‘Late Sir Ahmadu Bello’s wife shielded him from bullets’

Bookshelf: Why did you choose to write on Sir Ahmadu Bello’s first wife, Hajiya Hafsatu?
Dr. Ladi Adamu: When I was an editor in the then Democrat Newspaper in Kaduna, I was handling the women’s page. Somebody wrote to me in response to the column and pointed out that there are women who have made supreme sacrifices like the wife of Sir Ahmadu Bello. So I wrote an article about it and it generated interest from readers. That was what led to the book.
Bookshelf: What year was that?
Adamu: That was in 1994 and it was published in 1995.
Bookshelf: Why is it not a well-known book, especially considering who the subject is?
Adamu: It is. I even get orders from Europe, particularly the United Kingdom. They value it more.
Bookshelf: In other words, Nigerians do not value it as they should?
Adamu: They do. The problem is it hasn’t been reprinted for the last four or five years. However, some universities are using it as case studies of African Languages and Linguistic Studies.
Bookshelf: You wrote about how she shielded her husband from being killed?
Adamu: Yes, she was trying to shield her husband when she died in the coup of 1966. In doing that, the bullet went through her and Sir Bello held her and put her down before he was also shot. She is the first wife and in Hausa culture referred to as the senior wife.
Bookshelf: So how did you come to know about that part of a historical story that is perhaps not known by many Nigerians?
Adamu: I went to the sultan’s house in Sokoto. But first, I wrote a letter and indicated my intention to interview members of his household. One of them happened to be the late premier’s wife who later married the sultan. The sultan’s daughter, who was the wife of the managing director of New Nigerian in those days, linked me up to the family. That was how I went to Sokoto and met Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki. I was able to meet some other members of the premier’s household in Sokoto. He (the sultan) made access to the wives and family easier. I met the children, the grandchildren. I interviewed the premier’s doctor, and some former ministers in the Northern Region.
The research which started in 1993, took me several years because I had to reconstruct the woman so it would have that sociological impact on the society. I didn’t want it on the internet earlier due to copyright issues, but that will be done soon.
Bookshelf: So what do you hope to achieve through the work?
Adamu: The woman was a loyal housewife, she didn’t have children of her own, but she brought up many who later became important people, including a National Security Adviser. She lived peacefully and was not like the modern kind of first ladies. She didn’t have an office but took part in the women’s forum in the north known as Jam’iar Matan Arewa. So she is an unsung heroine who stood to shield her husband. I interviewed his staff, which included the telephone operator. In this way I got to understand a lot of things about the premier’s house. During her life-time she didn’t interfere in the running of northern Nigeria. She was able to maintain balance in the household and there were about a hundred people living in the premier’s house.