PAUL UNONGO, AWOLOWO AND THE TRIBAL POLITICS

I've watched with kin interest a newspaper headline first from Vanguard Online viciously circulating around social media about how Obafemi Awolowo started tribal politics in Nigeria.

It was said that the publication was an excerpt from an interview granted to one of the surviving Nationalist, Paul Unongo who was a UMBC politician in the pre-independence era.

Well, after reading the news, I quick to conclude that it is either Unongo is intentionally been economical with the truth, or he was envying the political dexterity of the late sage.

As a well tutored student of Political History, I will try to provide justification for this my intransigent insinuation.

Paul Unongo failed to narrate to us the incidence that happened in NYM in 1941 that later made Azikwe to leave NYM and form NCNC.

Up till and few years after 1941, only four indigenous people were constitutionally allowed to be members of Legislative Council in Nigeria, three from Lagos and One from Calabar. As at this year, NNDP formed in 1922 was already replaced with NYM, therefore, NYM was the party in Nigeria producing all the four members of Legislative Council as a Nationalist Party.

Precisely in 1941, Sir Kofo Abayomi who was a member of Legislative Council resigned, this created a vacuum that needed to be filled from the party. During the selection process for the replacement, Obafemi Awolowo threw his weight of support behind Ernest Ikoli who was an Ijaw man against Samuel Akinsanya who was Awo's Ijebu brother. With Awo's support, Ikoli emerged victorious. Nobody accuses Awolowo of tribalism on this ground.

Now, coming to the political permutation that sent Azikwe out of Western Region in 1951, I will like to make some cogent clarifications.

Nigeria as at them was practicing Parliamentary system of government, with this, the party that has the majority In the parliamentary house produces the Premier of the government of each region. It should be noted that coalition government (Alliance of different parties) is also a nitty-gritty of parliamentary system of government by then, and even today.

As at this era, South West capital was Ibadan, and three political parties were visible in the election, we had the NCNC under Azikwe, AG under Awolowo and Ibadan Party under Adedibu Penkelemesi.

In the election, NCNC won the majority of the house because of its long standing political engagement since 1944, this could have ordinarily made Azikwe the first Premier of South West Region, but the politics did not start and end with the election, the political alliance that followed the election disfavoured Zik as AG and Ibadan Party formed alliance to create a coalition government, this favoured Awolowo and made AG to produce the first Premier of the region.

As for Dr. Paul Unongo, maybe he should further educate us on how alliance between political parties becomes tribalism in politics, or he should let us know whether it is a sin to have alliance between political parties controlled by tribesmen. The same type of coalition government was what we experienced in 1959 between NCNC of Azikwe and NPC of Ahamdu Bello that produced Azikwe as the first Ceremonial Head of State in Nigeria.

Talking about Nigeria politics at large, Obafemi Awolowo remains a principled man without blemish. The only politician whose ideology lives years after his demise.

At this juncture, I urge we should try to devour subjectivity with objectiveness when past is to be exhumed.

Writing from University of Abuja.

Comr. Ogunsamson.

They just can't understand why Awo did not allowed Yorubas become their football to be kicked around in Nigeria, it was indeed a great loss to them.
Can you imagine some Bolton wanderers wailing and mourning that I refused to be enslaved right in my father's house?.
It shall NEVER be well with the wicked. haters can continue hating on Awo that is their problem.
As long as we Yoruba's keep Awo's dream alive, by forging ahead regardless of challenges facing us, be it in Nigeria or as an independent country, Awo will be happy wherever he is and this is what really matters, not some useless opinion of one loser or another.