in 1957 the colonial office recruited bell to become the governor of northern nigeria, where he worked closely with sir ahmadu bello, the sardauna of sokoto. bello was regarded by the british as difficult to work with; bell came to his new job with an open mind and won over bello to the point that he was asked to remain in his post as governor after nigeria gained its independence from the united kingdom. he stepped down as governor in 1962.