Arewa History

The stories of Northern Nigeria past, present and the future. Send contributions and suggestions to: [email protected].

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

We are amused by this tweet from @HeathrowAirport, and perhaps this may be an inspiration to bring back such attractions to our airports. :)

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, as the de facto second-in-command in General Olusegun Obasanjo’s military government (1976 - 1979), with the United Nations Secretary-General, Kurt Waldheim, at the UN Headquarters in New York, 1978.

Credit: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Brigadier Zakariya Maimalari, who was killed during Nigeria’s first military coup on this day in 1966, with German broadcast journalist, Klaus W. Stephan, at a cocktail party in Ibadan, 1965.

[Gimba Kakanda @gimbakakanda]

Our friends in Kano, here’s your new and highly-recommended stop. Zaldo’s Salon & Couture is here to serve your beauty and clothing needs in the city. It’s located at No. 1, Randa Avenue, NNDC Quarters, Sharada, Kano. Kindly tell one to tell ten, and ten to tell others. :)

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

General Sani Abacha, as Nigeria’s Head of State, with his family at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, 1994. He died in office on this day 22 years ago.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Horsemen and masquerades during Sallah celebration in Bida, 1959.

Photo credit: Derek Miles Greening.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Residents of Sokoto, 1900.

Credit: New York Public Library

[Heathrow Airport @HeathrowAirport]

@Nanu759 @ArewaHistory We love the pic and found it fascinating! :)

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Minister of Mines and Power, Yusuf Maitama Sule, poses with two sons of Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Saddik and Mukhtar, mid 1960s. Saddik was a Drama lecturer in ABU Zaria before venturing into filmmaking, while Mukhtar is now running for Governor in Bauchi state.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II of Kano showing visiting Prince Charles a July 17, 1957 entry by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, in the Palace’s guestbook during her visit to Nigeria.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Installation of Muhammadu Attahiru II by British Commander Frederick Lugard (who would go on to become colonial Nigeria’s first Governor-General in 1914) as the thirteenth Sultan of Sokoto, following the overthrow of Muhammadu Attahiru I by British forces, March 21, 1903.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

A Form IV student of Federal Government College, Sokoto, posing near the Principal's Office (1975), as found on Pinterest.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Asheik Jarma was elected Governor of Borno state in October 1983, defeating the incumbent and first civilian Governor, Mohammed Goni. He had served as Minister of State for Works in President Shagari’s first tenure. His brief tenure came to an end after the December 1983 coup.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Nigeria’s first archeologist, Liman Ciroma, photographing the ruins of the Roman Temple of Mithras, uncovered during excavations at Bucklesbury in the City of London, September 9, 1954.

He was educated at London University's Institute of Archaeology and Birmingham University.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Adamu Ciroma (R) with Shehu Shagari at the Lagos Airport on July 3, 1979. Both contested for the 1979 presidential ticket of National Party of Nigeria, with Shagari emerging as winner and Ciroma third behind Maitama Sule. Ciroma went on to serve as Minister in Shagari’s Cabinet.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

“I heard the sound of a stone someone had thrown at my window. I opened the window... and it was Shehu Yar’adua. I opened the door and he said to me, ‘There has been a coup and the military leadership has appointed you Governor of the Central Bank.’”

~ Adamu Ciroma (1934 - 2018)

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

Atiku Abubakar with some friends at a reception in Lagos, early 1970s.

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

General Ibrahim Babangida and Lieutenant-General Sani Abacha (middle) during a field exercise with (L - R) Air Vice-Marshal Nura Imam, Colonel Chris Garuba, Major-General Garba Duba, Major-General Joshua Dogonyaro, Colonel Abdullah Sarki Mukhtar, and Colonel Anthothy Ukpo, 1980s.

[Vanessa R. Williams @williamsvanessa]

It was a lovely memorial at the historic Cosmos Club this afternoon, where mentees, friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate a remarkable life of service, commitment to education, art, volunteerism, and justice. #RIP #RogerLandrum https://t.co/2nFZzSNvb5

[Arewa History @ArewaHistory]

L - R: General Yakubu Gowon of Nigeria, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and President Hamani Diori of Niger Republic in search for peace during the Nigerian civil war, 1968.