[4][5] Born into Masaba ruling house of Bida, his father Saidu Sarki was the 8th Etsu Nupe.

He began his early education in the well known Bida Middle School from 1933 to 1943 and then the Kaduna College in 1944.

In 1960 he was federal minister of Internal Affairs before leaving in 1962 to succeed his uncle, HRH Etsu Nupe Muhammadu Ndayako who had passed away.

Belonging to the Masaba dynasty he struggled for the title of Etsu Nupe serving as a Minister of internal affairs together with Usman Zaki's dynasty Abubakar Nakordi the father to the present 13th Etsu Nupe Yahaya Abubakar.

[7] He was the country's Federal Minister of Interior from 3 January 1960 to 29 October 1969 during the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa administration.