Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (December 1912-15 January 1966) was Prime Minister of Nigeria from 1 October 1960 to 15 January 1966, preceding Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi. Balewa was the first Prime Minister of Nigeria, but he was unable to unite the country, and he was killed in a military coup in 1966.
Biography[]
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was born in Bauchi, Nigeria in December 1912, and he beceame a teacher before attending the London Institute of Education. After returning to Nigeria, he was elected to the Northern Region House of Assembly, and he became a member of the Central Legislative Council in 1947. In 1949, Balewa co-founded Nigeria's largest political party, the Northern People's Congress. He joined the federal government in 1952 and became the first Prime Minister of Nigeria in 1960, but he failed to unity the country, or to establish law and order in the nascent nation. He was re-elected through rigged elections in 1964, leading to arguments with Nnamdi Azikiwe; Balewa responded by banning Azikiwe's party. A three-month period of anarchy preceded the 1966 army coup, during which Balewa was killed and replaced by the military ruler Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi.