Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, ( born October 1, 1912 in Bauchi, † January 15, 1966 ) was from 1957 to 1966 the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria.

Life

After training as a secondary school teacher Balewa began his political career as co-founder of the Northern People's Congress, the party of the " Northern Region " of the then British colony of Nigeria. As early as 1946 was Balewa deputy in the regional parliament of the Northern Region, in the first elections in 1951, he was a member of both regional as well as the overall Parliament. In 1952, the Minister of Labour, 1954 Transport Minister and parliamentary group leader of his party in parliament. In 1957 he was elected the first prime minister and thus head of government of Nigeria (the President had only ceremonial functions held in the First Republic ), which he led according to independence.

Political action and murder

Despite its willingness to reform and its modest appearance his reign was under an unlucky star, especially at the be added to domestic crises he acted often not independent and was increasingly seen as a tool of the northern elite. As the civil unrest grew stronger and in 1966 the first military coup ushered in the end of the First Republic, he was kidnapped and murdered by the military. His body was found six days after the abduction of a road near Lagos.

His picture is to be found today on the 5 Naira banknotes.

• Minister (Nigeria )
• Person ( Lagos)
• Nigerian
• Born in 1912
• Died in 1966
• Man