Aminu Kano

==== Gowon's regime (1966—1975) ====
{{See also|1966 Nigerian counter-coup}}
[[File:Nigerian Public Domain 137.jpg|thumb|General Yakubu Gowon]]
The appointment of Gowon, a Christian northerner from a minority ethnic group, as Head of State was a move by the SMC to dissuade the Northern coupists, led by Lt-Colonel [[Murtala Muhammed]], from seceding from the republic. Gowon promptly released most of the political prisoners detained during Ironsi's regime, including [[Obafemi Awolowo]], the influential [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] politician from the Western region. He also revoked the controversial Unification Decree and reinstated the previously abolished four regions. Additionally, Gowon organised a conference of regional representatives to devise new constitutional principles, known as the Ad Hoc constitutional committee. Aminu and Joseph Tarka were among the Northern region's representatives at the conference. All delegates at the conference, except the [[Eastern Region, Nigeria|Easterners]], supported the idea of a strong federal government based on small states.<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=52}}

Immediately after the announcement of Gowon's appointment, Aminu helped organise discussions with the North's "leaders of thought" in Kaduna, comprising civil servants and First Republic politicians. The discussions revolved around the direction of the new government, with discussion papers drafted and presented for consideration, modification, or rejection by the group. Prior to the convening of Gowon's ad hoc committee, the discussion group discussed the topic of new states and Aminu was chosen to head the subcommittee. Aminu represented the Kaduna group at the Ad Hoc Conference in Lagos, presenting their recommendation for the creation of 12 to 14 states, with 7 for the North and 5 for the South. However, the Conference ultimately divided the states evenly, with 6 for both North and South. In the initial two months of Gowon's administration, Aminu held three separate meetings with him. The first involved a ten-man delegation from the North, the second as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee, the third meeting involved Aminu as part of a five-man committee of Northerners, led by Sir [[Kashim Ibrahim]], a former NPC politician and the last civilian [[Governor of Northern Nigeria]], convened by Gowon to convince them on the necessity for a strong [[Federation|federal government]] and national unity.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=237-241}}

With the North now in support of a strong federal government, following Gowon's successful persuasion of Ibrahim's delegation, and the West also in support after Chief Awolowo eventually "came around" to the idea, only the Eastern region remained in opposition. The Igbo dominated East harbored distrust toward the military led government, likely due to the "[[pogrom]]-like" violence they endured shortly after the July coup, carried out by rogue soldiers seeking revenge for the January coup. In his diary entry on 4 October 1966, Aminu noted "Account of army mutiny most disheartening. Speed and action required. East on way to secession." In an attempt to hasten the return to civilian government, Aminu approached the leaders of the Ad Hoc Committee, Awolowo (West), Kashim Ibrahim (North), [[Anthony Enahoro]] ([[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Mid-West]]) and 'Eni' (East), to initiate talks on establishing an [[Provisional government|interim government]]. However, his efforts were interuppted by the [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|eruption of violence in the North]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=240-241}}<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|pages=52-53}}

{{Multiple image
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| footer            = The four [[States of Nigeria|regions of Nigeria]] (top) replaced by twelve states (bottom) in 1967 by the Gowon administration.
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Among the three major instances of large outbreak of violence in 1966, the one in [[1966 anti-Igbo pogrom|October]] was "by far the most massive in terms of deaths".<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=131}} The violence was carried out by Northern soldiers and local thugs, notably the ''yan daba'' in Kano. As a result, many Igbos residing in the North fled to the East in search of safety. After enduring another massacre, the Eastern region refused to return to the Ad Hoc conferences.<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|pages=52-56}}<ref name=":29" />{{Rp|pages=134–138}} By the end of the violence, "all Ibos had fled the North, and Hausas the East". The mass flight of about a million Easterners brought the economy of the North to a near standstill. The sudden departure of clerks, technicians, traders, and civil servants severely impacted the region's economy, with services only able to recover to about 40% of pre-coup levels six weeks later. To help solve this issue, Aminu established the Kano Community Commercial School (now known as Aminu Kano Community Commercial College). Hassan Katsina, Military-Governor of the North, agreed to help hasten the project, and Maitama Sule offered his home as the school's first location. Among the other people who supported the project were Sarkin Kano Ado Bayero, [[Aminu Dantata]], Sani Gezawa, Inuwa Wada, and [[Tanko Yakasai]]. Aminu personally donated 250 pounds to the project, with total contributions amounting to approximately 4,000 pounds. Aminu served as the chairman of the school until his passing in 1983. One of the school's most notable alumni is [[Aliko Dangote]], the [[List of Africans by net worth|richest African]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://buk.edu.ng/sites/default/files/pdf/ushd.pdf |title=BAYERO UNIVERSITY, KANO NIGERIA: Student Handbook |isbn=9788203019 |pages=126}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 January 2024 |editor-last=LAFRANCO |editor-first=ROB |editor2-last=TOGNINI |editor2-first=GIACOMO |title=Africa's Billionaires 2024 |url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/africa-billionaires/ |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=[[Forbes]] |language=en}}</ref>

In early January 1967, the Supreme Military Council (SMC) held a meeting in [[Aburi|Aburi, Ghana]], which historian [[Max Siollun]] described as "a historic constitutional debate that would determine Nigeria's future social and political structure".<ref name=":29" />{{Rp|page=153}} The most active participant in the meeting was Lt-Colonel [[Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu|C. Odumegwu-Ojukwu]], the Military-Governor of the East, who put forth several suggestions. Among these suggestions, the most crucial ones were that regions must approve any decisions affecting them in the future, and all existing decrees contrary to this principle must be repealed. These suggestions, essentially advocating for regional autonomy, received unanimous agreement among all parties of the SMC. However, upon Gowon's return to Lagos, "his civil servants were aghast at the depth of his concessions to Ojukwu". Consequently, the [[Aburi Accord|Aburi Accords]] were never implemented, leading to the worsening of the relationship between the Eastern Region and the Federal Government.<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|pages=56-57}}<ref name=":29" />{{Rp|pages=151-159}} While this was ongoing, Aminu; Joseph Tarka, UMBC leader; [[Aliyu Makama|Aliyu Makaman Bida]], the most senior surviving NPC politician; and [[Umaru Dikko]], as their secretary, were touring the North to inform the populace on current events and, most importantly, to discourage talks of seceding from the Federation. The tour included holding public discussions and meeting with the influential emirs and chiefs of the region.<ref name=":30" />{{Rp|page=136}} Not long after the tour, Aminu lost his cousin [[Isa Wali]] in February and his father in May.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=246-250}}<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=458}}

On 27 May 1967, Gowon announced the division of Nigeria into twelve states. A move that was widely celebrated by the minority [[Demographics of Nigeria|ethnic groups of the abolished four regions]].<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=390}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Wikipedia Library |url=https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/ |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org |language=en |doi=10.1086/ahr/79.4.1229}}</ref> A [[Federal Executive Council (Nigeria)|Federal Executive Council]] (FEC) was formed to serve under the Supreme Military Council. The FEC included appointed civilian representatives from each state and was to serve as the administrative arm of the government. Aminu was appointed as [[Kano State]]'s representative and was given the position of the [[Federal Ministries of Nigeria|Federal Commissioner of Communications.]]<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=253-254}}

===== Civil war (1967—1970) =====
{{Main article|Nigerian Civil War}}
Three days following the division of the regions, Ojukwu declared the independence of the Eastern Region, which was to be known as the [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]].<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=390}} After the government's failed attempts at a "police action", the Military-Government responded with land and sea blockades. Afterwards, the Biafran army invaded and seized control of the [[Mid-Western Region, Nigeria|Mid-Western State]] (Bendel), leading to a declaration of war by Gowon.<ref name=":29" />{{Rp|page=162}}

Throughout the war, Aminu remained active as a member of the FEC. He led the procurement committee tasked with acquiring arms, which involved extensive travel around the world, including [[Europe]], the [[United States]], the [[Soviet Union]], and [[North Africa]], to negotiate arms deals.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moses |first=A. Dirk |url=https://books.google.com.ng/books?id=Vk0rDwAAQBAJ |title=Postcolonial Conflict and the Question of Genocide: The Nigeria-Biafra War, 1967–1970 |last2=Heerten |first2=Lasse |date=2017-07-06 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-351-85866-3 |pages=184 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=O-dHAAAAIBAJ |title=Soviet Moving In With Aid To Rich, Populous Nigeria |date=23 March 1970 |publisher=The Morning Record |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |url=http://archive.org/details/intelligencer-november-1968 |title=Intelligencer November 1968 |date=November 1968 |pages=10}}</ref><ref name=":31" /> In May 1968, Aminu participated in peace talks between Nigeria and Biafra held in [[Kampala|Kampala, Uganda]], one year into the civil war. [[Chinua Achebe]], the influential Nigerian writer, also attended the talks as part of the Biafran delegation. This meeting was the first time Achebe met Aminu, and he recalled:<blockquote>I remember very well seeing Aminu Kano of the Nigerian delegation sitting in front and looking so distressed. This is one of the strongest impressions the man made on me, compared to people like Chief [[Anthony Enahoro|Enahoro]] who was the leader of the delegation swaggering as conquerors, and even [[Ukpabi Asika|Asika]]. Aminu Kano seemed to be so different; in fact, he seemed to be looking out of the window. While his colleagues were speaking arrogantly and bent on our surrender, Aminu Kano was calm and in pain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ezenwa-Ohaeto |first= |url=http://archive.org/details/chinuaachebebiog0000ezen |title=Chinua Achebe : A Biography |date=1997 |publisher=Bloomington : Indiana University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-253-33342-1 |author-link=Ezenwa-Ohaeto}}</ref>{{Rp|page=138}}

This was a man who was not pleased with either side or how the matter was being handled. That meeting made an indelible mark on me about Aminu Kano, about his character and his intellect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Achebe |first=Chinua |url=http://archive.org/details/there-was-a-country-a-personal-history-of-biafra_202011 |title=There Was A Country A Personal History Of Biafra |pages=162 |author-link=Chinua Achebe}}</ref></blockquote>Aminu approached the war not as a conflict against the Igbo people or the former Eastern Region, but as a war against secession. During a speech to students at Kano's [[Bayero University Kano|Abdullahi Bayero College]] in February 1970, he urged Nigerians, and the government, to properly prepare for the return of Biafrans. Aminu stressed:<blockquote>There is the problem of reintegration of the Ibos. They left a large part of this country, and a lot of what they left has been taken over by the indigenes of the place. What are they to do? This is important since we are fighting them to stay in Nigeria. We are saying, "You can't go away. You must remain Nigerian." When they come back, can you deny them the right to own plots or land? You can't do that. How can the common Ibo take that? They said, "We want to go away." We said, "No, you must remain in Nigeria." They will say, "Now we are back." What do we do? These are problems that must be faced. It is not a simple problem. It is not enough to say the houses in Sabon Gari, the houses in Tudun Wada, the houses in Kaduna are being taken care of. Will they come back? With their industry? With a bigger desire to stay in Nigeria? A lot of our sons and daughters went and died in the name of unity to contain the Ibos in Nigeria. Can you afford to ostracize them now? You can't. What are you going to do? What is your program? You must begin to plan from now. It is not enough ot say, "Oh yes, they are coming back."<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=356}}</blockquote>

===== Reforms in Kano State =====
In the newly created [[Kano State]], there were two figures of national authority during the Gowon Administration. They were [[Audu Bako]], the [[Governor of Kano State|Military-Governor of Kano State]], and Aminu, as civilian commissioner and a member of the FEC.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=339}} 

Extensive reforms were carried out in the State, particularly on the Emirate level. The former alkali courts were replaced with area courts, and the emir's court was disbanded. The federal and emirate police forces were merged and put under the control of the commissioner of police, apointed by the federal government. The districts of the Emirate were grouped into 8 administrative areas, each with an appointed district officer who is responsible to the secretary of the military governor. The Native Authority was replaced with the Local Government Authority (LGA), which mainly consists of the [[Kano Emirate Council|Emirate Council]] and the General Purposes Committee. The Emirate Council consists of 40 members with the emir as chairman. About two-thirds of the council members are representatives of districts and were chosen by election. The entire council was initially appointed by the military governor.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|pages=341-351}}

Despite the reduction of the emir's powers in Kano, particularly in the judicial field, he still held considerable influence at the LGA level. He retained the authority to appoint all district heads and could exert influence on executive and legislative matters across all levels. Bako outlined his three elements of policy regarding the reforms: to preserve the best elements of traditional emirate government in Kano, to bring those in authority closer to the people through representation; and to deal harshly with those who obstruct constituted authority. Although Aminu did not publicly address these reforms, he was widely identified as one of the leading reformers. Many of his earlier views on the decentralisation of emirate authority could be seen in the new structures of Kano State, and his ideas on removing land and judicial powers from the emir were well known.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|pages=341-351}}<ref name=":31" />