in the five naira note of the Nigerian currency. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966) was the first prime minister of independent Nigeria, serving from 1957 to 1966. During World War II Tafawa Balewa had become interested in political activities. He was a "cool figure" who preoccupied himself with integration of Nigeria's over 250 ethnic groups as before and during his tenure. 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