Weekend Magazine paid a visit to the residence of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, now expanded, also known as Arewa House Kaduna, in Kaduna. In its humble and simple state, the house has been maintained the way the Sarduana left it. “Not a single architectural design has been changed in his main house,” said Malam Usman Ahmed, curator of the Sardauna exhibit. “Everything is in its original state. His sitting room, furniture, praying mat and kettle, clothes, reading area and other things have been preserved.” But minor changes like the covered up bullet-holes and repainted blood-stained walls were effected, so as to prevent painful memories.
Interestingly, most of the Sardauna’s personal belongings have been preserved. Wristwatches, NPC membership card, personal grooming tools, the original key to the Bank of the North, his original driving license, and other memorabilia are on display.
In the sitting room hang pictures of his three wives, Hajiya Hafsat Abdulkadir, Hajiya Amina Abubakar and Hajiya Jabbo Aliyu. Around his sitting room, where he received visitors, his dining room, his bedroom and his restroom, some of his clothes and caps are still hung. His graveside, sited at Gidan Sarki, is another interesting site to visit. The Sardauna’s grave has over the years had concrete entombment over it, as the custodian of the grave told Weekend Magazine that it was a necessary action. “When it was left open, some individuals used to come in the name of paying their last respects to take along with them some earth from the grave of the Sarduana, so we had to entomb the grave.”
As Premier of the Northern Region, Sir Ahmadu Bello was a remarkably powerful person in Nigeria during the first 5 years of independence. Although he participated in national discussions on constitutional reform and from 1952 to 1959 was a member of the Federal House of Representatives, he was concerned primarily with the development of the North and the protection of that region.
Sir Ahmadu Bello’s greatest legacy remains the modernization and unification of the diverse people of Northern Nigeria. He was assassinated on the 15th of January 1966, during a military coup that toppled Nigeria’s post-independence government. He was still serving as Premier of Northern Nigeria at the time he was assassinated. The Ahmadu Bello University is named after him. His portrait adorns Nigeria’s 200 naira note, and he is survived by three daughters, one of which passed away in 2008. He pushed his people to join the military despite obvious deficiencies. The Sardauna formed the New Nigerian newspaper, encouraged girl child education and established a university to cater for the educational needs of the north.
The Sir Ahmadu Bello exhibit is open six days of the week, excluding Sundays, from morning to evening, and it boasts of a serene environment, a research center, library and many other services.
