Professor Smith was the first Director of Arewa House personally picked by its founder Ahmadu Bello.
[1] Smith was one of the first historians to document the complex history of conflict between Europeans and Arabs in Nigeria.
Professor Smith established the Department of History at Ahmadu Bello University in September 1962 which later produced some of the greatest Nigerian Historians such as Bala Usman and Mahmud Modibbo Tukur.
He initiated major efforts towards the establishment of documentation and research centres and facilities in the form of archives, libraries, museums and an archaeological unit.
The Abdullahi Smith Centre for Historical Research is named after him and conceived by Bala Usman, Muhammadu Dikko Yusufu and George Kwanashie.