Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966)

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Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first Prime Minister of of independent Nigeria (1960-1966) was born in Tafawa Balewa, a town in Bauchi State, and was educated as a teacher. He later became a politician, and was elected to the Northern Region's House of Assembly in 1947, and in 1951, to the Federal House of Representatives. He was a founder and until his death, the deputy president of the Northern People's Congress.

Balewa became Prime Minister in 1957, and at independence in 1960, he remained in the post. Sir Tafawa Balewa was widely admired for his simplicity and humility. He was killed in the January 1966 military coup.

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