[Comment]Nigeria`s Forgotten Heroes: Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (part 2)

...Read the full article.

[Son of the Delta]

I really dont know how you define heros but Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa cannot be a Nigerian hero under any circumstances.

Perhaps he was a Northern hero but he was`nt and cannot be a Nigerian hero!

[Eace]

It's a good idea to present persons of note in Nigeria's history. Well done to the writer!

Could the writer refer us to any notable works including speeches, essays or texts by the subject of the essay?

Thanks.

[Eja]

I am not sure...is this meant to be satire?

I mean, Tafawa Balewa is a "Nigerian Hero"? The same Tafawa Balewa who was on one side of the sterile shenanigans that caused hundreds to be burnt alive in the Western Region?

The same Tafawa Balewa who was a part of the political class whose incompetence led directly to the Nigeria-Biafra war and the ongoing mess that is Nigeria today?

OK, I will agree (even if na satire).

However, Max Siollun should please give an undertaking that he will do a write-up in 30 years time that will drape Sani Abacha with the mantle "Nigerian Hero"....

Sir, with your permission, I will put forth the following pertinent points:

1. Within a shorter period of time, Abacha did more with a lot less money than both Obasanjo and YarAdua.
2. He pursued a more independent foreign relations policy.
3. He wore goggles with great panache.
4. He was strong enough to take on multiple ashewo every night (unlike the sick-note we now have at Aso Rock - a man who does not even have the strength to fart without medical assistance).

And, like Eace, I too would love to read anything from the mind of the man Tafawa Balewa that can serve as guidance as I wander through life's rocky roads....

[AISAGBON OMOGIADE]

In less than 200 years, this great country [America] was welded together by people of so many different backgrounds. They built a mighty nation and had forgotten where they came from and who their ancestors were. They had pride in only one thing —their American citizenship... I am a changed man from today. Until now I never really believed Nigeria could be one united country. But if the Americans could do it, so can we."

The tribal barons amongst us should read this and reflect!!

[Eja]

Originally Posted by AISAGBON OMOGIADE

In less than 200 years, this great country [America] was welded together by people of so many different backgrounds. They built a mighty nation and had forgotten where they came from and who their ancestors were. They had pride in only one thing —their American citizenship... I am a changed man from today. Until now I never really believed Nigeria could be one united country. But if the Americans could do it, so can we."

The tribal barons amongst us should read this and reflect!!

That passage shows nothing more than the amazing naivety of the man Tafawa Balewa. Or maybe he was just been disingenous.

Nigeria is nothing like the USA and, it was even much less so at the time he said those words.

The USA which he was hailing was/is a country built and founded by people who had a common history and who were motivated by that common history. Unlike Nigeria.

The USA was manufactured by ones who saw themselves as having the following identities in common : 'white', western European and, Christian. Unlike Nigeria where even today, some think they are a type of Arab, some think they are a lost tribe of Israel and some have no concept of what it means to be an African.

Right from its inception, and even up to time when Tafawa Balewa wrote his song of praise (AKA Bismillah!! I have seen the light and the light has shown me the way...), the USA was country where ones who did not possess the characteristics of the ruling 'race' were kept far from power.

But perhaps this is what he admired about the place. Perhaps, what he meant was that he admired how one set of people succeeded in taking over a land that was not originally theirs and welding it into something that looked like one nation. In other words, perhaps his acceptance of the USA as an example to be followed had more to do with his desire for the establishment of a Fulani hegemony over Nigeria in the manner that Western Europeans (specifically Protestants from the British Isles) had succeeded in establishing a hegemony in the USA over others not from that original homeland.

[Bode Eluyera]

Originally Posted by Son of the Delta

I really dont know how you define heros but Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa cannot be a Nigerian hero under any circumstances.

Perhaps he was a Northern hero but he was`nt and cannot be a Nigerian hero!

SOD, thanks a lot for that comment. Wonders will never end. Every Dick and Harry is now being called a hero. Wonders will never end! If I am not mistaken, the author should be from the middle belt: either Benue or Plateau. Therefore, I am not surprised that he has decided to transform another mediocre into a national hero. Bauchi people need to be grateful to the Niger Deltans because thanks to the money from their oil Tafawa Balewa was able to maintain 4 wives and 19 children - and even trained one to become a surgeon. Can you imagine somebody, a P.M. for that matter having 19 children for God's sake! Did he maintain them from his P.M. salary? Is that complete irresponsibility and inability to plan?

I appreciate the autor's effort. The only grudge I hold against him is his calling Tafawa Balewa a forgotten hero. What did Tafawa Balewa do for Nigeria to deserve being called a hero? For marrying 4 wives and having 19 children? NONSENSE. OPPORTUNISTS! PARASITES! LIABILITIES!

SOD, do you now understand why I keep on telling you that the best option for your people is not amnesty or federation but SOVEREIGNTY - you need your own country where you will have TOTAL CONTROL over your resources and not allow opportunists, parasites, mediocres and LAZY BONES who have no other goals in life except marrying 4 wives and fathering 19 wives to use your resources to feed their wives and children.

Only Allah know how many children and wives the guy would had had if he was not eliminated!!! God Damn it. Hero ko Heroine ni!!!

[Bode Eluyera]

Originally Posted by Eja

That passage shows nothing more than the amazing naivety of the man Tafawa Balewa. Or maybe he was just been disingenous.

Nigeria is nothing like the USA and, it was even much less so at the time he said those words.

The USA which he was hailing was/is a country built and founded by people who had a common history and who were motivated by that common history. Unlike Nigeria.

The USA was manufactured by ones who saw themselves as having the following identities in common : 'white', western European and, Christian. Unlike Nigeria where even today, some think they are a type of Arab, some think they are a lost tribe of Israel and some have no concept of what it means to be an African.

Right from its inception, and even up to time when Tafawa Balewa wrote his song of praise (AKA Bismillah!! I have seen the light and the light has shown me the way...), the USA was country where ones who did not possess the characteristics of the ruling 'race' were kept far from power.

But perhaps this is what he admired about the place. Perhaps, what he meant was that he admired how one set of people succeeded in taking over a land that was not originally theirs and welding it into something that looked like one nation. In other words, perhaps his acceptance of the USA as an example to be followed had more to do with his desire for the establishment of a Fulani hegemony over Nigeria in the manner that Western Europeans (specifically Protestants from the British Isles) had succeeded in establishing a hegemony in the USA over others not from that original homeland.

Eja, God will BLESS you for your ENLIGHTENING AND BRILLIANT posts.

Concerning Abacha, I can assure you that we won't have to wait for another 30 years. On the 27th of September 2009, a debate was organised at the Nigerian embassy in Moscow with the title"Is Civilian better than Military regimes for Nigeria?" My brother you will not believe it but the opposing side, arguing in favour of military regime praised Abacha. He argued that during his time things in general were much better than now. But can we really blame him? It's the fault of opportunists like Yaradua, a LAME DUCK, a descendant and relative of Tafawa Balewa who was imposed on us.

It is because of articles like this that I keep on arguing in my series "One Nigeria: To be or not to be?" - available on this site - that that country MUST BE BROKEN UP. There should be no compromise on this issue. We need to get rid of these people for good! We need to do it as soon as possible.

WE NEED TO START BUILDING OUR OWN COUNTRY WITHOUT THE DESCENDANTS AND RELATIVES OF TAFAWA BALEWA!!!

Don't be surprised that next year Yaradua can spend ONE BILLION DOLLARS to build a monument in memory of Abacha with the inscription, 'A NATIONAL HERO THAT WAS NOT APPRECIATED IN HIS TIME' in the centre of Abuja. Believe me with these morally bankrupt opportunists in power, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE in that country.

I also think that it's high time we started a campaign in the south that the monument in memory of Tafawa Balewa in Lagos should be renamed and demolished. I have been thinking about this for long. It's good the author reminded us again.

[Dove]

But I think I understand where the writer is coming from. In my undertanding, this is the issue of the land of the blind where a one-eyed man is made the king.

To explain further, Nigeria is a country without a hero, so anybody whose performance is/was remarkable (irrespective of how much) ,has automatically become a "hero". Else, list the names of those we should refer as heroes and lets see.

[Chinedu Nwobu]

It beats me how anybody can call Tafawa Balewa a hero when he so callously overlooked the crisis in the Western region that killed thousands of people, this is also the same Tafawa Balewa who inspite of his deceitfully humble looks was fraudulent and criminal enough to conspire with Akintola to organise the mass rigging of elections in the Western region in 1964 that saw Obafemi Awolowo loss out completely.

That mass rigging was the first of such and set the stage for the cancer of election rigging in which nigeria remains trapped.

Balewa's misrule led to the Jan. 1966 coup and civil war. How such a derelict fraud qualifies to be a hero is a mystery. At this pace, one day Babangida, Abacha, Idi Amin and Adolf Hitler will soon become heroes.

[Agidimolaja]

When I coined the word "intellectual mugun" with which I nicknamed some Nigeria's intellectuals that I considered graduated but were never educated,did I go too far,folks?
If I should add the name of this pathetic author to the list of "intellectual mugun",will it not be quite ok?
Who else but an intellectual 'mugun' would ever called Tafa Balewa a hero?
Not long ago another person listed Balewa among our "founding fathers",whatever is so called. When I read such useless nonsense,all I could do was to scream, FOUL!
Here again the same guy is coronated as "NIGERIA'S HERO". Gbooza!
But,this author failed to tell us what is the definition of hero and what qualified Balewa to be Nigeria's hero.
Was it his locking up of Obafemi Awolowo and setting Western Region on fire after criminally supporting the Premiership of Ladoke Akintola that earned him such title as "hero"? Habba!
Was it his wasted six years in office as Prime Minister that is heroic?
What on earth could have qualified Balewa who did nothing towards the attainment of Independence to be painted as hero? Pls help me folks!
It is not in my knowledge what is heroic in Balewa's total failure as Prime Minister to nurse up the newly emerged independent nation of Nigeria.

[maxsiollun]

For those asking for examples of speeches by Balewa. Go to:

http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/grea...erias-history/

Check the independence day (1960) and OAU speeches by him there.

[Mark Lar]

Max o there are far better and more dignified ways of ingratiating one with the mallams occupying Abuja, than this inane a*se-licking. I am sure that if you put a better effort in marketing your book "Nigeria’s Military Coup Culture (1966-1976)" that you will have no reason to speak with a forked tongue. Balewa hero, commot for road ojare!

[toksy]

Originally Posted by Agidi

What on earth could have qualified Balewa who did nothing towards the attainment of Independence to be painted as hero?

Max, forget about speeches but please do answer the question posted above. Failure to do so will leave me with no option but to accept Agidi's terminology for your ilk. While you are it, maybe you could take time to give us your own definition of a "Hero".

Or could it be that it was a keyboard error and you actually meant to write "Northern Nigerian forgotten heros* ? In which case, I will say "who cares"? Let them take all their forgotten "heros" including the "remembered" ones and go form their own blasted country.

Please, don't rub salt into my injury by attempting to tell me that a dog is a monkey- ma pe aja lobo fun mi!


@ Mark Lar,

are u dat? long time, huh? How bodi?

[Mark Lar]

@Toksy
Omo iya, man no die, man no rotten. I hope you are keeping safe.

[AMEN]

apparently in 1966 shortly before his unfortunate death, whilst being driven with the british prime minister through lagos, during the commonwealth conference in lagos that year,
lagosians lined the road screaming OLE OLE OLE at balewa, this the british prime minister being conversant with spanish misconstrued to mean bravo or hurray as in spanish, turned around to balewa and said "YOU MUST BE VERY POPULAR AMONGST YOUR PEOPLE?", to which balewa kept an embarrasing mum and few days later the rest was history alas.

[eire]

so he was a paedophile who married a 13 year old
so he was a polygamist
so he had 19 children and contributed to the over population of Nigeria

how can such a backward Muslim paedo be a national hero?

[toksy]

Originally Posted by Eire

how can such a backward Muslim paedo be a national hero?

The above my brother, is the 64 thousand dollar/Naira question, the originator of this thread has, in his infinite wisdom chosen to ignore. Maybe because, he has no undisputable answer to the question posed (to him) by many, here.

National hero, indeed!!!

[DeepThought]

@Max
Hope you're learning something here. Hope we all are.

Nigerian heroes are hard if not impossible to come by.

Regional heroes are an entirely different matter. They 're a dime a dozen

[Bode Eluyera]

Originally Posted by maxsiollun

For those asking for examples of speeches by Balewa. Go to:

http://maxsiollun.wordpress.com/grea...erias-history/

Check the independence day (1960) and OAU speeches by him there.

I am 100% sure that those speeches, if at all they make any sense - were written for him. Based on what you have told us about that man, it's obvious that he was far from being an intellectual and was not capable of writing any meaningful speech.

In any case, it is not speeches that we should use as the criteria in judging leaders - if we can really call Balewa one - but by CONCRETE RESULTS. Today, the accumulative results of Balewa and his successors/brothers - Babangida, Murtala, Abacha, Buhari, Shagari and Yaradua is that Nigeria is a FAILED STATE AND THE BIGGEST BANANA REPUBLIC IN THE WORLD!!! The foundation for this was laid by incompetent and visionless leadership(?) of Tafawa Balewa.