“My Life” by Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, illuminates you on the provincial life of Northern Nigeria, its political and socio-economic progress, culminating in its attainment of self-government in 1959. It is a narration on the evolution of politics and political participation (participatory democracy) in the North and its relations with the Southern parties, especially during the rapid political changes of the 1950s. It is equally about the political progression of the North in the colonial Nigeria from about 1903 when Sokoto and Kano fell to the British column, thus ending the Fulani Empire that had endured for a century.
Sir Ahmadu Bello defends the North against the charge of being backward and hidebound and expresses pride in the gradual political development of the Region: “The daily growth of a tree passes unnoticed by those that see it every day and it is only by casting their minds back along the years that they can realise the extent of its gradual development.”
Unlike the South, the North was not antagonistic to the colonial government. In return for the cooperation, it appeared the North not only got what it wanted at every constitutional parley but much more with the help or support of the British. However, it seems this trajectory was natural given the manner of the conquest and the socio-cultural diversity of the nationalities that make up Nigeria.
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According to Sardauna, “The British were, of course, more friendly to us because, as they said, ‘we talked the same language’, but so could be the Southern parties if they had wanted to. And in some ways it would have been better if they had.” (pg. 125)
“Whatever the rights and wrongs of the attack on Kano and Sokoto may be, the British were the instrument of destiny and were fulfilling the will of God,” wrote Sardauna on page 19. And this captures his mindset throughout the 215-page narration.
We are led, briefly, into how Sardauna’s forebear, Shehu Usuman dan Fodio, in his puritanical war against “polluters of the faith”, “organised revolts in all the great Hausa states” and installed Fulanis as Emirs. There’s a synopsis of how Ilorin fell under the control of the Fulani Emirate and how “the ancient prophesy, that the Fulani would dip the Holy Koran in the sea” was aborted in Ibadan.
Sardauna moved from Sokoto Provincial School to Katsina College in 1926: “Katsina is about 170 miles from Sokoto by the most direct route. We walked it with our carriers bearing our loads. It took us seven days without any rest, except at nights. It was hard going, for much of it was sandy and bushy and the weather was very hot indeed. We could not use horses because part of the route was infested with tsetse fly.” From 1928, however, they were able to use a lorry and journeyed two days to the college!
Sardauna was a dyed-in-the-wool federalist. He argued strenuously against centralisation or unitary system on page 99: “It is only since we set up a Regional Government and got away from the shadow of the Lagos Government… that we have made real and substantial progress in this country… Though we formed part of the Federation, the latter had no control over our administration and internal affairs, and to the man in the street the Federation is a long way off and more than nebulous. Thus, what happened in Lagos (the Federal capital) was not of great consequence here in the North.” (Pg. 227) In his address at the joint sitting of the Northern House of Assembly and House of Chiefs at Lugard Hall, Kaduna when the Queen visited in 1956, Sardauna declared, “We seek unity but not uniformity!” (Pg. 181)
Although Sir Ahmadu Bello wrote with some sense of triumphalism, his party, having eventually inherited the enormous powers the British left behind, I am unable to fault the North for claiming they were not ready for independence or for moving a step per time in so far the step would secure the interests of their own people.
The North resisted self-government for Nigeria in 1956 because they were not ready educationally, economically, politically and administratively. “… the Northern Region does not intend to accept the invitation to commit suicide.” (Pg.119) I regret I cannot agree more with the puissant Sardauna.
To quote further the proceedings in the Northern House of Assembly in May, 1953: “… the South had twenty-five years start over the North in application of parliamentary procedure… (and) about seventy years educational advancement on the North.” If the roles were reversed, the South would have behaved exactly like the North; that’s just the truth!
Since this review is coming at a period of resurgence or agitation for proper federalism in Nigeria, the following extracts from the proceedings in the Northern House of Assembly in Kaduna in May, 1953, as captured by the book, may be helpful:
“…our wishes would be that full autonomy be given to each Region so as to make the Centre weak or loose.
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“Secondly, it is proper and constitutional that each Region should progress as its own pace so that no one territory will be a drag on the other…”
Sardauna noted that “I am not unaware that I have often been a controversial figure.” It is thus unlikely that a reflection on his autobiography should not provoke some debate. He described Enahoro on page 115 as “a very talkative man.” His pen did not spare Bode Thomas either. He often derided the opposition, including those in the North wherever his narration touched them. Sometimes his choice of words leaves me aghast, “The most embarrassing Commission was the one on the Minorities. This ‘wandered’ round the country listening…” (Pg. 215) “… They are not merely empty vote-catching dreams, such as are offered by our ‘loud-mouthed’ and ‘irresponsible’ opponents.” (Pg. 196) “As things are in the present constitution, the North has half of the seats in the House of Representatives. My party might manage to capture these, but it is not very likely for the present to get any others: on the other hand, a sudden grouping of the Eastern and Western parties (with a few members from the North opposed to our party) might take power and so endanger the North. This would, of course, be utterly disastrous…” (Pg. 229)
But the aspect of the book that evokes poignancy was his speech in the Northern House of Assembly in 1957 in the course of congratulating Ghana on its independence. He listed some tests that would confront the new country, among which were:
“… Perhaps the sternest test which Ghana will have to face is the preservation of democracy. It is up to the Leader of Ghana to resist all anti-democratic influences; and to resist using undemocratic means to retain control over the country. Nigeria herself will have to face such a test, time and time again during this century.
“The second test which confronts Ghana is the danger of internal strife… One must not forget that the only Commonwealth country in modern times where the transfer of power has not been followed by bloodshed is Ceylon…” (Emphasis supplied)
As at the time of writing the book (in 1961), the Northern Premier notes on page 200 his reflection on his admonitions to Ghana in 1957: “Reading these words again now, I see that there is quite a prophetic strain in them.”
In order words, having watched how the new nation (Ghana) had fared in the four years after its independence, he saw some element of prophesy in his 1957 words.
The germane question is: How much guidance or instruction did Sardauna receive from his own (prophetic) admonitions to Ghana, as independent Nigeria, under his own influence, began to unravel politically? That is the tragedy of “My Life”, because Nigeria’s democracy collapsed within just six years because of “anti-democratic influences” and use of “undemocratic means to retain control over the country.”
Notwithstanding, the devotion of Sardauna to the development of the North is unexceptionable. The Region made steady progress under Sir Ahmadu Bello, and I dare say, but for the coup led by the misguided and over-ambitious young officers, which terminated the First Republic, the groundnut pyramid would never have disappeared from the North even with oil in the Niger Delta. The Sardauna-led Northern Nigeria would also have discovered and explored the rich natural resources in the Region. The textile mills in the North would not have collapsed. Ajaokuta Steel Company, under Ahmadu Bello, would have worked. Education, including girls’ education, would have progressed geometrically and there wouldn’t have been Boko Haram, I dare say.
Indeed, Nigeria should today have been a very prosperous nation. The loss of the healthy rivalry among the Regions (states) in a truly federal system is what has brought the country to its knees.
Today, there are 36 states, which are largely unsustainable. It is either Nigeria is restructured along six geopolitical regions or states or we abolish the local councils altogether. The latter has been my position for long in the light of proliferation of states in the country. Besides, in a proper federalism, all over the world, the local government is not a tier of government. Any region or state can turn every of its household into a local council if it so desires. Equally, I have always advocated a return to parliamentary system of government because it is very cheap to run and the Government is put on its toes by the Opposition. You seldom have a situation of having to lock the stable door after the horse has bolted in comparison to the presidential system. Besides, the cut and thrust of parliamentary debates, as you have in the United Kingdom, often reflects the advancement of the human mind and stimulates popular participation.
Finally, this book is invaluable to scholars interested in local administration or progressive development of local government in (Northern) Nigeria. I laud Sardauna for the immense contribution.
