FACT-CHECK: Did Ahmadu Bello Make Hateful Comments Against Igbos In His Post-Independence Speech?
CLAIM: A quote accompanied by a picture of the Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello which is widely circulating on Whatsapp groups as well as Facebook and Twitter claimed that the Premier vowed to use northern minorities as willing tools while the South will not be allowed to govern Nigeria.
FULL-TEXT: The quotation where the claim was made reads: “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great-grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We use the minorities of the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us, and never allow them to have control over their future.”
An online search by PRNigeria revealed that the quotation was widely circulated in 2018 by Nairaland, the Guardian, and other online media outlets and blogs.
Similarly, Nigeria’s former Minister of Culture and Tourism Femi Fani-Kayode, via his verified Facebook page, posted the quotation in 2019.
Reacting, Inyang Effiong—a commenter said, “One Nigeria – The Army Officers from Oduduwa and the Middle-belt read and saw all these statements and actions but still decided to fight the justified secession attempt of Eastern Nigeria. What were they thinking? That Ahmadu Bello’s ideas will no longer guide the Fulani in their relationship with other parts of Nigeria and Nigerians? Well after becoming “civil war heroes” and selling off their birthright, you expect to rule the Country? It ain’t gonna happen, mate! Ahmadu Bello’s philosophy still guides the Fulani in their control of the country. We (the rest of Nigeria) should get used to this because it is now the norm! We are not going to break free anytime soon. The opportunity to break loose was the civil war. As it is now, nobody wants
another war. So stop mourning and get used to it[sic]!”
Another user, Ade Michael, also said:
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“Since I watched the live video of the interview of this man called Sir Amadu Bello recorded in 1961, I stopped praying for the unity of Nigeria. I know it’s matter of time God of heaven will spilt us and every region will bear it’s own name. Sir Amadu bello was a bad leader[sic].”
VERIFICATION: PRNigeria conducted a keyword search to authenticate the veracity of the quotation attributed to the Premier but could not find a video of him making those statements, and no media outlet has quoted him since independence day to date.
However, PRNigeria discovered an interview where the premier spoke about Igbo dominance in the civil service during his time.
In a 2021 TV program titled “Why Ahmadu Bello was obsessed with Igbos which can also be described as an explainer,” Dr. Sunday Adelaja said that he mistook Sardauna’s Northernization policy until he started reading history to know what happened during Sardauna’s reign.
Adelaja explained that Sardauna came to power under the campaign of “North First” describing it as similar to Donald Trump’s “America first” campaign that earned him acceptance in America.
His research has revealed that the Igbos were the most educated and enlightened people at the time of independence until the Yorubas superseded them afterward. Hence, the Premier of Northern Nigeria initiated a policy to uplift northerners to the level of other regions.
“By the time of independence, out of 100 top military officials, 80 were Igbos while 10 were Yorubas. And the same thing in the civil service. 7 people were Igbos, 2 were Yorubas and only one was a northerner.
“He was among the few educated and enlightened people from the north. So he came and said, no, that is unjust. You can’t build one Nigeria until you raise the north to the level of other regions ”
According to Adelaja, Sardauna’s Northernization policy was not a declaration of hatred for the Igbos or anyone in the country.
He however faulted the Premier saying he came up with the policy at the expense of other Nigerians.
CONCLUSION: While investigations conducted by PRNigeria led to a video where the late Premiere spoke about Igbo dominance at the time in Nigeria, there is no media or literature reference to the purported claim that he would conquer the south as being massively circulated recently.
PRNigeria, therefore, concludes the quotation is a FALSE attribute.
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By PRNigeria
