Nigeria’s 1959 Cabinet emerged during one of the most consequential periods in the country’s political history. The federal election of December 1959 took place less than a year before independence and brought together politicians whose careers would extend far beyond the final months of British colonial rule.
Among the prominent political figures of the period were Shehu Shagari, Maitama Sule and Usumanu Maitambari. Taslim Olawale Elias would join the federal government shortly after independence in 1960.
Their careers unfolded during a period of rapid constitutional change. Between the federal election of 1959, independence on 1 October 1960 and Nigeria becoming a republic on 1 October 1963, ministerial responsibilities changed, new political appointments were made and the constitutional character of the country itself was transformed.
Lagos, then Nigeria’s federal capital, stood at the centre of this transition as the country moved from British colonial rule to sovereign parliamentary government.
Nigeria’s 1959 Cabinet and the Road to Independence
The December 1959 federal election was Nigeria’s final general election before independence. Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa already headed the federal government and continued as Prime Minister following the election.
Nigeria remained under British sovereignty at the time of the election. The Nigeria Independence Act 1960 provided for the country to attain fully responsible status within the Commonwealth on 1 October 1960.
Under the Independence Constitution, executive authority operated through a parliamentary system headed by the Prime Minister and a Council of Ministers.
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Nigeria remained a constitutional monarchy for the first three years after independence. Elizabeth II was Queen of Nigeria and was represented within the country by a Governor-General. Nnamdi Azikiwe became Governor-General at independence.
Another constitutional transformation followed on 1 October 1963, when Nigeria became a republic within the Commonwealth. Azikiwe became President, while Tafawa Balewa continued as Prime Minister.
The political system that emerged from the 1959 election therefore belonged to the final phase of colonial administration and continued into the first years of Nigerian independence.
Shehu Shagari and Economic Development
Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari later became one of the most recognisable political figures in Nigerian history. Two decades after independence, he became Nigeria’s first executive President under the 1979 Constitution.
Shagari served as President from 1 October 1979 until the military takeover of 31 December 1983, during the period known as Nigeria’s Second Republic.
His federal ministerial career began much earlier.
Parliamentary records from the period surrounding independence identify Shehu Shagari as Minister of Economic Development in the early federal government.
The Internal Affairs portfolio was held at that stage by Usman Sarki.
Shagari subsequently moved through other government responsibilities. By the 1962 to 1963 parliamentary session, he was serving as Minister of Internal Affairs.
His movement between ministries reflected the changing structure of the federal government during the first years of independence.
Economic Development placed Shagari within the machinery concerned with planning and national development at a time when the Nigerian government was preparing to assume full responsibility for the country’s economy and administration.
His later appointment to Internal Affairs formed another important stage of a political career that would eventually take him to the presidency.
Maitama Sule and the Ministry of Mines and Power
Alhaji Yusuff Maitama Sule served as Minister of Mines and Power during the period surrounding Nigerian independence.
Federal parliamentary records from 1960 to 1961 identify him with the portfolio.
The Ministry of Mines and Power occupied an important place in a developing country seeking to expand electricity generation, infrastructure and the utilisation of mineral resources.
Maitama Sule was already a prominent member of the Northern People’s Congress political establishment. His appointment brought him into the federal administration during Nigeria’s transition to sovereignty.
His public career continued for decades after independence.
Maitama Sule later entered diplomatic service and became Nigeria’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1981. He also became closely associated with international opposition to apartheid and served as chairman of the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid.
His service in Mines and Power therefore formed an early chapter in a much longer career spanning Nigerian politics, diplomacy and international affairs.
Taslim Olawale Elias and Nigeria’s Legal Transformation
Taslim Olawale Elias, commonly identified as T. O. Elias, was already an important Nigerian lawyer and constitutional scholar before independence.
He participated in the constitutional processes that helped prepare Nigeria for sovereignty, including the 1958 Nigerian Constitutional Conference in London.
Elias entered federal ministerial office after independence in 1960, becoming Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.
His appointment placed him at the centre of the legal development of the newly independent Nigerian state.
The transition from colonial rule created significant constitutional and legal responsibilities. Nigeria needed institutions capable of operating under its new sovereign status, while federal and regional governments continued to function within a parliamentary constitutional structure.
Elias became one of the leading legal figures associated with that period.
His career later extended far beyond Nigeria.
He became Chief Justice of Nigeria and subsequently served as a judge of the International Court of Justice from 1976 until 1991.
Elias was Vice-President of the Court from 1979 to 1982 and President from 1982 to 1985. He became the first African jurist to serve as President of the International Court of Justice.
His career connected Nigeria’s constitutional transition with the development of international law at the highest judicial level.
Ministers, Parliament and the Meaning of “M.P.”
The initials M.P., meaning Member of Parliament, frequently appeared after the names of political office-holders in contemporary Nigerian parliamentary records.
Nigeria’s Westminster-style political system closely connected the executive with Parliament.
Under the 1960 Constitution, most federal ministers were expected to hold or obtain membership of either the Senate or the House of Representatives within the constitutionally prescribed period.
The Attorney-General occupied a distinct constitutional position.
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Section 81 of the Constitution exempted the Attorney-General from the ordinary rule that could require another minister to leave office after remaining outside both chambers of Parliament for four consecutive months.
This arrangement reflected the particular legal character of the Attorney-General’s office.
Cabinet ministers, ministers of state, ministers without portfolio and parliamentary secretaries all occupied different positions within the machinery of government. These distinctions became especially significant as Tafawa Balewa reorganised his administration during the early 1960s.
Usumanu Maitambari in the Federal Government
Usumanu Maitambari was another northern politician who participated in federal politics during the transition from colonial rule to independence.
He served as a Member of Parliament and later occupied ministerial positions within Tafawa Balewa’s government.
A Commonwealth government directory published in 1964 lists Usumanu Maitambari, M.P., as a minister without portfolio.
Federal parliamentary records from the later First Republic also identify Maitambari within the ministerial structure, including service as a Minister of State.
During the same period, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was headed by Zanna Bukar Dipcharima, while Usman Angulu Ahmed served as Parliamentary Secretary in that ministry.
Maitambari’s political career therefore belonged to the broader federal administration that developed during the first years of Nigerian independence.
His progression through federal political office illustrates how ministerial responsibilities shifted as the Balewa government adapted to the demands of governing a newly sovereign federation.
Four Careers in a Changing Nigerian Government
The careers of Shagari, Maitama Sule, Elias and Maitambari reveal the pace of political change between the late 1950s and the middle of the 1960s.
Shagari served in Economic Development before later moving to Internal Affairs. Maitama Sule held the Mines and Power portfolio. Elias entered government after independence as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Maitambari served in Parliament and later occupied ministerial positions within the federal government.
Their careers developed as Nigeria itself underwent a series of major constitutional transformations.
The Nigeria that held a federal election in December 1959 remained under British sovereignty.
The country that celebrated independence on 1 October 1960 became a sovereign state while retaining the British monarch as head of state.
Three years later, on 1 October 1963, Nigeria became a republic. Nnamdi Azikiwe moved from the office of Governor-General to become President, while Tafawa Balewa remained Prime Minister.
The federal parliamentary system continued until January 1966, when Nigeria’s first military coup ended the civilian constitutional order that had developed through the independence period.
The Balewa Government and Nigeria’s Parliamentary Era
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa stood at the centre of this political transformation.
As Prime Minister, he led the federal government during the final colonial period, through independence and into the First Republic.
His administration included politicians from different regions and parties within a federal parliamentary framework.
The Northern People’s Congress emerged from the 1959 election as the largest party in the federal legislature and formed a coalition government with the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons.
The coalition reflected the political realities of a federation divided into powerful regions with distinct political leaderships and interests.
Ministers were required to operate within this delicate national arrangement while simultaneously building the institutions of an independent state.
The political careers of Shagari, Maitama Sule, Elias and Maitambari were shaped within this environment.
Each represented a different aspect of the new federal administration: economic development, natural resources and power, constitutional law, parliamentary politics and ministerial government.
Their collective experience illustrates the complexity of Nigeria’s transition from colonial administration to independent governance.
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Conclusion
Nigeria’s 1959 Cabinet stood at the threshold of one of the most important constitutional transformations in modern African history.
The federal election of December 1959 produced the political framework that would carry Nigeria into independence less than ten months later.
Shehu Shagari served in Economic Development before later becoming Minister of Internal Affairs. Maitama Sule headed the Ministry of Mines and Power. Taslim Olawale Elias entered the post-independence government as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice. Usumanu Maitambari participated in federal parliamentary politics and subsequently held ministerial office during the First Republic.
Their careers demonstrate that Nigeria’s transition to independence was not limited to the ceremony of 1 October 1960. It was a continuing political and institutional process stretching from the final colonial elections through independence and into republican government.
Together, these figures formed part of a generation that inherited responsibility for governing a complex federation and establishing the institutions of a sovereign Nigerian state.
Author’s Note
Nigeria’s transition from colonial rule to independence unfolded through several connected constitutional stages rather than a single political moment. The 1959 federal election, independence in 1960 and the establishment of the republic in 1963 each reshaped the country’s institutions and leadership. The careers of Shehu Shagari, Maitama Sule, Taslim Olawale Elias and Usumanu Maitambari show how Nigerian politicians moved through changing responsibilities while the federal government itself evolved. Their experiences provide a window into the challenges faced by the generation that transformed Nigeria from a British colony into an independent parliamentary state.
References
Federation of Nigeria, House of Representatives, Parliamentary Debates, Official Report, Session 1960–61. National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
Federation of Nigeria, Senate, Parliamentary Debates, Official Reports, Sessions 1962–63 and 1964–65. National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies.
Nigeria Independence Act 1960. United Kingdom Parliament, 8 & 9 Elizabeth II, Chapter 55.
Constitution of the Federation of Nigeria, 1960. Sections governing federal ministers, the Council of Ministers, Parliament and the Attorney-General.
Nigeria Republic Act 1963. United Kingdom Parliament, Chapter 57.
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Biographical record of Taslim Olawale Elias.
International Court of Justice. Records of former members and Presidents of the Court, including Taslim Olawale Elias.
Commonwealth Relations Office List, 1964. Official British government directory of Commonwealth governments and office-holders.
State House, Federal Republic of Nigeria. Records of Nigeria’s former Heads of State and Presidents.
K. W. J. Post, The Nigerian Federal Election of 1959: Politics and Administration in a Developing Political System. Oxford University Press for the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1963.
