My Life - The Sardauna of Sokoto

by Ahmadu Bello

Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the Northern Region of Nigeria, was thought by many to be the most powerful figure in Nigeria. The descendant of the great reformer, Shehu Usuman dan Fodio, the Sardauna grew up in the atmosphere of the Muslim and aristocratic tradition of the Fulani conquerors of Northern Nigeria. He reached maturity in a Nigeria that was rapidly advancing towards independent nationhood, with political institutions deriving largely from the traditions of the Christian West. As leader of the Northern Peoples Congress, the majority political party in Northern Nigeria, the Sardauna became the first Premier of that region in 1954.

246 pages, Paperback

First published January 2, 1962

Reviews

[Abeer Hoque · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Life by Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, is a thoughtful political memoir by a major Nigerian leader in his time. The great great grandson of the famous northern revolutionary Usuman dan Fodio, Ahmadu Bello was born in 1910 and lived during a time when northern Nigeria was greatly lacking in educated politically savvy leaders. His rise to Premier of the Northern Region, pre-independence from the British, is perhaps no surprise given his lineage, education, and ambition. Though his allegiances clearly lie with the north, and often with what he considered benign British stewardship, he is known for forging the pan-Nigerian alliance (especially with the southeastern Igbos of Nigeria) that would lead Nigeria into independence in 1960.

The language of the book is a curious formal old construction, and I loved the few passages where he describes the landscape. This bit is from his childhood:

"Down a little lane to the left of our big entrance was the river. There were sheets of still water here; backwaters of the main river they were. On them grew pink and blue water-lilies. They were full of fish and that was very useful to us. But they were also full of mosquitos and that was a bad thing, though we didn't realise it at the time. We thought that they were just a nuisance. We did not realise they brought malaria in their sting."

There is this passage which shows you sort of the sweet funny judgy nerd that he is, at a British conference that he attends with other Nigerian leaders:

"At this conference, we came across the menace of British hospitality in full swing on a large scale for the first time... none of us Muslims are permitted to drink stimulants at these parties, or anywhere else, and though we cannot object to others doing so, we can never really approve of it or enjoy it even by proxy. Again, by nature we go to bed early and do not care at all for ‘late nights’. Here we part company with our Southern colleagues, many of whom never seem to go to bed until the early hours of the morning and who like what is oddly called 'gaiety', which is, in fact, only an expensive way of wasting time. All my life I have worked whenever I could do so, and that has meant keeping regular hours and not wasting time. I agree that 'in Rome' one must, to some extent, 'do as the Romans do', but the better 'Romans' will obviously not press you to do what you do not want to do."

Sir Ahmadu Bello was assassinated in 1966, just 4 years after this book was published, while he was still in office as the Premier of the North. Many other senior leaders were killed at this time, including the great Tafawa Balewa who was the first President of independent Nigeria. This marked the beginning of Nigeria’s catastrophic civil war with Biafra.

I could have done with fewer passages where he quotes verbatim whole official speeches (of his own) or bills (that he promoted or passed). These sometimes took up entire chapters. But all in all, it was an enlightening and decorous book and quite easy to read despite the aforementioned quoting. I recommend “My Life” to anyone interested in Nigerian history, especially leading up to and through independence, and for that rare Northern perspective which is less represented in the general collection of Nigerian history and literature.

[Yusuf Leinge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hate him all you want, Sir. Ahmadu Bello was a legend. I mean, how many Nigerian - African even - leaders still talk like this: "...we are not facing any living enemies, who wish to harm us or who wish to weaken us. The only possible enemies to the people of the Northern Region are two: Ignorance and Fear. Ignorance produces Fear. Therefore if we kill Ignorance, we kill Fear."?

It has been long since I actually "enjoyed" reading an autobiography. This book is a classic and although non-fiction, it reads like a novel. In a final analysis, it places historic fables, from its own vantage point, in perspective and defends itself with researchable documents. Get this book and read.

[Sameer Ibraheem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please how can I get copy thanks

[Azim]

amazing book

[Yakubu Danhassan ii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sir Ahmadu Bello represents different things to different people- the first and last "leader" of the North, a defender of the "oppressive" northern aristocracy, a "stooge" of imperialists; shrewd politician, a centripetal force at a critical juncture in Nigeria's history and many more. This book gives the reader a direct link to the man himself through some of his thoughts and views. It outlines the context of Sardauna's life in personal and political terms as a man steeped in history and tradition trying to conquer a future that was looking increasingly likely to challenge his position - personally and politically.
It also provides some direct answers to caricatures of the man drawn up by his detractors and supporters. On the size of government he wrote "Big units may be successful in commerce and ...inevitable if you want... say, an air force....but for the basis of day-to-day government they are....out of the question".
His position on the so called Northernization policy is even more revealing and worth an answer to all those who use regional or religious considerations to mislead the masses and entrench incompetence in politics and government. "Nearly every week I get over 100 applications from northerners for employment... people think being a northerner is the only qualification required..." he lamented in one of his speeches quoted in the book. It is a reaffirmation of the essence of capacity and competence as prerequisites for seeking public office.
Overall, I was struck by the Sardauna's keen awareness of his time, firm ideas on the direction of the north and pragmatism in ways that left me thinking many of his praise-singers today are doing alot of disservice to his legacy.