Mohammed Bello Kaliel (died 10 March 2015) was a

Nigerian Army The Nigerian Army (NA) is the land force of the Nigerian Armed Forces. It is governed by the Nigerian Army Council (NAC). The Chief of Army Staff is the highest ranking military officer of the Nigerian Army. History Formation The Nigerian ...

Colonel and the first Governor of

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the ea ...

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 ...

after it was created on 3 February 1976 when

North-Eastern State North-Eastern State is a former administrative division of Nigeria. It was created on 27 May 1967 from parts of the Northern Region. Its capital was the city of Maiduguri. The North-Eastern is also full of agriculture and food. On 3 February 19 ...

was divided into Bauchi, Borno, and Gongola states, during the military regime of General

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo, , ( ; yo, Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian political and military leader who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its pres ...

. He held office until July 1978.

Army career

Mohammed Bello Kaliel joined the army in 1967. From 1972–1974, he was an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy. In February 1976, Mohammed Kaliel was appointed governor of Bauchi State by the head of state, General

Murtala Muhammed 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 ...

, shortly before he was killed in an abortive coup attempt. Taking office in March 1976, he brought a team of experienced civil servants from

Maiduguri Maiduguri is the capital and the largest city of Borno State Borno State is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Yobe to the west, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa to the south while its eastern border form ...

to establish the new state's administration. He found a state with no electricity and limited water supply from boreholes, and made improving this basic infrastructure his first priority. Kaliel was Commandant at the Nigerian Resettlement Center, Lagos from 1978–1980, Director of Logistics and Defence (1980–1981) and Commandant,

Brigade of Guards The Brigade of Guards was an administrative formation of the British Army from 1856 to 1968. It was commanded by the Major-General commanding the Brigade of Guards and was responsible for administering the guards regiments. After the Second Wor ...

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

(1981–1984). In December 1983, while Kaliel was on leave from the Brigade of Guards, a coup resulted in Major-General

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

becoming head of state.

Later career

Kaliel retired shortly after the coup in 1984. After the restoration of democracy in May 1999, he was appointed Federal minister of Water Resources between 1999 and 2001. In January 2001, he met the

Zamfara State Zamfara (Hausa: Jihar Zamfara Fula: Leydi Zamfara 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤶𞤢𞤥𞤬𞤢𞤪𞤢) is a state in northwestern Nigeria. The capital of Zamfara state is Gusau and its current Governor is Bello Matawalle. Until 1996, the area was ...

Governor, Ahmed Sani Yerima, who told him that

Gusau Dam The Gusau Dam holds a reservoir on the Sokoto River just upstream from Gusau, capital of Zamfara State in Nigeria. It supplies water to the city and neighboring communities. In 2006, the dam collapsed, killing 40 people and destroying 500 homes. ...

could dry up soon, and asked the Federal Government to transfer water from the

Bakolori Dam The Bakolori Dam is in Sokoto State in northwest Nigeria. It was completed in 1978 and its reservoir filled by 1981. It is a major reservoir on the Sokoto River, a tributary of the Rima River, which in turn feeds the Niger River. Water from the d ...

to the state capital,

Gusau The city of Gusau, located in northwestern Nigeria, is the capital of Zamfara State. It is also the name of the state's Local Government Area (LGA), which has an area of ² and a population of 383,162 as of the 2006 census. The area's postal ...

. Kaliel said the Federal Government was committed to providing quality water to all Nigerians, and would soon provide assistance to the states, with priority given to Gusau. He was replaced in a cabinet shuffle on 13 June 2001. In May 2005, he was appointed to the board of All States Trust Bank Plc. On 10 March 2015, Bello Kaliel died in a hospital in Turkey.

References

1942 births 2015 deaths Governors of Bauchi State Nigerian Army Brigade of Guards Commanders Nigerian Defence Academy people {{Africa-mil-bio-stub