Arewa House

Arewa House, at 1 Rabah Road in Kaduna, is the former official residence of Sir Ahmadu Bello, first Premier of Northern Nigeria and one of the founding figures of the modern Nigerian state. After Bello's assassination in January 1966, the property was acquired by Ahmadu Bello University and converted into a centre for historical documentation and research on Northern Nigeria. It now functions as a museum and archive.

The museum holds documents, photographs, and artifacts relating to Bello and to the broader political history of the north from the colonial period through independence. For anyone interested in Nigerian history, this is a serious institution with serious collections. The building itself is also significant — a dignified colonial-era residence that reflects the status and tastes of the northern political establishment in the years around independence.

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A story
The house was the official residence of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and first Premier of Northern Nigeria, from the 1950s until his assassination in the military coup of January 1966. Bello was one of the most significant political figures in Nigerian history — a descendant of Usman dan Fodio, a devout Muslim, and the dominant figure of northern Nigerian politics from independence until his death. The building that houses his papers and legacy has become a research institution, but the history attached to it is formidable.