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Tourism: Stakeholders seek upgrade of Tafawa Balewa’s tomb
Tourism: Stakeholders seek upgrade of Tafawa Balewa’s tomb
Stakeholders in the tourism sector have advocated the upgrade of the tomb of Nigeria’s sole Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to attract more visitors.
Some of the stakeholders who spoke in Bauchi said the mausoleum needed total rehabilitation in line with international standards, to make it more attractive to visitors.
Balewa’s tomb is one of the monuments, heavily patronised by tourists in Bauchi State.
It was declared a national monument on Aug. 29, 1979, by the then military administration.
The construction of the tomb and the building enclosing the grave began in 1977 and was inaugurated in July 1979.
Within the enclosure are a reference library, gallery, mosque and grave of the former Nigerian leader, often referred to as the Golden Voice of Africa.
Balewa was born in December 1912 in Bauchi, and started his education at a Qur’anic school in Bauchi town and later attended Katsina College, now (Barewa College).
On completion of his secondary education in 1933, he returned home and started teaching at the Bauchi Middle School where he rose to the position of headmaster in 1941.
In 1944, Balewa went to the University of London’s Institute of Education, and on his return, he was appointed Inspector of Schools.
His political sojourn started in 1946 when he was elected to the Northern Nigeria House of Assembly, and in 1951 elected as the Vice President of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC).
The party nominated Balewa to Lagos as a Member of Parliament in 1952. He was appointed Minister of Works and Transport in the same year.
In 1957 the NPC won the election with the majority of the MPs and Balewa was elected as Prime Minister.
At independence in 1960, Balewa became the Prime Minister of independent Nigeria and was re-elected in 1964. He was killed alongside other prominent Nigerian leaders during the Jan. 15, 1966 coup.
Mr Mukhtar Baba, a librarian at the mausoleum, said the library and gallery are prone to flooding that submerged the facility during the rainy season due lack of drains.
He said the construction of drains and remedial projects would check perennial flooding in the facility.
The librarian called for the provision of modern gadgets to digitise its operations.
“Provision of IT equipment will transform our operation from analogue to digital which is obtainable across the globe.
“Through digital applications photos and other personal belonging of the late prime minister could be showcased on TV screens and other IT appliances.
“This is imperative to ensure safe keeping and preserve the quality of the items,” he said.
He said it would also enhance awareness creation to educate the people on the facility so as to attract more visitors.
Mohammed Akuyam, a senior tour guide at the tomb, said the edifice was designed to reflect the simple life Balewa lived.
Akuyam said the “darkness greeting visitors’’ at the entrance to the tomb signifies the hardship encountered by Balewa and his colleagues in the struggle to gain independence from the British colonial administration.
He said the light shining through a thin window by the right-hand side after the first darkness, represents rays of hope for the nation to be freed from the colonial administration.
“The second darkness on the corridor to the tomb signifies struggle continues for Nigeria’s independence, while the full brightness illuminating the tomb’s courtyard signifies attainment of Nigeria’s independence in 1960,” he said.
The intercessions on the pathways to the grave reflect the crises and civil disorder that greeted Balewa’s assassination.
On the rough staircase leading to the tomb, Akuyam said, signifies hardship experienced by Nigerians under the colonial administration, while the smooth one symbolises freedom enjoyed after attaining self-rule.
He said: “The colours on the walls of the tomb represent different ethnic groups in Nigeria, and the late Balewa served those interests at heart and tried to unite them as one nation.
“The open roof of the tomb signifies the open-mindedness of the late Prime Minister and the simple life he lived.”
According to him, the tomb is in good condition and records a high number of visitors, especially students who are on excursions to learn and see some of the personal belongings of the late prime minister.
According to the tour guide, visiting the tomb is free, but adult visitors to the exhibition section (gallery) are charged N100 per head and N50 for children.
He disclosed that over 7,000 students from schools across the country visit the tomb annually.
The tour guide also said that 75 students of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPS), Kuru, Jos, were in the study tower at the tomb in September 2021, while 22 foreign students or tourists also visited the tomb last year.
He listed important personalities that visited the tomb including former President Olusegun Obasanjo on July 16, 1999,
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, in September 2011, and former President of the Senate, Ken Nnamani, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in May 2022, among others.
Akuyam, however, said that the tomb was renovated in 2012 by the National Commission for Museum and Monuments, while the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) upgraded the gallery.
“All the personal belongings of the late prime minister kept in the gallery are in good condition.
“We have over 20 staff working in the tomb, including guides, cleaners, receptionists as well as auditorium and library personnel.
“The tomb is being managed by the Bauchi State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, while the gallery is under the National Commission for Museum and Monuments,” he said.
Also commenting, Muhammad Yusuf, General Manager, Bauchi State Tourism Board, called for a review of laws governing the control and ownership of the monument to enhance good management of the all-important national asset.
Yusuf said the measure was imperative to fast track upgrade of the tomb to meet international standards, raise tourism potential and attract more visitors.
For his part, Mr Ibrahim Isa, a tourism expert, who corroborated earlier Yusuf, opined that Balewa’s tomb was being maintained effectively by the relevant authorities.
He said the review of the extant laws on such monuments is critical to ensure the protection of tombs of other national heroes.
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VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
By: Our Reporter
Ahead of his trip to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, Vice President Kashim Shettima , has expressed grief over the death of 25 persons killed in the multiple explosions in different locations across Maiduguri, the Borno State capital on Monday.
He pointed out that no religion sanctions the killing of innocent lives, as the sanctity of human life remains a core tenet of major world faiths.
VP Shettima, who spoke on Tuesday during the closing of the Annual Ramadan Tafsir at the State House Mosque, Abuja, prayed Almighty Allah to grant the souls of those killed in the terror attack in Maiduguri eternal rest, reward them with Aljannah firdaus and give their family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Praying Almighty Allah to also vanish all agents of terror from the surface of the earth, the VP said, “May the lives of innocent souls – 25 of them – that lost their lives in Maiduguri last evening rest in peace. May Allah grant their souls eternal rest and reward them with His Aljannah firdaus, and may Allah also grant their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable losses.
“May Allah bring this madness to an end. No religion sanctions the killing of the innocent. Whatever that is motivating them, may Allah either guide them on to the right path or May Allah vanish them from the surface of the earth.”
The Vice President emphasised the need for all Nigerians to continue to pray for the country across every sector, as well as pray that the Almighty should continue to grant President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and members of his team wisdom, courage, sincerity and equity in service.
He noted that each season of Ramadan reminds Muslims of a truth that power often tries to hide from man, and that no sit is permanent, just as no office is ultimate and no human being stands above his dependence on his creator.
VP Shettima said, “In the presence of Allah, the distance between the mighty and the unknown vanishes. What remains is character, what remains is accountability, what remains is what we did with the trust placed in our hands.
“This is why gatherings such as this matters. They rescue public lives from arrogance; they retain soul to scale; they teach those entrusted with authority that the nation is not built by policy alone but by conscience; not by proclamation alone but by restraint; not by ambition alone but by fear of Allah.”
The VP called on the Muslim faithful to continue to live in the teachings and lessons of the month of Ramadan, as the final days of Ramadan begins to sleep through their fingers.
“The question before us is not whether Ramadan is ending. The question is whether its teachings will continue to live in us after the moon has changed.
“It is quite easy to cut the head when the atmosphere is charged with devotion. The harder task is to carry it into ordinary days, into the market, into the office, into the home, into the chamber of power, and into the private corners where only Allah sees what we are doing, ” he noted.
While drawing from the lessons of Ramadan, the Vice President said the holy month had thought the Muslim faithful that pity without mercy is noise and worship without service is incomplete.
“So, as we close this year’s Tafsir, let us not return to the habits that weaken our common lives; let us not go back to bitterness, to reckless speech, to indifference dressed as sophistication. A believer doesn’t spend the whole month learning only to become a captive again of anger, greed and division.
“Nigeria needs homes where children encounter good examples before good advice. Nigeria, indeed, needs leaders in every spare who understand that influence is a trust, not a license, ” VP Shettima said.
He paid growing tribute to the Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Sheikh Abdulwaheed Suleiman Abubakar, and his lieutenant for conducting the Tafsir with wisdom, calm hearts.
Earlier, the Chief Imam prayed for sustainable peace and development of Nigerian and the success of the Tinubu administration’s policies and programmes.
The cleric emphasised the need for leaders at all levels to continue to discharge their responsibilities with the fear of Allah for the process and development of the country.
VP Shettima Mourns Borno Terror Attack Victims, Says No Religion Endorses Killing Of Innocent Lives
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IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
By: Zagazola Makama
The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has visited victims of the recent IED explosions in Maiduguri and assessed the security situation at key attack sites, underscoring the force’s commitment to public safety.
The IGP visited the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH), where casualties of the bomb blasts are receiving medical attention. He commiserated with victims and their families, assuring them of the Nigeria Police Force’s resolve to identify and dismantle networks responsible for the attacks.

Following the hospital visit, he proceeded to the Maiduguri Monday Market, one of the sites targeted by the terrorists, for an on-the-spot security assessment. The visit included interactions with local security personnel to review operational preparedness and strengthen coordinated response measures.
The IGP also visited the Borno State Government House and the State Police Command Headquarters as part of ongoing engagements to enhance collaboration between federal and state security agencies.

He emphasized that security has been significantly tightened across Maiduguri and its environs, with increased patrols, surveillance, and joint operational deployments aimed at preventing further incidents. Residents were reassured of the force’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property in the aftermath of the attacks.
IGP Visits Maiduguri Bombing Sites, Assesses Security Measures
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Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
By: Bodunrin Kayode
Residents of Muna axis after customs area in Maiduguri have called on Governor Babagana Zulum to save them from the excesses of heavy duty vehicles who deliberately clog the international highway leading to Gamboru Ngala council area on a daily basis.
Some of the residents who spoke to this reporter after a recent crash which almost killed all the occupants of a commercial “Keke” regretted that the road traffic authorities in the state have not given this international highway the priority it deserves in terms of traffic management due to it’s prominence.
A careless trailer which was parked along the road close to the Alkome police hospital had narrowed the road for another trailer and a Keke nappe which struggled for the little space remaining all driving towards the Muna Garage area when a brush occurred and a sudden bang from the back by a third trailer which almost killed all the occupants of the keke nappe.
Some of the commuters came out alive from the crushed Keke with minor wounds while a particular man had his forefoot crushed almost hanging away from the ball of one of that very foot.
It was a bloody weekend for the commuters as blood from one of them flowed freely into the Keke and on the tarred road leading to Muna while onlookers rushed to see if anyone survived the crash.
Since no security personnel showed up within the first 30 minutes of the crash, the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital while the trailer cleared from the road to ease traffic movement.
Most of the eye witnesses were enraged by the incident with some blaming it on the Keke riders while others castigated the trailers who insist on parking on the shoulder of this international route which should be free from these kinds of challenges.
Baana, a vulcanizer who says he has spent over three decades on this axis of the town called on Governor Babagana Zulum to as a matter of urgency build a massive modern trailer park for the heavy trucks so that they will stop parking along the road while they wait for clearance in the morning to embark on their journeys to Ngala and beyond.
“Lack of a modern trailer park is the main reason why we keep recording lingering accidents on a daily basis here with countless of people being wounded and are not recorded in the government statistics.” He stressed.
For mallam Isa, a teacher inside the suburb behind Alkome police Hospital, the Governor should as a matter of urgency sign an executive fiat to stop trailers from parking on main roads like this one leading to Mafa,Dikwa and Ngala.
” We are calling on the Governor to invoke an executive order based on section 5 of the 1999 constitution by banning all trailers from parking on the trunk A roads leading to Chad, Niger and Cameroon.
” This is because, apart from endangering the lives of commuters, prolonged stay on the tarred roads cause a lot of damage to the roads which the Governor has dualized after destruction by insurgency.”
Mallam Isa also called on Federal and State Road Safety managers in the state to create a road side emergency station along this route that would be assisting them in clearing accident victims in the road throughout the week and even during the weekend.
“look at this accident that just happened, they are all guilty of one offence or the other. But I equally blame the Keke riders because if they have respect for human lives, they will not be contesting for right of way with heavy duty trailers.
” These trailers are very wicked people. They use their big structures to block and entrap people only to be begging for mercy when the damage has been done.
” Their excesses are as grave as that of the keke napep people. The Federal Road Safety and the Borno traffic management authorities should increase their fines further to serve as deterrent on the rest.
Save us From Heavy Trailers Killing Our People… Muna Garage Residents Cry Out to Zulum
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