balewa began his education at a koranic school in bauchi; when southern colonial administrators began to push for western education in the northern region, balewa was among the children sent to tafawa balewa elementary school, after the koranic school. thereafter, he proceeded to bauchi provincial school. like many of his contemporaries, he studied at barewa college, then known as katsina college, where he was student number 145. ahmadu rabah, later known as ahmadu bello, was student number 87 and was two years his senior, while abubakar imam was a year ahead of him. the college was several kilometers from bauchi and was not close to a railway station nor other public transportation. during holidays, which was twice a year, balewa trekked home, a journey of more than 400 kilometers. he trekked for 40 kilometers a day, before finding a resting place at a nearby village. in total, the journey took him 10 days.