Draft:Sa'adu Alanamu

Sa'adu Alanamu (1912 - 1996), Balogun Alanamu & Waziri of Ilorin was a First Republic politician, administrator, businessman and traditional chief.

Early Life & Career


Sa'adu Alanamu was born in 1912 to the Balogun Alanamu family of Ilorin. He attended Okesuna primary school, established by the British colonial administration in 1914 as the first provincial school in the then Ilorin Province, Northern Nigeria. After the completion of his primary education, he proceeded to Ilorin Middle school (later Provincial Secondary School and currently, Government Secondary School Ilorin) from where he went on to the famous Katsina College where he met most of the founding political fathers of Northern Nigeria. These included notable Northern politicians and National figures such as the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Premier of Northern Nigeria and Sir Kashim Ibrahim, Governor, Northern Nigeria, Isa Kaita (Northern Regional Minister for Education), Aliyu Makama Bida (NPC National Chairman) and the late Prime Minister, Abuabak Tafawa Balewa amongst several others.

After completing his education in Katsina in 1933, he returned to Ilorin to join the Native Authority after being summoned by the then Emir of Ilorin, HRH Abdulkadir Ibn Bawa. In 1947 (?), he was sent to the United Kingdom (Exeter) as one of twelve Northern Nigerian administrators for a Diploma in Public Administration by the Colonial Administration. These group included Sir Ahmadu Bello, Isa Kaita... Upon his return in 1948, he was appointed the Administrative Secretary, Ilorin Native Authority until 1957 and was a member of the Regional House of Assembly in Kaduna on the platform of the Northern People's Congress from 1953 till 1957 (?). Having been defeated in the 1956/57 Regional Assembly elections by the candidate of the Ilorin Talaka Parapo/Action Group he was appointed the Recruitment Secretary, Northern Nigeria Civil Service Commission from 1956 until 1960(?). He became the Agent General for Northern Nigeria in the United Kingdom in 1959(?). In 1963, after resigning from the service of the Northern Regional Government, he was appointed managing director, Nigeria Produce Marketing Board and served in that capacity until 1968 when he retired from the public service.

As Political Adviser to the NPC, he was a delegate of the North to both the 1953 Carlton House and the 1957 Lancaster House constitutional conferences in London. He was a close associate of the late Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

Later Life
Sa'adu Alanamu established with others, several successful businesses in sectors such as manufacturing, industry trade as well as agriculture. He was the pioneer chairman of Nigerian Ropes PLC, Nirotec Limited and Afrocommerce West Africa Limited. At death, he had a holding company, SAA Nigeria Limited to manage his several portfolio of businesses which included the SAA Farms in Ilorin.

In 1979, he was turbaned the Waziri of Ilorin by the Emir of Ilorin, HRH Alhaji Zulkarnaini Gambari and in 1984, he was turbaned as the 9th Balogun Alanamu of Ilorin. He held these two traditional titles within the Ilorin Emirate and was a member of the Ilorin Emirate council until his death in 1996.

Sa'adu Alanamu Road in Ilorin is named after him.