Usman Jibrin was a pioneering Nigerian Air Force officer who became Military Governor of North-Central State during one of the most important political transitions in Nigeria’s post-independence history. Appointed after the removal of General Yakubu Gowon in July 1975, he remained in office when North-Central State was renamed Kaduna State during the nationwide reorganisation of 1976.
The state he governed was larger than present-day Kaduna State. It included the territory that later became Katsina State in 1987. Jibrin therefore administered an extensive part of northern Nigeria during the military governments of General Murtala Mohammed and Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo.
His career brought together three important developments in modern Nigerian history: the establishment of the Nigerian Air Force, the rise of military officers as state administrators and the reorganisation of Nigeria’s federal structure.
Early Life and Education
Usman Jibrin was born in June 1942 in the Nasarawa area of Northern Nigeria. Nasarawa State did not exist at the time of his birth. The modern state was created in 1996.
He attended elementary school in Nasarawa from 1951 to 1954. Between 1955 and 1957, he studied at Abuja Middle School. The Abuja mentioned in his educational history was the old northern town later renamed Suleja, not Nigeria’s present Federal Capital Territory.
Jibrin continued his education at Government College, Kaduna, from 1958 to 1962. After leaving school, he worked for several months as an engineering assistant with Television Kaduna.
Television broadcasting was still developing in Northern Nigeria, and his employment placed him close to one of the region’s emerging communications institutions. His career soon moved in a different direction when he joined the military aviation programme created to train personnel for Nigeria’s new air force.
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Usman Jibrin and the Birth of the Nigerian Air Force
Nigeria began preparing for the establishment of a national air force in the early 1960s. The country’s experience during peacekeeping operations in the Congo and Tanganyika had demonstrated the importance of possessing an independent military aviation service.
Recruitment for the proposed Nigerian Air Force began in 1962. In February 1963, sixteen Nigerian cadets were sent to Canada for training with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Usman Jibrin belonged to this formative generation of Nigerian military aviators.
From February 1963 to April 1964, he attended a Royal Canadian Air Force flying school and qualified as a pilot. He then completed a flying instructors’ course in Canada between May and October 1964.
The Nigerian Air Force was formally established by an Act of Parliament in April 1964. Jibrin’s training had therefore begun before the institution completed its formal establishment.
From March to September 1965, he attended a flying instructors’ refresher course in West Germany. His overseas training prepared him to serve both as a pilot and as an instructor within Nigeria’s developing Air Force.
Military Commands and International Training
After returning to Nigeria, Jibrin began a series of operational and administrative appointments. He served as adjutant at the Nigerian Air Force base in Kaduna from 1965 to 1967.
Between 1967 and 1968, he served as squadron commander at the Kano base. He was subsequently appointed commander of the Nigerian Air Force base in Kaduna, a position he held from 1968 to 1969.
From 1969 to 1970, Jibrin was responsible for administration and discipline at Air Force Headquarters in Lagos. He later commanded Nigerian Air Force bases at Ikeja and Makurdi.
Jibrin attended the Royal Air Force Staff College in Britain from November 1970 to November 1971. The programme prepared officers for senior responsibilities in command, administration and military planning.
After returning to Nigeria, he resumed administrative duties at Air Force Headquarters. From June 1972 to February 1974, he commanded the Makurdi base. He then commanded the Kano base from February to September 1974.
His international military education continued in the Soviet Union. From November 1974 to May 1975, he attended a MiG-21 flying instructors’ course. The MiG-21 was a supersonic fighter aircraft and represented a significant advance beyond the limited aircraft available to Nigeria’s Air Force during its earliest years.
Jibrin returned to Kano as base commander in June 1975. The following month, a change of government moved him from Air Force command into state administration.
Service During the Nigerian Civil War
Jibrin served in the Nigerian Air Force during the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. The Air Force entered the conflict as a young service with limited aircraft, personnel and combat experience.
As the war continued, Nigeria acquired additional military aircraft, including Soviet-built MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters. These acquisitions expanded the Air Force’s ability to support federal military operations.
Jibrin later recalled that Nigerian pilots initially operated comparatively small aircraft before more advanced fighters became available. His wartime experience was followed by increasingly senior appointments, including base commands and advanced military training abroad.
The war became a formative period for the Nigerian Air Force. Officers such as Jibrin gained operational and administrative experience that later prepared them for senior military and governmental responsibilities.
Appointment as Military Governor
On 29 July 1975, General Yakubu Gowon was removed from power while attending a summit of the Organisation of African Unity in Kampala, Uganda. Brigadier Murtala Mohammed emerged as Nigeria’s new Head of State.
In his first national address on 30 July 1975, Murtala Mohammed announced the retirement of the existing military governors and appointed their replacements. Lieutenant-Colonel Usman Jibrin was named Military Governor of North-Central State.
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He succeeded Brigadier Abba Kyari, who had governed the state since its creation in 1967. Jibrin was therefore the second military governor of North-Central State.
His appointment came shortly after his return from MiG-21 instructor training in the Soviet Union and only weeks after he resumed command of the Kano Air Force base.
From North-Central State to Kaduna State
North-Central State was created on 27 May 1967 when General Gowon divided Nigeria into twelve states. Kaduna, the former administrative capital of Northern Nigeria, became the capital of the new state.
In February 1976, Nigeria’s twelve-state structure was expanded to nineteen states. During the reorganisation, North-Central State was renamed Kaduna State, and Usman Jibrin remained its military governor.
Jibrin was not the first governor to administer the territory because Abba Kyari had preceded him. He was, however, the serving governor when the name Kaduna State came into official use.
The Kaduna State governed by Jibrin was larger than the state known by that name today. It included the territory that became Katsina State when the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida created additional states in 1987.
Jibrin consequently governed communities across the areas now forming Kaduna and Katsina states.
Service Under Murtala Mohammed and Olusegun Obasanjo
Jibrin’s governorship crossed two military administrations. Murtala Mohammed appointed him in July 1975, and he served under Murtala until the Head of State was assassinated during the failed coup of 13 February 1976.
Lieutenant-General Olusegun Obasanjo succeeded Murtala Mohammed as Head of State. Jibrin remained governor after the transition and continued in office during the implementation of the nineteen-state structure.
Although he is frequently associated with Murtala Mohammed’s administration, a substantial part of Jibrin’s governorship took place under Obasanjo.
Jibrin remained governor until 1977, when Wing Commander Muktar Muhammed succeeded him.
The Dispute Over Radio Nigeria Kaduna
The best-known controversy of Jibrin’s governorship concerned federal policies affecting institutions that had previously belonged to Northern regional or state authorities.
Jibrin later recalled disagreeing with the Obasanjo government over the transfer of important institutions to federal control. His most detailed account concerned Radio Nigeria Kaduna, a broadcasting station with a wide audience throughout Northern Nigeria.
He believed that reducing the station’s broadcasting reach would weaken an important Northern institution, particularly as the country prepared for an eventual return to civilian government.
Jibrin said he opposed the proposal during discussions with the federal military leadership and expressed his willingness to leave office rather than support the policy.
The disagreement reflected the wider process of federal centralisation during the 1970s. The Federal Government was taking control of major institutions in broadcasting, education and other sectors that had previously operated under regional or state authorities.
Radio Nigeria Kaduna had considerable political and cultural influence. Its programmes reached listeners across a large part of Northern Nigeria and contributed to public debate, education and regional communication.
Jibrin’s opposition placed him within a broader national debate about the balance between federal authority and regional interests.
Leaving Government House
Jibrin left the governorship in 1977. In a later interview, he stated that he had only ₦300 in his bank account when he departed Government House.
He also recalled that his car broke down the following morning while he was taking his children to school. The story became part of his public reputation as a military governor who had not used his office for personal enrichment.
After leaving the governorship, Jibrin returned to regular Nigerian Air Force duties. He retired from military service in 1978.
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Farming and Public Service
Jibrin became involved in agriculture after leaving military service. He obtained a loan and established a poultry business, but disease caused serious losses. He also planted a large maize farm, which was badly affected by drought.
His agricultural experiences reflected the difficulties faced by many Nigerian farmers, including animal disease, unpredictable rainfall, limited financial protection and the risks associated with large-scale production.
Jibrin later held responsibilities in public institutions. He served at the Jos Steel Rolling Mill and was also associated with the Petroleum Trust Fund during the military government of General Sani Abacha.
He said he left the Petroleum Trust Fund after disagreeing with the process used to appoint consultants. His departure added another episode to a public career marked by disagreements over administrative authority and institutional procedure.
Jibrin also participated in Islamic and community organisations. He remained active in public affairs and was widely respected among former military officers and Muslim leaders.
The Jaiz International Project
In the years before his death, Jibrin was associated with Jaiz International Plc, the company established to develop a non-interest banking institution in Nigeria.
The company was incorporated in 2003. Jaiz received a regional banking licence in November 2011 and began operations as Jaiz Bank in January 2012.
Jibrin died before the banking licence was issued and before commercial operations commenced. His involvement was therefore connected to the development of the pre-operational company rather than to the later functioning bank.
The project formed part of a wider effort to establish non-interest banking services within Nigeria’s financial system.
Death and Burial
Usman Jibrin died in his sleep at Marmara, Nasarawa, on 8 September 2011. He was 69 years old.
His death brought tributes from political leaders, former military colleagues, Islamic organisations and the Kaduna State Government.
He was buried in Marmara according to Islamic rites. His death ended a career that had extended from the formative years of Nigerian military aviation to the administration of one of the country’s most important northern states.
Conclusion
Usman Jibrin’s historical importance reaches beyond his tenure as military governor. He belonged to the pioneering generation trained to build the Nigerian Air Force before the service was formally established in 1964.
He served as a pilot, flying instructor, administrator and commander of several major Air Force bases. His military education took him to Canada, West Germany, Britain and the Soviet Union at a time when Nigeria was building the personnel and institutions required for an independent air arm.
His appointment as Military Governor of North-Central State placed him at the centre of Nigeria’s political reorganisation following the removal of General Gowon. He governed through the transition from Murtala Mohammed to Olusegun Obasanjo and remained in office when North-Central State became Kaduna State.
His governorship also illustrated the changing relationship between federal power and regional institutions during the 1970s. The dispute over Radio Nigeria Kaduna reflected wider concerns about centralisation, political representation and control of public institutions.
Author’s Note
Usman Jibrin’s life demonstrates how the careers of Nigeria’s early military officers became closely connected to the country’s political development. Trained as an aviator and instructor, he was later entrusted with governing a large and complex state during a period of national reorganisation. His story offers an important lesson about the growth of Nigeria’s military institutions, the changing boundaries of its states and the enduring debate over the balance between federal authority and regional interests.
References
Kaduna State Government, “Principal Officials and Biographical Data: Kaduna State of Nigeria”, in Travel Briefs, Nigeria 01, World Bank Group Archives, 1977.
Nigerian Air Force, “History of the Nigerian Air Force”.
Brigadier Murtala Ramat Mohammed, First Address as Head of State, 30 July 1975.
Kaduna State Government, “About Kaduna State”.
The State House, Abuja, “Past Heads of State and Presidents”.
Nuruddeen M. Abdallah, “Why I Disagreed with Buhari and Resigned from PTF: The Late Group Captain Usman Jibrin”, Daily Trust.
Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation, “Jibrin, Usman”.
“Jibrin, Former Military Governor of Kaduna, Dies”, Vanguard, 9 September 2011.
