Hamza Abdullahi (2 March 1945 – 3 January 2019) was a Nigerian statesman and military administrator who served as Governor of Kano State from 1984 to 1985; and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory from 1986 to 1989.

Early life

Hamza Abdullahi was born in

Hadejia Haɗejiya (also Haɗeja, previously Biram) is a Hausa town in eastern Jigawa State, northern Nigeria. The population was approximately 105,628 in 2006. Hadejia lies between latitude 12.4506N and longitude 10.0404E. It shared boundary with Kiri Ka ...

(now in Jigawa State) and was educated in

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

Military career

He joined the Nigeria Air Force in 1964, and attended the Nigeria Air Force Tactical Training Wing in

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade Centre and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern Nige ...

. From 1964 to 1966, he completed the Aircraft Technical Officer's Course in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and later took part in the

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...

effort. After the war, he was the Air Provost Marshal, Air Provost Group from 1971 to 1980; and also attended the Royal Military Police Training Centre in

Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publi ...

in 1974. He participated in the 1975 military coup d'état which brought General

Murtala Mohammed Murtala Ramat Muhammad (8 November 1938 – 13 February 1976) was a Nigerian general who led the 1966 Nigerian counter-coup in overthrowing the Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi military regime and featured prominently during the Nigerian Civil War ...

to power; and from 1980 to 1984 was the Group Commander, Ground Training Group in

Military governor

Following the 1983 military coup d'état, the military head of state General Muhamadu Buhari appointed Hamza Abdullahi military Governor of Kano State (now

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajee ...

and Jigawa State) in January 1984. His administration was tasked by the Federal Military Government to implement the War Against Indiscipline campaign in

, which was flagged off by General

Tunde Idiagbon Babatunde "Tunde" Abdulbaki Idiagbon (14 September 1943 – 24 March 1999) was a Nigerian general who served as the 6th Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (second-in-command) under military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari from 198 ...

. As military governor, Hamza Abdullahi later took part in the 1985 military coup d'état which brought General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as C ...

to power.

Federal minister

In September 1985, he was appointed Minister of Works and Housing. In this role he oversaw the construction of the Abuja-

dual carriage road. In 1986, following the General

Mamman Vatsa Mamman Jiya Vatsa (3 December 1940 – 5 March 1986) was a Nigerian general and poet who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Abuja, and was a member of the Supreme Military Council On 5 March 1986, he was executed by the military r ...

abortive coup, Hamza Abdullahi was appointed Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and a member of the ruling Armed Forces Ruling Council. He was ordered to ensure the successful relocation of the seat of government from

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...

to Abuja. His goal was to have 75% of the ministries in Abuja by 1990, the target date for the official relocation of the capital from

. During his tenure, he oversaw the construction of Phase 1: with the main districts of Maitama and Asokoro and several federal monuments including the city gate; the

Aso Rock Presidential Villa Aso Villa (officially The Aso Rock Presidential Villa) is the workplace and official residence of the President of Nigeria since 1991, when Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja. It is located at Yakubu Gowon Crescent, The Three Arms Zon ...

and the military barracks.

Later life

In October 1988, he was promoted to Air Vice Marshal the third highest rank in the

Nigerian Air Force The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) is the air branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is the youngest branch of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is one of the largest in Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including eight Chinese ...

, and retired two months later. In retirement, he lived a private life – and was a director at Julius Berger, a German construction and engineering company; Dantata and Sawoe Construction Company Limited, a Nigerian-German construction company. He was widely respected for his military professionalism and disciplinary pedigree, he was an associate and close friend of General

Death

He died on 3 January 2019, in a German hospital after a protracted illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdullahi, Hamza 1945 births 2019 deaths Nigerian Air Force air marshals Governors of Kano State Ministers of the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria)