Mala Kachalla (November 1941 – 18 April 2007) was

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Borno State Borno is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Yobe State, Yobe to the west, Gombe State, Gombe to the southwest, and Adamawa State, Adamawa to the south while its ea ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2003.

Background

Mala Kachalla was born in 1941 in

Maiduguri Maiduguri ( ) is the capital and the largest city of Borno State in north-eastern Nigeria, on the continent of Africa. The city sits along the seasonal Ngadda River which disappears into the ''Firki'' swamps in the areas around Lake Chad. Maid ...

, the capital of Borno State.

Borno Governor

Mala Kachalla was elected as governor of Borno State in April 1999 during the 1999 Borno State gubernatorial election, running for the All People's Party (APP), which was renamed

All Nigeria People's Party The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was a political party in Nigeria. The ANPP was a household party in the extreme north of Nigeria, primarily due to its mass appeal among more religious voters. It was the strongest opposition party, controllin ...

(ANPP) due to a factional split. His election was financed by

Ali Modu Sheriff Ali Modu Sheriff (born 1956) is a Nigerian politician who served as governor of Borno State from 2003 to 2011. He was the first governor to serve two consecutive terms. Though Sheriff had held two elected offices as a member of All Nigeria P ...

, who became Senator for Borno Central. In August 2000, Borno State decided to adopt

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law. Mala Kachalla reassured Christians by emphasising that Sharia, which includes punishments like amputation and flogging, would only apply to Muslims. In February 2001, he established a Sharia Implementation Committee, which investigated the practical steps involved in introducing

law in the state. After receiving the report, Mala Kachalla said the Sharia legal system would come into force in June 2001. Applying only to Muslims, the laws would ban gambling, alcohol and prostitution, among other vices. In February 2002, riots broke out in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

between Hausa and Yoruba groups, during which houses were destroyed and over 100 people died, including women and children. Mala Kachalla met with the

Lagos State Lagos State (, ) is a States of Nigeria, state in South West, Nigeria. Of the 36 States of Nigeria, Nigerian states, Lagos is the second List of Nigerian states by population, most populous state but the List of Nigerian states by area, smallest ...

governor

Bola Tinubu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...

and broadcast appeals to both sides to end the violence. In September 2002 Mala Kachalla said there were conflicting border claims in the

Lake Chad Lake Chad (, Kanuri language, Kanuri: ''Sádǝ'', ) is an endorheic freshwater lake located at the junction of four countries: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, in western and central Africa respectively, with a catchment area in excess of . ...

area, and that Nigeria was losing control of some island villages there. He said there was no clear cut demarcation between Borno,

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

and

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and that the region was plagued by armed rebels and trafficking in illicit arms and children. In November 2001 police fired at workers in Maiduguri protesting against the withholding of their wages, a breach of a previous pay agreement. The Borno State Police Commissioner imposed a state of emergency. According to the

Nigeria Labour Congress The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is an umbrella organization for trade unions in Nigeria. History The Nigerian Labour Congress was founded in December 1978, as a merger of four different organisations: the Nigeria Trade Union Congress (NTUC) ...

President in Borno State, when Mala Kachalla left office leave grant had not been paid for two years, health and hotel workers were on strike, shoe factory workers could not get their terminal benefits and even pensioners had outstanding arrears.

Later career

Before the April 2003 elections, it became clear that Ali Modu Sheriff would be the ANPP candidate for governor rather than Kachalla. Kachalla left the ANPP and joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He was defeated by Ali Modu Sheriff. In February 2006, Kachalla changed parties again, joining the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Kachalla died at his home in Maiduguri on 18 April 2007, after a brief illness. He was 66 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kachalla, Mala 1941 births 2007 deaths Nigerian Muslims Governors of Borno State All People's Party (Nigeria) politicians All Nigeria Peoples Party politicians Alliance for Democracy (Nigeria) politicians Peoples Democratic Party (Nigeria) politicians