51 years after Sir Ahmadu Bello

Sardauna would continue be remembered generations upon generations because of his selfless service to the northern region in particular and the nation in general. It is on record, that Sardauna paved the way for the development of the northern region during and after the keen struggle for the attainment of the country’s independence.
Sardauna’s leadership greatly added values for the eventual development of the region and its people of diverse ethnic background.
He is credited with the success story of the entire region, that is devoid of any primordial or sentiment attached.  Sardauna is one leader who embraced all the people of the north irrespective of their tribe or religion. No wonder in his kitchen cabinet, one finds a lot of people that do not belong to the same religion like the late Micheal Audu Buba, late Sunday Awoniyi, late Pastor David Lot and a host of others from the minority tribes of the north.
 Sardauna Ahmadu’s motto then in the north was anchored on work and worship. The core civil service under his leadership devoted too much time in seeing that the north caught up with the rest of the country. It was based on this, that the policy to have the required manpower was initiated. This saw the sending of northerners to the world best schools especially the Great Britian so to say.  
If the generations of the leaders of the north have carry on from where the late Sardauna Ahmadu Bello has stop, the north could have been a different story and the kind of distrust and misgiving that is prevalent in the north today would have been history.  What preoccupied the mindset of today’s northern leaders is total accumulation of ill-gotten wealth by pilfering the resources at their disposal to the detriment of the people through providing them the basic necessities of life, that could place them at the pedal of sustainability of getting things at their door step.  The late Sardauna did not believe in accumulation of ill-gotten wealth.
This can be attested to the fact that at his death in the hands of the mutineers that staged the coup which led to his assassination left behind only a mud house and no any fat account in any bank.
The late Sardauna Ahmadu Bello laid the foundation of the building of a virile and cohesive north. This greatly helped the north, that is heterogeneous in nature with more than 200 ethnic nationalities.
He held the entire north under one umbrella despite the divergent tribes in the region. The success of this was hinged on his character of keeping himself within the purview of dealing with any tribe on the same pedestal like the Hausas or Fulani of the north.
The late Sardauna of Sokoto was a gem that commanded the respect of the northern oligarchy or the feudal lords. He did not entertain any kind of criminality against the common man. This can aptly be seen on how he disposed the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi who was his blossom friend but when he was found wanting in the discharge of his responsibility, the late Sardauna Ahmadu Bello has no cause than to dethroned him from the position of Emir.
The late Sardauna proved the essence of leadership when he was the Premier of the Northern region. He initiated good policies towards making a vibrant northern region and above all, care less about his personal comfort and that of his family. Today, he is being eulogy for his superlative performances while holding fort as the first and only Premier produced by the north. Fifty-one years has gone by but he is fondly remembered by the old and the young. Allah ya jikan Sardauna Ahmadu Bello. Amin.
Santuraki   a public affairs analyst, wrote fromNo2 Santuraki Close, Jambutu, Jimeta-Yola.