Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu []]1924-2016]

The death last Sunday of Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, Walin Sokoto, marked the departure of one of this country’s greatest and most valuable public officers who made his mark in both the public and private sectors, at home and abroad, in the last sixty years. He died at a private hospital in Lagos at the ripe […]

The death last Sunday of Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, Walin Sokoto, marked the departure of one of this country’s greatest and most valuable public officers who made his mark in both the public and private sectors, at home and abroad, in the last sixty years. He died at a private hospital in Lagos at the ripe age of 92. He was laid to rest the following day at his home-town, Gwadabawa in Sokoto State. Funeral prayers were led by the Chief Imam of Gwadabawa Central Mosque Malam Isa Atu. The funeral was attended by Governor Aminu Tambuwal, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad, former Minister of Defence General Aliyu Gusau, former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Jubril Ayinla; Baba Addini of Lagos Sheikh Abdul Hafeez and former Minister of Finance Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji.
The high points of his career were when he served as Private Secretary to the President Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe during the First Republic. He later served as Principal Private Secretary to military Heads of State Major General J.T.U. Aguiyi-Ironsi and General Yakubu Gowon. In 1975, General Murtala Mohammed appointed Ahmadu as Ambassador Extra-ordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Soviet Union with concurrent accreditation to the German Democratic Republic. He served in that capacity until 1978. This was a return to diplomatic service for Ahmadu, who had served as Director of Africa, Consular and Treaties Division of the Ministry of External Affairs in 1964-1966. He was also the Director, Asia Division in 1965-1966.
His posting to the USSR marked the beginning of another long stint for Ahmadu in the foreign service, during which he made immense contributions to the shaping of Nigeria’s foreign policy throughout the 1970s and 1980s.  He was Director-General of Protocol in the External Affairs Ministry in 1981-1982; Director-General of African Affairs in 1984-1985 and Permanent Secretary and Head of the Diplomatic Service in 1986-1987.
In 1987, Hamzat Ahmadu became Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States. Prior to that he was Ambassador to the Kingdom of Netherlands (1978-1981) and Ambassador to the Republic of the Cameroun (1982-1984). He was also High Commissioner of Nigeria to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. He also served as ambassador in France and West Germany. He had started working for the Northern Regional government in the 1950s, after which he went to study in the United Kingdom. Upon his return, he joined the colonial Senior Service in 1958 and soon transferred his services to the Federal Government.
After his retirement from service, Ambassador Ahmadu served Nigeria in many other capacities. He was the first Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka from 1991-2002. He was the Chairman of A.G Leventis (Nigeria) Plc; Chairman, Board of Directors of International Trust Bank Plc (1992-2006); Chairman, Board of Governors of the Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto; Member Advisory Committee on National Honours and Awards; Leader of the Sokoto State Delegation to the National Political Reform Conference, 2005 and Member, Presidential Advisory Council on International Relations (PAC). Ambassador Ahmadu also served on the Board of NCR (Nigeria) Plc and SGS. He was the Chairman of MTN Foundation Ltd. and was a Council Member of the Royal Commonwealth Society of London.
President Muhammadu Buhari described Ahmadu’s death as a great loss to his community and the entire Nigeria. Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki said Ahmadu would be remembered for his passion and belief in unity and peaceful co-existence of all Nigerians, while Governor Aminu Tambuwal said, “As an elder statesman, his wise counsel served both the older and younger generation of leaders not only in Sokoto, but in Nigeria as a whole.” With the death of Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, indeed a chapter has closed from the era of great, selfless and meritorious service to God, country and humanity. We express our condolences to the government and people of Nigeria and we pray to the Almighty Allah to grant the late Walin Sokoto eternal rest in Aljannat.