Bello, Zik and Awo: Youth, Ambition and Unintended Consequences of Independence.

Pointing finger of blame when looking into history is tempting. But, reading two or more accounts of same historical event, by different witnesses, it becomes clear that there are no absolute-truths in history: just points of view. And requires discipline on our part to piece together for better understanding of the past, to build upon the successes, learn from the mistakes, and where possible and desirable make repairs.

From accounts of Ahmadu Bello (My Life), Nnamdi Azikiwe (My Odyssey) and Obafemi Awolowo (Awo), we know the slogan ‘Self-Government for Nigeria NOW’ was demand of the ‘politically conscious’ indigenes. Demand continuously watered since 1923-elections in Lagos and Calabar Provinces, when only Nigerian men who earned £100 annually were allowed to vote.

People who constitute Nigeria were never consulted if they so desired to be a ‘nation,’ let alone, be independent.

Action Group (AG) would go further, at its Owo Conference of April 1951, declaring ‘SGN in 1956,’ knowing by then Macpherson Constitution would’ve run its course. National Council for Nigeria and Cameroons (NCNC) passed same resolution at its August 1951 Kano Conference. Dominant Northern People’s Congress (NPC) preferred ‘SGN ‘as soon as practicable;’’ referred to ‘SGN in 1956’ as ‘invitation to commit suicide.’ 

Confusion on how this ‘new Nigeria’ (another politically conscious slogan of the times) will operate without the British old-guard, set in. Expressed in speech of 29-year-old newspaper-editor and politician in circular tortoise-shell glasses, whose Mid-West Democratic Front (MDF) merged with AG, to support his Private Member’s motion gazetting December 1, 1956 as end of ‘national slavery.’: ‘...Shall we have enough knowledgeable men and women by 1956?’  

This uncertainty, and Hobbesian trap advocates had descended into, for power tussle amongst themselves, would lead to paradox of ‘nationalists’ rejecting self-government.

Alfred Nwapa NCNC-faction (National Independence Party) sided with the NPC on floor of the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos, on that day, March 31, 1953, to amend self-government motion to ‘as soon as practicable.’

AG members and Mbadiwe-led faction of NCNC (Azikiwe loyalists) exited the plenary, with Awolowo retorting:

‘...It’ll go on record that A, B, C and D voted for freedom for their country and that E, F, G and H voted against.’

Adding should British officials keep using ‘Northern majority’ to stop ‘minority from having their say’ it’ll be ‘impossible to accommodate ourselves.’ (Without NIP, pattern of NPC voting along with British officials, frustrated Southern legislators’ motions/bills)

Zik and Awo, who hadn’t worked together for over a decade since Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) days, now in their 40s, would embrace in foyer of the Parliament and formed NCNC-AG pact. But both men hadn’t healed from all that went before.

Their relationship spiralled down in 1941. Kofo Abayomi had vacated his Legislative seat. And Ikoli won it back for NYM at a bye-election. But he’d been imposed on the party that, at their primary, had unanimously chosen Oba Samuel Akisanya to contest the seat.

Zik had become discomfited with Yoruba domination of NYM and saw an opportunity to fracture it. He convinced Akisanya he was short-changed because he’s of Ijebu-Ode extraction (many Ijebu-Remos, who wanted ‘independence’ from Ijebu-Ode, composited NYM and Lagos Colony). Awo won’t forgive Zik for this and other ‘anti-party activities.’

When, after parting ways, NCNC would win all five Lagos Town Council seats in 1951, and AG captured the five seats of Western House of Assembly and mandated to choose two members of LTC as Federal House of Representatives members, Awo served revenge cold. Despite coming second at the elections, Zik wasn’t chosen as one of the two HoR members. He resigned and headed to the Eastern Region.

A. C. Nwapa would twist Awo’s knife in Zik’s back, encouraging NCNC members of Eastern House of Assembly not to step-down. (Zik had become extremely controversial: asserting British colonists plan to assassinate him; militant ‘Zikists’ pamphleteering ‘A Call for Revolution,’ and a member, Chukwuma Ugokwe, indeed, tried to kill the Colonial Secretary, Hugh Foot, at a Post Office)

Image of ‘Yoruba’ being ethnocentric in outlook crystallised in social psyche of the Eastern Region when NCNC’s Adedoyin defected to AG. Didn’t matter that likes of T. O. S. Benson, Adelabu and Fadahunsi continued to hold the fort for NCNC in Western Region, and Mbonu Ojike remained Deputy Mayor of Lagos.

Immediately self-government, backed by Lord Chandos, was achieved for Eastern and Western Regions in 1957, Zik and Awo retreated to their trenches, releasing vitriolic attacks on each other’s party on pages of their newspapers. Both men consumed by ambition to shape the new Nigeria each wanted.

Zik fed on Garveyism, becoming a Phi Beta Sigma brother at Howard University DC, and upon return to Nigeria published ‘Renascent Africa’ to launch his Black-Power movement ‘One Nigeria,’ ‘One Africa.’ Thus, he favoured unitary government for Nigeria’s cohesion.

Awo, seduced by example of Indian National Congress, saw need to divide Nigeria into sub-national States by ‘linguistic affinity and financial viability’ – federal government.

Zik sneered at federalism, ‘...will lead to passport controls between Regions of Nigeria,’ he said, claiming was ethnocentric Awo’s goal.

Equally, Awo insinuated Zik’s unitary government was part of plan ‘...to set himself up as a dictator over Nigeria.’

The perennial argument of which serves Nigeria’s ‘unity’ better was born: a strong Central government or devolved Regional governments?

Bello continued to advice caution to both men. Himself an heir to a successful colonial power that, for hundred years, pre-British colonisation, had by clan-system unified what was now Northern Nigeria, annexing Illorin (Old Oyo) in Southern Nigeria. Bello felt, if at all, social progress must be gradual – Conservative.

Embracing Progressivism as soft-faced youths in NYM, Zik and Awo, alongside likes of H. Davies, E. Ikoli and Mallam Jumare had for mentor anti-colonialist Herbert Macaulay, who branded his Conservative fore-bearers as ‘imperialist agents.’ These were John K. Randle, Moses da Rocha, Kitoye Ajasa, Henry Carr, Richard A. Savage, Orisadipe Obasa, who, like Bello, had three decades earlier championed British indirect rule through Obas and Emirs as beneficial to the Nigerian’s personal development and national unity.

The NYM, with Zik’s West African Pilot for mouthpiece, learnt effectiveness of this tactic and tagged political opponents as ‘imperialist stooges,’ ‘uncle Toms,’ ‘auntie Jemmimas,’ hence, anti-Nigeria. Zik and Awo would visit these remarks upon Bello.

Bello was uneasy regards customs union with Southern Region, ‘...scallywags ...habits of Lagos crowd’ he experiences whenever visiting. But it was sudden timeframe for ‘liberation’ that unnerved him the most, commenting:  

‘The mistake of ‘1914’ (amalgamation) has come to light.’ 

However, Bello, for fear of Southern domination, would come to a view that ‘new Nigeria’ should be a confederation under the British Crown – Dominion status, which Union of South Africa, Canada and Australia were: member sovereign nations having secession rights. Admitting they (North) ‘were late in assimilating Western education...’ (Christian missionaries being colonial-era ‘educators,’ farthest they were allowed into the North was today’s Kogi, ‘Bishop Crowther Holy Trinity School) Bello assured ‘...within a short time we’ll catch up other Regions.’ 

‘Minorities Rights’ was final contention at tail-end of British rule. AG and NCNC supported this advocacy for ‘self-determination,’ demanding three more Regions/States created: Mid-West; Calabar, Ogoja and Rivers (COR); and Middle-Belt.

Zik and Awo saw in creation of Middle-Belt a way to block path laid for NPC to be majority at House of Representatives. Hoping emergence of Joseph Tarka’s United Middle Belt Congress will take some of 174 seats allocated to the North, of 312 total HoR seats.

Willink Commission, suggested by Bello, would dismiss ‘minority fears’ as ‘exaggerated and unreasonable,’ advising ‘Fundamental Rights’ be written into Constitution, instead. NPC became majority and formed first indigenous government in 1957.

Bello faced internal challenges. Aminu Kano, for whom independence was not an end, became impatient with the Jamiyyar Mutanen Arewa (which had become NPC).

Studying in London, Kano had come in contact with Marxist-Leninists advancing interests of the British working class. He favoured such approach in Nigeria.  

Kano incited Northern youths to revolt against the Native Administration: Ma’aji, Dogarai, accusing them of being native colonists. His rallying phrase was from Lenin’s pamphlet What Is To Be Done?:

‘...interests of Talakawa (working class) are diametrically opposed to interests of the master class (bourgeoisie).’ [Despite being a member of the Fulani ‘master class’ himself as son of a Alkali]

The NPC froze him out, assuring the North that consensus politics would serve their interest best. Kano aligned his Northern Elelments Progressive Union (NEPU) with NCNC. And Ibrahim Imam, who shared his view, would defect from NPC to align Borno Youth Movement (BYM) with AG.

Zik would u-turn to accept ‘federal government’ for new Nigeria. Bello dithered long enough and got the Lagos Colony awarded to the North for administrative purpose, by Lord Chandos. The mended Macpherson Constitution, now ‘Lyttleton Constitution,’ was settled upon.

As governments often, in a bid to solve problems, unintentionally create even bigger problems, Bello, introduced Northernisation policy (localised ‘Nigerianisation policy’). He says in his memoir:

‘...if gates to the [civil] departments were to be opened ...Southern applicants will get all posts available ...Northerner’s chances of getting anywhere in Government service will be nil ...might’ve appeared rather childish ...it was a matter of life and death to us.’

Thousands of civil servants lost their jobs in the North because they were ‘Southerners.’ Some replaced with temporary British workers.

Western and Eastern Region politicians, who though their Civil Service was filled by their ‘indigenes’ for obvious capacity reasons, spun this large-scale sack as sign of things to come when NPC forms Central government.

Bunker-mentality developed. Each Region filling its Civil Service with its indigenes became norm. A sad development that soon crept into the private sector, enthroning naked nepotism: ‘man-know-man,’ and bribery. Corruption and distrust bloomed.

Balewa’s first prime-ministerial speech was a call for unity. But corrosive politics that had gone on in decade pre-and-post-independence (chiefly, Awo imprisoned for treasonable felony), little wonder the public welcomed January 1966 coup, though Bello, Balewa, Okotie-Eboh, Akintola had been killed. Trust in politicians was devastatingly low. Thanks to the politicians themselves who, to advance their ambitions, smeared one another endlessly on pages of newspapers with exaggerated claims, forgetting the populace aren’t sheer spectators.

Sadly, we learnt the wrong lessons from this episode. Despite accepting customs and priorities of all Regions are different, we uphold Nigeria’s ‘indivisibility’ as dogma.

Unitary government was foisted after the coup. Battle to control Central government and hold Nigeria together, fiercer. Eastern Region declared Biafra after the counter-coup, and this was again termed treason, hence, the Civil War. Same craziness that would lead to hanging of Ogoni-9, who sought ‘self-determination.’

When second and third generation of journeymen junta and politicians of new Nigeria, were, between 1994 and 1998, pressured by protests [alleged militant activities] of NADECO, headed by that 29-year-old newspaper editor who motioned Nigeria’s ‘liberation’ demand in 1953 now in his seventies. It was settled, again creating a bigger problem, like silly ‘federal character’ written into 1979 Constitution and ‘catchment area’ (ethnic selection into tertiary education), that rotation of presidency by ethnicity was solution to complex issue of social justice.

For events of 1993, these self-anointed-persons recommended two Yoruba presidential candidates to the country in February of 1999, and in May 1999 formed a ‘government of national unity.’

     

Today, subscribing to Commonwealth’s charter, Nigeria is tacitly a confederation under the British Crown, as Bello wanted. And though named ‘Federal Republic of Nigeria,’ with 36 States and Abuja according to ‘language affinity’ (Awolowo's recommendation, though we've jettisoned ‘financial viability’ test), in reality, the States are subordinate to Central government, thus, Azikiwe’s preferred unitary government is active.

Much as it’s tempting, with benefit of hindsight, to blame past and present-past self-seeking political actors for ‘new Nigeria’ never lifting-off. We mustn’t ignore the fact that these were a people who grew up in homogeneous communities, some, before British presence, not aware of the other’s existence.

Awo trekked twenty-four hours from Ikenne to Abeokuta as a child (possibly no one from his village reached the North, nor needed to, before British motorcar and train). Zik’s dad was a colonial clerk, hence, crisscrossed Nigeria. Bello loved ‘the high hills and plains of the North’ so much he refused to live in Lagos and be Prime Minister.

That such persons, upon departure of ‘cement’ that bonded them together, would feel angst, even to point of irrationality, bequeathing to us unintended consequences of their actions (corruption, disjointed Constitution, marginalisation cry, social pathology), is expected.

However, every opportunity we’ve had to untangle this mess by dialogue, the dogma that Nigeria is indivisible has got in the way; a supposed ‘no go area’ at 2014 National Conference.

What's impetus for negotiators to consider each other’s views frankly, and compromise for ‘unity-sake,’ if status-quo is guaranteed from outset?

Personally, I suggest first step to setting Nigeria straight should be to consult the people in a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ referendum, as never was at inception: Should Nigeria be a nation?