Mala Kachalla (November 1941 – 18 April 2007) was

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Borno State in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003.

Background

Mala Kachalla was born in 1941 in

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maiduguri was founded in 1907 as a mil ...

, the capital of Borno State.

Borno Governor

Mala Kachalla was elected as governor of Borno State in April 1999 during the 1999 Borno State gubernatorial election, running for the All People's Party (APP), which was renamed

All Nigeria People's Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party ( abbr. ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. Under the leadership of Late Chief Edwin Ume-Ezeoke who was its vice presidential candidate to General Muhammadu Buhari in the 2007 presidential elections. The party ...

(ANPP) due to a factional split. His election was financed by

Ali Modu Sheriff Ali Modu Sheriff (born 1956) is a Nigerian politician. He is Borno State's first governor to serve two consecutive terms (2003–2011). Though Sheriff had held two elected offices as a member of All Nigeria People's Party, he would later join ...

, who became Senator for Borno Central. In August 2000, Borno State decided to adopt Sharia law. Mala Kachalla reassured Christians by emphasising that Sharia, which includes punishments like amputation and flogging, would only apply to Muslims. In February 2001, he established a Sharia Implementation Committee, which investigated the practical steps involved in introducing Sharia law in the state. After receiving the report, Mala Kachalla said the Sharia legal system would come into force in June 2001. Applying only to Muslims, the laws would ban gambling, alcohol and prostitution, among other vices. In February 2002, riots broke out in

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 ...

between Hausa and Yoruba groups, during which houses were destroyed and over 100 people died, including women and children. Mala Kachalla met with the

Lagos State Lagos State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, it is both the most populous and smallest in area. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with Ben ...

governor

Bola Tinubu Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian accountant and politician who served as the Governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007 and Senator for Lagos West during the brief Third Republic. In June 2022, he was chosen as th ...

and broadcast appeals to both sides to end the violence. In September 2002 Mala Kachalla said there were conflicting border claims in the Lake Chad area, and that Nigeria was losing control of some island villages there. He said there was no clear cut demarcation between Borno, Chad and

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, and that the region was plagued by armed rebels and trafficking in illicit arms and children. In November 2001 police fired at workers in Maiduguri protesting against the withholding of their wages, a breach of a previous pay agreement. The Borno State Police Commissioner imposed a state of emergency. According to the

Nigeria Labour Congress The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is an umbrella organization for trade unions in Nigeria. History The Nigerian Labour Congress was founded in December 1978, as a merger of four different organisations: the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC) ...

President in Borno State, when Mala Kachalla left office leave grant had not been paid for two years, health and hotel workers were on strike, shoe factory workers could not get their terminal benefits and even pensioners had outstanding arrears.

Later career

Before the April 2003 elections, it became clear that Ali Modu Sheriff would be the ANPP candidate for governor rather than Kachalla. Kachalla left the ANPP and joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He was defeated by Ali Modu Sheriff. In February 2006, Kachalla changed parties again, joining the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Kachalla died at his home in Maiduguri on 18 April 2007, after a brief illness. He was 66 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kachalla, Mala 1941 births 2007 deaths Governors of Borno State All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians