Aminu Kano

== Teaching career ==
[[File:Young Aminu Kano.png|left|thumb|A young Aminu Kano|199x199px]]

After graduating from Kaduna College in 1940, Aminu opted for a career in [[law]] rather than following the path of his classmates who mostly chose teaching. This choice was uncommon as Sharia courts, more popular than the parallel [[Magistrates' court|magistrate courts]] in Kano among Muslims, did not allow lawyers. Additionally, his interest in studying medicine in [[England]] was hindered by the requirement to attend [[King's College, Lagos|King's College]] and [[Yaba College|Yaba Higher College]], both in [[Lagos]] in [[South West (Nigeria)|Southern Nigeria]], for some years. However, due to ongoing student unrests, the principal of King's College was reluctant to admit Aminu, who was known for leading student protests. Aminu also attempted to join the [[Nigerian Army|army]] and the [[Nigeria Police Force|police force]] but was rejected from both as he was five feet four, an inch shorter than the minimum height requirement. At Kaduna College, many continued to advise him to pursue a teaching career but it was his science teacher, Dr. R. E. Miller, who convinced him to take up teaching as a profession.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=60}}<ref name=":5" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tate |first=Carolyn |date=1983 |title=Review of Old Gods and Young Heroes: The Pearlman Collection of Maya Ceramics |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3335865 |journal=African Arts |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=86–88 |doi=10.2307/3335865 |jstor=3335865 |issn=0001-9933}}</ref><ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=100}} Miller's argument was<blockquote>Look, I'd advise you to join the teaching class. With [[World War II|the war]] going on, and the [[Nazism|Germans]] advancing on all fronts, it isn't inconceivable that [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] may temporarily take over Nigeria. In such a case, you would need a professional hiding place, and what better place than teaching? Besides, I would take you as the sole teacher-in-training for science—one of your great loves, right?<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=61}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=100}}</blockquote>
During his teacher training, Aminu was assigned to various towns for teaching assignments. In his second year, he spent five months each in [[Bauchi]] and [[Zaria]] and an additional two months "visiting schools in the south". It was in his final year of training in 1942 that his burgeoning radical political views became apparent. He began writing for the few newspapers and magazines available at the time, like [[Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo]] and the [[West African Pilot]], and developed a keen interest in politics. It was also during this year that he penned his pamphlet 'Kano Under the Hammer of Native Autocracy,' a critique of the Native Authority.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=277}}<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=|pages=69–70}}

Towards the end of his time at Kaduna College, he met [[Sa'adu Zungur]], who was to "influence Aminu's thinking profoundly".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=72}}<ref name=":4" />{{Rp|page=329}} Zungur, older than Aminu and an earlier proponent of radical politics, served as the head of the School of Pharmacy in Zaria. Aminu often had long discussions with Zungur, frequently visiting his home after classes. Their acquaintance dated back to 1935 when Zungur visited Kano, leaving a lasting impression on Aminu with his radical and progressive views. Aminu maintained sporadic correspondence with Zungur until their reunion in Zaria.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=72}}

=== Bauchi ===
Upon completing his teacher training, Aminu relocated to Bauchi, assuming the role of a junior teacher at Bauchi Middle School.<ref name=":5" /> His colleagues at the school included [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] and Yahaya Gusau. Aminu's amicable relationship with Balewa, who later became [[Prime Minister of Nigeria|Nigeria's only ever Prime Minister]], began during their time teaching in Bauchi. It was during this period that Balewa gave him the nickname 'Molotov' after [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] statesman. Zungur also moved to Bauchi during this time, having returned to his hometown due to a lung disorder he got in Zaria.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=84–85}}

Aminu was well-respected among the students at the school. They often gathered at his home after school hours for discussions and other extra-curricular activities. He occasionally organised plays and shows for the students, sometimes using [[Abubakar Imam]]'s works. To supplement his lessons, he composed songs and poems for his students. He was also active in various student societies including drama, debating, and science.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=85–86}}[[File:Your Tin Makes Engine Parts For Army Lorries - Thank You Nigeria! Art.IWMPST8268.jpg|thumb|A 1940s [[British propaganda during World War II|propaganda poster made by Britain]] to encourage Nigerian 'volunteers' to aid its war effort]]His close association with the students and his radical ideas made him unpopular with the school's administration and other teachers. On one occasion, the entire student body staged a strike over issues such as lack of uniforms and blankets, withheld pocket money, and poor food quality. The one student left, the head boy who was Balewa's younger brother, acted as their spokesman. The senior students, among them was [[Katagum#Wazirin Katagum|Sule Katagum]], lead the other students towards [[Maiduguri]]. The [[Bauchi Emirate|Emir of Bauchi]] and several teachers caught up with them, attempting to negotiate, but the students insisted on speaking only with Aminu. Later, Aminu arrived with Yahya Gusau, and "reassured them that their complaints would get proper airing" and convinced them to return to their dormitories. Following an investigation into the complaints, they were validated, resulting in the replacement of the headmaster with Balewa, "who righted the pre-existing wrongs".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=86}}

==== Bauchi General Improvement Union ====
In 1943, Aminu, alongside Zungur, Balewa and Gusau, formed the Bauchi General Improvement Union (BGIU), where they held discussions critiquing British colonial policies and the Native Authority.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=100}}<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Awa|first=Eme O.|title=Federal Government in Nigeria|publisher=University of California Press|year=1964|location=Berkeley and Los Angeles|pages=99}}</ref> This organisation was likely influenced by a similar organisation Zungur had founded while in Zaria, the Northern Provinces General Improvement Union (NPGIU).<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last1=Al-Sadique |first1=Abubakar Sufyan |last2=Ahmed |first2=Abubakar |date=2021-09-25 |title=Bauchi Discussion Circle: The Circle of Northern Nigerian Politics and Nigeria's Independence {{!}} Wikkitimes |url=https://wikkitimes.com/bauchi-discussion-circle-the-circle-of-northern-nigerian-politics-and-nigerias-independence/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> Aminu and Zungur wrote letters and articles attacking the British 'directed labour' policy, which they saw as a disguised form of [[conscription]]. With Britain requiring significant quantities of food, tin, and soldiers for [[British Empire in World War II|World War II]], colonial officials exerted pressure on Native Authorities to 'direct' specified quotas of food and manpower. Britain extensively used unregulated forced conscription in Northern Nigeria to support its war effort after [[Fall of Singapore|its military misfortunes in the Far East]] in 1942.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ekoko |first=A. E. |date=1982 |title=Conscript Labour and Tin Mining in Nigeria During the Second World War |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41857118 |journal=Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |volume=11 |issue=3/4 |pages=66–85 |jstor=41857118 |issn=0018-2540}}</ref> One of Aminu's unsigned articles was read by the senior District Officer, A J Knott, in the [[West African Pilot]], who traced it back to the BGIU. This discovery led to the dissolution of the union and its replacement with the Bauchi Discussion Circle (BDC) or ''Majalisar Tadi ta Bauchi'', sponsored by colonial authorities. The BDC was designed as a sanctioned platform for open debate encompassing 'any and all ideas'.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=89}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=89}}<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Barber |first=Karin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7n2-fYwvtKIC |title=Africa's Hidden Histories: Everyday Literacy and Making the Self |date=2006 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-34729-9 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=423}}

==== Bauchi Discussion Circle ====
BDC held weekly discussions, attracting various attendees like department heads, administrators, merchants and teachers. The number of participants surpassed that of the previous Bauchi General Improvement Union (BGIU), attracting moderates who felt more at ease given the government's sanction. Aminu, as secretary, was in charge of sending out invitations and choosing the topics to be discussed. These topics discussed included economic development, democracy, medicine, war and religion. When the topic was freedom of the press, Aminu and Zungur highlighted the contradiction in British policy, arguing that on the one hand they suppressed and privately condemned the only voices independent of the emirs and on the other hand, they publicly encouraged independent thought and initiative.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=89}}

In a discussion on indirect rule, he argued that "it had outlived the purpose for which it was originally intended" and that it was "the most exploiting system of colonial administration the world had ever known".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=100}} He further pointed out that at the time of the British takeover, the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] and [[Emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate|its emirates]] had morphed into a system unintended by [[Usman dan Fodio|Shehu Usman dan Fodio]], its founder. Aminu argued that the [[List of sultans of Sokoto|succession of caliphs]] was meant to be based on merit rather than birth and that the [[Autocracy|autocratic]] system of governance was against the teachings of the [[Muhammad in Islam|Islamic Prophet Muhammad]] and the Shehu. Balewa, being more of a moderate than Aminu, lightly defended the indirect rule system, arguing that the maintenance of law and order was essential in securing the foundation on which desired reforms could be carried out. Zungur, bedridden during the session, in response to Balewa, wrote his own arguments in a letter which was delivered to the discussion circle by Aminu during the following session. In this letter, he bolstered Aminu's arguments while adding a few of his own.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}} He urged Balewa to reconsider his "ill-conceived" defence of indirect rule and further argued:<blockquote>The selection of its [the Native Authority's] gutter elite is being made neither on the basis of intelligence nor capacity, but simply by denial of the decent citizen's outlook. Members of the ruling minority have the readiness of desperadoes to gamble, with nothing to lose but everything to gain.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=90}}</blockquote>During another meeting, Aminu posed a question to Officer Knott: 'What determines an emir's salary?' Knott responded that it depended on the extent of his duties and the weight of his responsibilities. Aminu then pointed out that despite having fewer constituents and responsibilities compared to the Emir of Bauchi, the [[Adamawa Emirate|Lamido of Adamawa]] received a higher salary. Following this exchange, the meeting abruptly ended. Soon after, Knott announced the termination of the BDC, citing that the discussions were 'getting off the rails'.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=91}}<ref name=":8" />{{Rp|page=423}}

==== Bauchi Community Center ====
To replace the BDC, Aminu and Zungur established another political organisation, the Bauchi Community Center. Starting with about 20 members, their first meeting took place at the Native Authority Library, near the emir's palace. During this meeting, accompanied by a policeman, Balewa approached them at the emir's request, asking them to disband as "all unions (organizations) are forbidden". Zungur then told him to tell the emir that they were not going to disband. After Balewa left, they decided to deliver a letter to the senior political officer telling him what had happened, claiming the emir was trespassing on their rights.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages= 91–92 }}

Three days later, the organization's members were invited to meet with the emir. The emir denied ordering their disbandment, and claimed that he had only forbade them from using "the Native Authority Library typewriters and facilities". Despite Balewa complaining that he delivered the message given to him accurately and Zungur ready to exploit this contradiction, the matter wasn't pursued further, and the organization accepted the emir's decision. Shortly after, an elderly man named Mallam Waziri offered them the use of his roofless hall for meetings, provided they roofed it themselves. They pooled their money together and roofed it.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=93}}  Not long after, the British government offered Aminu one of seven scholarships to study in [[England]] starting from September 1946, which he accepted.<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=276}}<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=97}} <ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=154}}

=== London ===
At the [[UCL Institute of Education|Institute of Education]] in [[London]], Aminu delved into the works of figures like [[Harold Laski]], [[George Bernard Shaw]], and [[Karl Mannheim]], whose teachings is "the source of many of Aminu's ideas on the ideal human society". He established relations with several [[Left-wing politics|left-wing]] figures and organisations in London, including the [[Socialist Labour Party (UK, 1903)|Socialist Labour Party]], the Student Socialist Society, and the Young Socialists, and met and befriended some left-leaning [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] and "top leaders" of [[Communism|communist]] organisations.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=99}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=P.C. |url=http://archive.org/details/africainsocialch0000pcll |title=Africa in Social Change |date=1967 |publisher=penguin books |others=Internet Archive |pages=223}}</ref><ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Robert Melson and Howard Wolpe |url=http://archive.org/details/isbn_9780870131615 |title=Nigeria: Modernization and the Politics of Communalism |date=1971 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-87013-161-5 |language=English}}</ref>{{Rp|page=538}} He was also influenced by leading [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] politicians of the time, such as [[Aneurin Bevan]] and [[Fenner Brockway]].<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Nordlinger |first=Eric A. |url=http://archive.org/details/politicssocietys00nordrich |title=Politics and society; studies in comparative political sociology |date=1970 |publisher=Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-13-686022-8}}</ref>{{Rp|page=241}}

After being exposed to these ideas and influences, Aminu attempted to blend the political philosophies of early [[French Revolution|French]] and [[American Revolution|American]] revolutionaries with Shavian Fabian socialism and the teachings of [[Usman dan Fodio]], all while still under the influence of [[Sa'adu Zungur]]'s radical ideas. He also witnessed the eve of [[Indian independence movement|India]] and [[Pakistan independence|Pakistan]]'s independence struggles through the students from both nations. Aminu, alongside students from various [[British Colonies|British colonies]], welcomed [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah|Ali Jinnah]] and [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], leading figures in the independence movements of Pakistan and India respectively, during their London visit in 1947. These experiences likely contributed to his interest in the [[Satyagraha|Gandhian form of resistance]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=100}}<ref name=":22" />{{Rp|page=241}}

During his course, Aminu taught in local primary schools and spent weeks in the [[Wales|Welsh]] countryside as a guest of the [[National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs|Young Farmers' Club]]. To fund his planned tour of the British countryside, he took on a part-time [[Hausa language]] translator role with the [[British Broadcasting Company]] (BBC). Unexpectedly, he was invited as a delegate to the [[World Organization of the Scout Movement|World Boy Scout Jamboree]] in [[Rosny-sur-Seine|Rosny]], allowing him to tour [[Europe]] at a discounted rate. Just before his journey to France, the entire boy scout contingent visited [[Buckingham Palace]]. Aminu was shocked the see the king and queen chatting and mingling freely with the boys which was a stark contrast with the way the British officialdom behaved back in Nigeria. This contradiction left him optimistic, interpreting it as a sign of the colonial empire's impending collapse.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=102–103}}<ref name=":9" />

==== Northern Teachers' Association ====
In March 1948,<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 September 2019 |title=Mallam Aminu Kano, Voice of The Voiceless |url=https://www.pressreader.com/nigeria/the-guardian-nigeria/20190901/281887299982618 |access-date=2023-12-31 |work=[[The Guardian (Nigeria)|The Guardian]] |via=}}</ref> while still studying London, Aminu formed the Northern Teachers' Welfare Association (later Northern Teachers' Association), the first region-wide organisation and [[Trade union|labour union]] in Northern Nigeria,<ref name=":14" />{{Rp|page=276}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fejoh |first=J. |date=2016 |title=Bio-Social Variables as Predictors of Teacher Union Leaders' Adherence to Democratic Principles in Ogun State, Nigeria |journal=Journal of Education and Practice |pages=202|s2cid=5022696 }}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last1=Smythe |first1=Hugh H. |url=http://archive.org/details/newnigerianelite0000unse |title=The New Nigerian Elite |last2=Smythe |first2=Mabel M. |publisher=Stanford University Press |others=Internet Archive |year=1960}}</ref>{{Rp|page=41}} alongside other teachers from the region, like Salihu Fulani, Z. Y. Dimka, Yahaya Gusau, Shettima Shehu Ajiram, Shehu Shagari, and [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]].<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Imam |first=Abubakar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yawsAAAAIAAJ |title=The Abubakar Imam Memoirs |date=1989 |publisher=NNPC |isbn=978-978-169-308-3 |language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|page=169}}<ref name=":30">{{Cite book |last=Shagari |first=Shehu Usman Aliyu |url=http://archive.org/details/shehushagaribeck0000shag |title=Shehu Shagari : Beckoned To Serve : an autobiography |date=2001 |publisher=Nigeria : Heinemann ed. books (Nigeria) plc |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-978-129-932-2 |author-link=Shehu Shagari}}</ref>{{Rp|page=66}} The union focused on issues like rights and welfare of teachers, an improved syllabus, differences in salary between the North and the South and the eligibility of teachers in [[Missionary schools|Christian Mission Schools]] for membership.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=101–102}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=91}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Musaazi |first=J. C. S. |url=http://archive.org/details/theorypracticeof0000musa |title=The Theory and Practice of Educational Administration |date=1982 |publisher=London : Macmillan Nigeria |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-333-31489-0}}</ref>{{Rp|page=258}}

The union grew rapidly, having about 200 members in its first month<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaskiya ta fi Kwabo, Issue 233, 31 Mar 1948 |url=https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP485-1-1-201 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=Endangered Archives Programme |page=1 |language=ha}}</ref> and 25 branches within its first year and was later influential on the region's nationalist organisations that came after it.<ref name=":11" />{{Rp|page=41}}<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Coleman |first=James Smoot |url=http://archive.org/details/nigeriabackgroun0000cole |title=Nigeria: background to nationalism |date=1958 |publisher=Berkeley, University of California Press |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{Rp|page=356}} The union continued being the most dominant teacher's union in Northern Nigeria until is merger with the [[Nigeria Union of Teachers|Nigerian Union of Teachers]], the dominant teacher's union in southern Nigeria, in 1972.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Falola |first=Toyin |url=http://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000falo |title=Historical dictionary of Nigeria |date=2009 |publisher=Lanham, Md. : Scarecrow Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8108-5615-8}}</ref>{{Rp|page=260}}

=== Return to Bauchi ===
With the end of his course in 1948, Aminu returned to Bauchi to resume his teaching career at the Bauchi Middle School. A few months later he was transferred to the Bauchi Teachers' Training College.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=110}}

During this time, Sir [[John Stuart Macpherson|John MacPherson]], the newly appointed [[Governor of Nigeria]], was gearing up for a tour across the region. He was to tour the major cities of the North, but excluded Bauchi. Aminu and Zungur suspected that this omission was a deliberate move by the Governor and his advisors to avoid confronting the city's outspoken radicals and their list of demands and grievances. The two approached the Emir of Bauchi and informed him of the government's plan to avoid his domain, claiming it was because of Bauchi's poor school system, roads, and economy. They managed to convince him to permit them to organise a mass rally to protest the Governor's omission. This mass rally, which was the first ever held in Northern Nigeria, amassed about a thousand people.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=110-111}}

Aminu, at the time still a junior teacher, was invited to [[Kaduna]] to meet with A J Knott (the [[district officer]] who had organised the BDC in 1943), now the Chief Secretary to the Government, and Sir MacPherson. During this meeting, the governor, addressing Aminu, had reportedly said:<blockquote>You have indicated that you think we intentionally keep the North backward, and the North and South divided—that you want us to go so that your country may have independence. You're a man from an important Kano family, young and full of spirit, but you must realize that we don't intentionally prevent changes and keep the country from progressing.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=115}}</blockquote>Knott proceeded to inform Aminu that they had been paying attention to his critiques of the government, stating, "We really like men like you, who are ahead of your countrymen". They offered him a position which would allow him to monitor and participate in the "financial section of the government" or even as the next editor of ''Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo''. After returning to Bauchi, Aminu, after considering these offers and discussing them with Zungur and others, concluded that these offers were an attempt by the government to disrupt their activist activities. Consequently, Aminu rejected the offers, informing Knott and MacPherson that he preferred to remain a teacher.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=101}} He also later turned down a job as a lecturer in [[Hausa language|Hausa]] at the [[Oxford University]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=115-119}}

However, some months later, in their ongoing efforts to disperse the Bauchi radicals, the British government transferred Aminu to Maru in [[Sokoto State|Sokoto]], appointing him as the headmaster of a newly constructed teachers' training college.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=116}}<ref name=":20">{{Cite book |last=Post |first=K. W. J. |url=http://archive.org/details/nigerianfederale0000post |title=The Nigerian Federal election of 1959 : politics and administration in a developing political system. -- |date=1963 |publisher=[London] : Published for the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive}}</ref>{{Rp|page=72}}

=== Sokoto ===
[[Sokoto]] had served as the capital of the 19th-century [[Sokoto Caliphate]], established through the [[jihad of Usman dan Fodio]]. The caliphate covered a large majority of Northern Nigeria and [[Emirates of the Sokoto Caliphate|most of the emirs]] owed allegiance to the [[Sultan of Sokoto]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Last |first=Murray |url=http://archive.org/details/sokotocaliphate0000last |title=The Sokoto Caliphate |date=1967 |publisher=[New York] Humanities Press |others=Internet Archive}}</ref> After the [[Northern Nigeria Protectorate|colonisation of the state by the British]] during the early 20th-century, Sokoto became a province and the Sultan's status was reduced; the other emirs answered directly to the British government, no longer to the Sultan. However, it retained its significance as the center of traditional and religious authority in the region. Hence, it was considered the most conservative section of a very conservative North.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=118}} Maru (now located in [[Maru, Nigeria|Maru]], [[Zamfara State|Zamfara state]]), a village in the province, had a population of 8,256 in 1964.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daniels |first=Charles B. |url=http://archive.org/details/casestudyofknowl00dani |title=Case study of knowledge transfer in the Gusau Pilot Extension Project of northern Nigeria |date=1967 |publisher=Kansas State University |others=Kansas State University Libraries |pages=51}}</ref>  It was clear that Aminu's transfer to Maru was not only meant to distance him from Zungur but also to isolate him and impede his activities. Upon his arrival, he attempted to set up a discussion circle but there were too few educated people around him and the nearest large town to Maru was 35 miles away, "over terrible, barely passable roads". The Sultan, [[Siddiq Abubakar III]], was also monitoring him, as Aminu later discovered. He learned that an elderly man he regularly gave alms to was a spy for the Sultan several weeks into his stay in Maru.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=|pages=118-120}}

Throughout his time in Maru, Aminu found himself in confrontations that regularly put him at odds with the Sultan. It started when Aminu dismissed the Sultan's ''Yan Labari, or spies,'' after his arrival. Later, he sent a letter of complaint to the British authorities, alleging that funds intended for the farmers, whose land was used for the school, had not reached them.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=101}} Another dispute arose when Aminu and [[Abubakar Gumi]], a colleague of Aminu and later Grand Khadi of Northern Nigeria, almost caused a [[Qadiriyya]]-[[Tijaniyyah|Tijaniyya]] feud in the province when they prevented their students from attending a [[Friday prayer|Friday service]] due to an issue with the [[imam]]'s ablution. According to the two, the imam of Maru practiced [[Tayammum|''tayammum'']], an act reserved for when water suitable for ablution is scarce, despite there being no scarcity of water in Maru. A commission of inquiry set up by the Sultan acquitted Gumi and urged the Sultan to personally intervene in Maru to halt the practice of tayammum. Despite the commission's recommendation, the Sultan refused to comply and declined to dismiss the Imam.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=120-127}}<ref>{{Citation |last=Loimeier |first=Roman |title=Reform in Context II: Northern Nigeria (and Niger) |date=2016-10-01 |work=Islamic Reform in Twentieth-Century Africa |url=https://doi.org/10.3366/edinburgh/9780748695430.003.0004 |access-date=2024-02-16 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |doi=10.3366/edinburgh/9780748695430.003.0004}}</ref>

At that time, Aminu shared a cordial relationship with [[Ahmadu Bello]], the [[Sokoto Sultanate Council|Sardauna of Sokoto]], who held a rivalry with the Sultan. When the Sultan's court convicted Bello of ''jangali'' tax ('cattle tax') misappropriations in 1943, Aminu contributed a significant portion of his Bauchi teaching salary to Bello's defense fund. With Aminu now in Maru, Bello saw him as a potential ally against the Sultan. Bello frequently visited Aminu in Maru, and during a visit by Aminu to Sokoto for a provincial constitutional conference, he stayed at Bello's residence. During this period, the Sultan extended a private invitation to Aminu, likely seeking reconciliation. He requested a discreet 2 a.m. meeting, but upon learning that Aminu had told Bello about this invitation, the Sultan grew furious and canceled the meeting.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=124-125}}

==== Northern People's Congress ====
Due to the successes of Aminu's teacher's union, other notable learned men around the region approached him regarding the establishing of a similar organisation. During late 1948, various organisations in Zaria, Kaduna and Bauchi merged to form the Jam'iyyar Mutanen Arewa or [[Northern People's Congress]] (NPC). In June 1949, the organisation's inaugural meeting was held at the Green's Hotel in Kaduna with about 500 in attendance. The founding members included Dr. [[R. A. B. Dikko]], [[Yahaya Gusau]], [[Abubakar Imam]] (editor of ''[[Gaskiya Ta Fi Kwabo]]''), [[Maitama Sule|Yusuf Maitama Sule]], [[Aliyu Mai-Bornu|Aliyu Mai Bornu]], Aminu Kano, [[Isa Wali]] (Aminu's cousin) and [[Sa'adu Zungur]], who was the general secretary of the [[National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons]] (NCNC) at the time.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=111}}<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|page=358}}<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Schwarz |first=Frederick August Otto |url=http://archive.org/details/nigeriatribesnat00schw_0 |title=Nigeria: The Tribes, the Nation, or the Race - The Politics of Independence |others=MIT Press |isbn=978-0-262-19018-3}}</ref>{{Rp|page=75}}

In its first general meeting in December 1949, the leaders of the congress, Dikko and Gusau, declared that the congress did not intend to subvert the colonial and aristocratic government and that the:<blockquote>''Jam'iyyar'' does not intend to usurp the authority of our Natural rulers; on the contrary, it is our ardent desire to enhance such authority whenever and wherever possible. We want to help our Natural rulers in the proper discharge of their duties...We want to help them in enlightening the ''Talakawa'' [common people].<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|page=358}}<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=75}}</blockquote>A district officer, representing the [[Resident minister|Resident]] of Kano, cautioned the attendees that they could only bring about their desired reforms if they moved "slowly with caution" and that "one must learn to walk before one can run". Aminu responded by asking him to report to his superiors that:<blockquote>If we go on foot, we will not walk, we will run. And if we fall, we will pick ourselves up and run again. But mark you, we will not go on foot. You might tell us to go by camel, or horse, but we will even skip the motor car and go by plane. And the British had best not deny us the choice of our means of transportation, no matter how fast.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=121-122}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=93}}</blockquote>Several Northern rulers, such as the Sultan, [[Abdullahi Bayero|Emir of Kano]] and the [[Zazzau|Emir of Zaria]], approved of this 'harmless' and 'deferential' attitude of the congress. However, younger members like Maitama, Aminu, and Zungur believed the congress was too uncritical of both the emirs and British authorities, emphasising the need for political reform in the North. Finally in August 1950, some radical NPC members in Kano formed the [[Northern Elements Progressive Union]] (''Jamiyar Neman Sawaba''), the first declared political party in Northern Nigeria.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=94}} NEPU was influenced by Zungur's openly radical Northern Elements Progressive Association.<ref name=":12" />{{Rp|page=359}} They had the support of Aminu, who was unable to join the party at the time as he was still employed by the government and could not openly join a political party.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=123}}<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|page=94}}

==== Resignation ====
Aminu handed in his resignation letter on 16 October 1950 and departed from Maru for good on November 4 of the same year. Sheikh Usman Bida, who was a classmate of Aminu at Kaduna College, and Sule Katagum, Wazirin Katagum, both believed that he was forced to resign. Aminu himself had contemplated this move as early as April of that year. When the Deputy Director of Education for the North warned him that he would not be reappointed if he persisted in his political activities, Aminu noted in his diary, "All right, that's his problem. Mine is to resign by next year."<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=129}}

An article by Aminu explaining his reasons for resignation was published in the ''Daily Comet'' newspaper on 11 November 1950: <blockquote>I resigned because I refuse to believe that this country is by necessity a prisoner of the Anglo-Fulani aristocracy—I resigned because I fanatically share the view that the Native Authorities ... are woefully hopeless in solving our urgent educational, social, economic, political or even religious problems—My stay in England...has hardened my soul in elevating truth, freedom and above all human rights for which the world fought off fascism—I had twice been threatened with the merciless fangs... while all around are piled corruption, misrule, political bluff, slavery under another garb, naked nepotism, tyranny, poverty...unnecessary retention of hereditary parasites, naked and shameless economic exploitation...I cannot tolerate these things because of their awful smell...I am prepared to be called by any name. Call me a dreamer or call me a revolutionary; call me a crusader or anything this imperialist government wills. I have seen a light on the far horizon and I intend to march into its full circle either alone or with anyone who cares to go with me. To these same suppressors of our people, I say this: Look Out! Africa is a sleeping giant no more! She is just about to shake off the stupor...?"<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|pages=129-130}}<ref name=":22" />{{Rp|page=243}}<ref name=":27" />{{Rp|page=541}}</blockquote>