Power of Power By EMMANUEL YAWE

I do not lay any claim to the creative rights for the title of my column this week. Creatively, only Hon. Sidi Ali can lay claims to that title. For I understand he has a whole book with the title ‘Power of Powers’ which talks about almost the same person we have to discuss today.

Hon. Sidi H. Ali migrated from Kano to Ghana where the Ghanian Pan Africanist President got interested in him and got him trained in Europe and America as a journalist. He returned to Nigeria and got involved in politics.

In the second republic he was one of the hot headed members who were elected into the House of Representatives on the ticket of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP). He was in the House to represent Dambatta Federal Constituency in Kano state.

He is therefore more qualified than me, having been in the world of creative writing as a journalist since the 1950’s and the politics of the first and most prominent the second republic. Power of power is all about politics of the second republic.

1952, he was made Minister for Natural Resources as part of an indigenous Council of Ministers. In 1954, he was elected the second Vice-President of NPC and became literally, the third Northern Nigerian leader behind Ahmadu Bello, NPC’s president and Tafawa Balewa, NPC’s First Vice President. He was federal Minister of Land, Mines and Power in 1954, and in 1959, he was federal Minister of Land and Lagos Affairs. In 1960, he was appointed the Nigerian Minister of Defense and took over the as the country became independent in 1960.

His administration oversaw an increase in the numerical strength of the armed forces, an upgrade of military hardware, the development of the infant Navy and the establishment of a Nigerian Air Force. He also built and renovated military barracks across the country.[7] His colleagues often refer to him as “power of powers”. He completed the Nigerianisation of the Nigerian Army. He is credited as one of the most outstanding Defence Ministers Nigeria ever had. On 1 May 1965, he was to be honoured along with the then Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912–66) by the then Premier of Northern Nigeria Sir Ahmadu Bello (1909–66) with gold medals of the Usmamiya order in Kaduna. He died on the morning of that day at the age of 55.

No doubt, Alhaji Ribadu was a towering figure. A giant among men. In Lagos he acted as deputy Prime Minister in all but name – with considerably more authority than Abubakar due to his stronger following in the Northern Region. Minister of Defence in the First Republic Mahmud Ribadu was acting Prime Minister while Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was out of Lagos.

On one occasion he was acting Finance Minister when he purchased a new office building for the Ministry of Defence. He made a note in his file that, “As Minister of Defence, I have bought the new office. As Minister of Finance, I have approved the purchase. And as Prime Minister, I have no objection. “

When the Finance Minister. Okotie-Eboh returned, his permanent secretary reported Ribadu on the issue as being unusual. Okotie-Eboh asked him if Mahmud Ribadu was not the Defence Minister. He said he was. He asked him if he was the Acting Minister of Finance. He said yes. He asked him if he was the Acting Prime Minister, he said he was. He then asked the permanent secretary on what he should do. He said nothing. End of discussion.

In an interview with Peter Enahoro in the magazine Africa Now, Shehu Shagari who was with the powerful trio in Lagos at the time as a subordinate in 1983. In the interview President Shehu Shagari spoke about the enormous political clout Ribadu had acquired over time.

He said both the Prime Minister of Nigeria, Tafawa Balewa and the Premier Sir Ahmadu Bello feared and or respected the Minister. His strength of character was admired by all. Partly, this was as a result of the achievements recorded while he was serving as Minister of Defence, Ribadu presided over a rapid expansion of the Nigerian Army, Navy as well as the creation of the Nigeria Air Force. He established the Defence Industries Corporation in Kaduna, the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna and a Second Recce Squadron Abeukuta.

The belief is held by many scholars and historians till today that if Alhaji Ribadu had been alive the 15 January 1966 military coup could not have taken place. That he would have prevented it and that the first republic in spite of all incidents would have survived. And that we would not have been in this mess today.

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