Muhammadu Ribadu

Muhammadu Ribadu (1909 – 1 May 1965) was a Nigerian politician and former minister for Defense. The son of a district head from Adamawa's Balala district, he was educated early on at a Koranic school before proceeding to the middle school at Yola. While in Yola, he received private tutorship under a colonial officer. Afterwards, he became a teacher at the Yola middle school. After a few years teaching in Yola, he got and proceeded abroad, on a scholarship to study local government. Like a few of his colleagues who took the scholarship, he returned, and thereafter became interested in the nation's political process, he was appointed to the Northern House of Assembly in 1947 and re-elected in 1951. In 1952, he was made minister for Lands as part of an indigenous council of ministers. In 1954, he was elected the second Vice-President of NPC and became literary, the third northern leader behind Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa. His colleagues often refer to him as "power of powers". He completed the Nigerianisation of the Nigerian Army. Till today he's still being remembered as one of the most outstanding Defence Minister Nigeria ever had. . On May 1, 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. He was in all but name, the deputy Prime Minister. He was powerful and intrepid. While 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 in Abeokuta. Many scholars and historians believe till today that if Alhaji Ribadu had been alive the January 15, 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.

References

• Rosalynde Ainslie, Catherine Hoskyns, Ronald Segal; Frederick A. Praeger, Political Africa: A Who's Who of Personalities and Parties, Frederick A. Praeger, 1961

Ministers of Defence and Ministers of State for Defence of Nigeria Ministers of Defence Tafawa Balewa Inuwa Wada Muhammadu Ribadu Yakubu Gowon I. D. Bisalla Olusegun Obasanjo Iya Abubakar Akanbi Oniyangi Shehu Shagari Domkat Bali Ibrahim Babangida Sani Abacha Theophilus Danjuma Rabiu Kwankwaso Thomas Aguiyi-Ironsi Yayale Ahmed Ministers of State for Defence (junior minister) Dupe Adelaja Roland Oritsejafor Mike Onolememen Fidelia Akubata Njeze

Power of Powers: A Biography of the Late Alhaji Muh. Ribadu by Sidi.H Ali