Last Day of Sardauna. By the beginning of 1966, it was quite clear that the Sardauna was one of the most powerful figures in the country, and many believed that he was actually the most powerful,even much more powerful than the Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, his party held sway over 29 million out of 55 million Nigerians.Some soldiers who harboured this belief, led by Major Nzeogwu, stormed his residence in Kaduna on the fateful evening of 14th January, 1966. Nigeria would never remain the same. Previously, on his way to Umrah (the Muslim lesser pilgrimage), he received a letter with threats to kill him. The letter was said to have stated: ”We have arranged to kill you and the Prime Minister (Alhaji Tafawa Balewa). The Sardauna was concerned and felt that the tip was from someone who wanted to save them. He directed that the letter be given to the Private Secretary who would then transfer it to the Security Unit for the appropriate action, but that was not to be. The security provided was not water-proof. A devout Muslim, the Sardauna believed that giving his life in the service of Northern Nigeria was worth the sacrifice and that death was a certain end. He later said of the threat: ‘Don’t worry, continue to get useful information. I know what to do.‘ And so it was on the evening of 15th January, 1966. Armed soldiers mentioned above arrived at his residence at Lugard House, Kaduna. They were not to have tea with the late Premier. They came with the gloomiest message ever, the message of death. By the next day, the soldiers in Nigerian Army uniform had turned assassins. As the gun-toting soldiers scattered the peace of the house searching for him, the Sardauna went into his quarters and announced to his family the coming of the unwanted guests. He told his family to stay away in safety but they would have none of that. They all trooped behind him as he came out of the family quarters and in a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by the soldiers led by Nzeogwu who fired at Ahmadu Bello’s babanriga and immediately, blood sputtered from the point of impact through the beard on his face. Brave till the very end, he had faced the soldiers and introduced himself as the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region. At that point, his first and eldest wife threw herself at him in a final embrace. They were both shot. The soldiers opened fire and by the time the claps of thunder emanating from the bullets died down, the Sardauna and his wife, Hafsatu, were dead. He was believed to have been killed instantly when a bullet penetrated his spinal cord. Family members tried to move his corpse from the site of impact but were not able to do so, and left it there till the next morning for proper arrangements. The soldiers did not leave until about 6.am the next morning. A bodyguard was also killed. Two women later carried Hafsatu’s body from where she was killed to a bathroom, and very few people know of her story as till today. The mighty Gamji tree was cut down in his prime. The chaos of that day is yet to disappear till this day as the ghosts of those killed in that coup still loom large over the Nigerian nation.
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 10:36:14 +0000
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