This is an extensive interview. You can read all of it here,
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/02/13/how-the-colonial-masters-empowered-the-north-%e2%80%94-chief-mbazulike-amechi/

but the bolded part got me thinking about Awo

Would you say that the different approaches to decolonisation in the East as compared to the North made the British colonialists to load political advantages against the East and in favour of the North when they were about to go?

Definitely, it was Zik that opened the eyes of people. And then, the radical elements in politics were found more in Igboland and second to Igboland was the Yoruba side. The British colonial authorities did not allow themselves to trust the Igbo man or Yoruba man. The Hausa/Fulani was the man they could trust. And so, they gerrymandered the constitution that brought independence in such a way that made sure that the North had all the powers. If you go to my other book: Nigeria, the Two Political Amalgams you will see the figures I gave there.

In the 1959 election, the election that preceded independence, the NCNC, which was predominant in the East, having 50 per cent in the West and having a foothold in the North through NEPU, scored a total of 2,594,577 votes to capture 94 seats in the Federal House. The Action Group/UMBC alliance had 1,992,364 to capture 73 seats in the House.

The NPC scored a total of 1,992,179 votes to capture a total of 142 seats in the House. So, the constituencies were carved out in such a way that the North would always be in control, and if you look at subsequent delimitation of constituencies and the population figures, the North has always ensured to maintain this pattern of dominance because nobody will like to throw away his advantages voluntarily.

That was a creation of the white man. And two, when elections were over like this and there was no one with a clear majority, what usually happened was that somebody could be called upon to form a government. But in the case of Nigeria it was not like that. Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the NPC was not called upon to form a government. He was not invited by the Governor General to form a government. He was appointed Prime Minister. Balewa’s emergence as the first Prime Minister of Nigeria was by appointment.

What led to that? They could easily have invited him since the figures indicated they had the majority?

What happened was that even the North was not expecting that. They were afraid. But we knew that the British government wanted the North to produce the Prime Minister because they did not trust an Igbo or Yoruba Prime Minister or anybody from the South.

[b]After the elections and the three parties saw their standings, we were meeting at Onitsha a message came to Zik telling him that Awolowo was sending a delegation for the purpose of forming an alliance with the Action Group. They proposed that Zik should be the Prime Minister while Awolowo would be the Finance Minister. We were discussing with the delegation in Zik’s main sitting room when the telephone rang upstairs. Zik went up to answer the phone. When he was coming down the stairs, he said in Igbo, as if he was talking to someone upstairs: “agwo anyi na ya no bu kwa agwo isi na-buo!” meaning: “the snake we are dealing with has two heads!” When he came down, he told the Awolowo delegation: “Okay. Go and tell Awolowo that we are considering his proposal. We will send a delegation back to him”.

When they left, Zik told us that the telephone that he went to answer was from the Sardauna of Sokoto, and the Sardauna told him that a delegation from Awolowo was with him, offering the North Prime Minister and Awolowo the Finance Minister. This meant that if he got what he wanted from the North he would kick the East out and if he got it from the East he would kick the North out. There and then, Zik and the Sardauna decided that this man was a treacherous person and was not the type of person they wanted to work with in a government that would usher in Nigeria’s independence. It was on that ground that Zik and the Sardauna agreed to negotiate.[/b]

During the negotiation the North insisted that they should produce the Prime Minister, otherwise they were not ready for independence. In the agreement signed at the Lancaster House, it was agreed that if any Region said that they were not ready for independence, independence for Nigeria would be postponed indefinitely until all regions were ready. The North took advantage of that. Zik and the top leaders of the NCNC said having fought for independence and sacrificed so much, it was better to allow the North produce the Prime Minister so that the independence would be achieved.

This man call Awolowo nay Devil.

Awo was really desperate for power and wanted to play on the intelligence of Zik and the Sardauna. What a snaky snake.

Hurray the pro Igbo squad is here and have started a new thread to massage their ego

Another Igbo pitty patty thread.

You guys are like a broken record. How do you guys function and succeed in life with all the endless crying and Whinnying?


lol. You even manufacture your own sad and ridiculous stories.

Obviously, Yoruba is what y'all wanna be hence the unsolicited endless love and attention, but y'all ain't born with the swagga  so be yourself and the IGBO y'all are.

Freeking pathetic cry babies.

The topic is about an Evil man Call Awolowo,

Na wahooo. I no fit shout!

Facts are sacred and they always stand the test of time.

Wily+Wily:

The topic is about an Evil man Call Awolowo,

This is about evil Igbo pathetic crybabies.



You don't need to manufacture nonsense to make yourselves feel good, work on your insecurities.

bla bla bla bal bal bla bla bla

Afam:

Na wahooo. I no fit shout!

Facts are sacred and they always stand the test of time.

Afam what if Ahmadu bello made that call to confuse Azikiwe into enteering into an agreement with him?It might not have been true that Awolowo was meeting Ahmadu Bello as the time Awo's representative was meeting with Azikiwe.You cannot rule that out you know

Awo may not have been a saint but come off it guys, Crying like this will not change much.

asha 80:

Afam what if Ahmadu bello made that call to confuse Azikiwe into enteering into an agreement with him?It might not have been true that Awolowo was meeting Ahmadu Bello as the time Awo's representative was meeting with Azikiwe.You cannot rule that out you know

That's a possibility I agree. I would expect people to challenge the position unless all the players but the writer are dead.

babapupa:

This is about evil Igbo pathetic crybabies.



You don't need to manufacture nonsense to make yourselves feel good, work on your insecurities.

The Evil deed of the Yorubas are many, from the deliberate killing of Igbo infants to the massacre in Odi, Your hands are full of the blood of innocent,
pay back day will come one day, sooner or later.

Wily+Wily:

The Evil deed of the Yorubas are many, from the deliberate killing of Igbo infants to the massacre in Odi, Your hands are full of the blood of innocent,
pay back day will come one day, sooner or later.

Wily Wily, i will never forget and will wait till your prophesy comes true. But lets face it oh,i think we may wait til eternity for this to happen.

another avenue for igbo to start weeping again, crap

Nigerians are a funny bunch fighting wars for people long dead. I don't get into this kind of thread, but for once let me comment on this one.

What this story tells me is that all three sides were playing each other. Ask yourself why Sardauna was calling Zik with Awolowo's proposal then you would begin to understand that this story is either coming out of someone's imagination or that all three of them Sardauna, Zik and Awolowo were dealing treacherously.

I don't know which is true, but Nigerians need to focus on things that would move us forward instead of hanging on to what someone said or did not say aeons ago.

The article kept saying the British did not trust the Igbo or Yoruba, but the question is "Trust them to do what?" When you have answered this question you would begin to unravel the mystery of the nation called Nigeria.

mekuszyx:

This is an extensive interview. You can read all of it here,
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/02/13/how-the-colonial-masters-empowered-the-north-%e2%80%94-chief-mbazulike-amechi/

but the bolded part got me thinking about Awo

Would you say that the different approaches to decolonisation in the East as compared to the North made the British colonialists to load political advantages against the East and in favour of the North when they were about to go?

Definitely, it was Zik that opened the eyes of people. And then, the radical elements in politics were found more in Igboland and second to Igboland was the Yoruba side. The British colonial authorities did not allow themselves to trust the Igbo man or Yoruba man. The Hausa/Fulani was the man they could trust. And so, they gerrymandered the constitution that brought independence in such a way that made sure that the North had all the powers. If you go to my other book: Nigeria, the Two Political Amalgams you will see the figures I gave there.

In the 1959 election, the election that preceded independence, the NCNC, which was predominant in the East, having 50 per cent in the West and having a foothold in the North through NEPU, scored a total of 2,594,577 votes to capture 94 seats in the Federal House. The Action Group/UMBC alliance had 1,992,364 to capture 73 seats in the House.

The NPC scored a total of 1,992,179 votes to capture a total of 142 seats in the House. So, the constituencies were carved out in such a way that the North would always be in control, and if you look at subsequent delimitation of constituencies and the population figures, the North has always ensured to maintain this pattern of dominance because nobody will like to throw away his advantages voluntarily.

That was a creation of the white man. And two, when elections were over like this and there was no one with a clear majority, what usually happened was that somebody could be called upon to form a government. But in the case of Nigeria it was not like that. Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the NPC was not called upon to form a government. He was not invited by the Governor General to form a government. He was appointed Prime Minister. Balewa’s emergence as the first Prime Minister of Nigeria was by appointment.

What led to that? They could easily have invited him since the figures indicated they had the majority?

What happened was that even the North was not expecting that. They were afraid. But we knew that the British government wanted the North to produce the Prime Minister because they did not trust an Igbo or Yoruba Prime Minister or anybody from the South.

[b]After the elections and the three parties saw their standings, we were meeting at Onitsha a message came to Zik telling him that Awolowo was sending a delegation for the purpose of forming an alliance with the Action Group. They proposed that Zik should be the Prime Minister while Awolowo would be the Finance Minister. We were discussing with the delegation in Zik’s main sitting room when the telephone rang upstairs. Zik went up to answer the phone. When he was coming down the stairs, he said in Igbo, as if he was talking to someone upstairs: “agwo anyi na ya no bu kwa agwo isi na-buo!” meaning: “the snake we are dealing with has two heads!” When he came down, he told the Awolowo delegation: “Okay. Go and tell Awolowo that we are considering his proposal. We will send a delegation back to him”.

When they left, Zik told us that the telephone that he went to answer was from the Sardauna of Sokoto, and the Sardauna told him that a delegation from Awolowo was with him, offering the North Prime Minister and Awolowo the Finance Minister. This meant that if he got what he wanted from the North he would kick the East out and if he got it from the East he would kick the North out. There and then, Zik and the Sardauna decided that this man was a treacherous person and was not the type of person they wanted to work with in a government that would usher in Nigeria’s independence. It was on that ground that Zik and the Sardauna agreed to negotiate.[/b]

During the negotiation the North insisted that they should produce the Prime Minister, otherwise they were not ready for independence. In the agreement signed at the Lancaster House, it was agreed that if any Region said that they were not ready for independence, independence for Nigeria would be postponed indefinitely until all regions were ready. The North took advantage of that. Zik and the top leaders of the NCNC said having fought for independence and sacrificed so much, it was better to allow the North produce the Prime Minister so that the independence would be achieved.

The Evil deed of the Yorubas are many, from the deliberate killing of Igbo infants to the massacre in Odi, Your hands are full of the blood of innocent,
pay back day will come one day, sooner or later.

you are one of the internet warriors, well your prediction might take eternity to come forth anyway  what will happen to your friends in alaba, tejuosho , tinubu , etc . i thought from earlier thread you guys were claiming to be the economic back bone of lagos or is it nigeria, kindly correct me if you may.

ode remo:

you are one of the internet warriors, well your prediction might take eternity to come forth anyway what will happen to your friends in alaba, tejuosho , tinubu , etc . i thought from earlier thread you guys were claiming to be the economic back bone of lagos or is it nigeria, kindly correct me if you may.

Wily Wily is not igbo.

asha 80:

Wily Wily is not igbo.

I think wily wily is an evil spirit.

Awolowo is gone,so is Zik and Sardauna, we cant change the past. Todays Politics has no ideology ,but decamping,ratifying (for excess crude oil sake). Which way Nigeria ? Our problem is not tribal. Lets push away this Elites ruling using self protective mechanism

@poster
U hate yorubas so much why?

These Ibo folks and their joblessness.
I am sure the OP thinks Awolowo invented the HIV.
What a cretin!!!!

Please this thread is about Awolowo and not Yoruba, except you all are meaning that Awo=Yoruba? Is that the case? Please tell so that we can respond accordingly. Thanks.

All these Yorubas getting upset, because we are speaking the truth about their saint. lol

Awo had typical traits that can be found in many of his people. He was like a snake who could not be trusted. The man talked out of both sides of his mouth.

mekusxxx:

Please this thread is about Awolowo and not Yoruba, except you all are meaning that Awo=Yoruba? Is that the case? Please tell so that we can respond accordingly. Thanks.

I got 4 words for you: You are a CRETIN!!!

I am convinced that Awo is in hell now. What an evil dude!

mekusxxx:

I am convinced that Awo is in hell now. What an evil dude!

What a loser ! And where is your own dad now ?

EzeUche:

All these Yorubas getting upset, because we are speaking the truth about their saint. lol

Awo had typical traits that can be found in many of his people. He was like a snake who could not be trusted. The man talked out of both sides of his mouth.

Wonders will never seize, did i just hear an igbo man call some one a snake ?

hatch#:

What a loser ! And where is your own dad now ?

No need for that. . . . .The OP is a cretinous vermin.

If you peruse the article very well, Zik was in the wrong, not Awolowo but the plonker that posted it just got wooed by the headline.
The North and the East are like male suitors in pursuit of the West(Awolowo).
Awolowo made the West so beautiful that the other 2 wanted it to be part of a new nation. . . .Awolowo went with the North and the East are crying.

hatch#:

What a loser ! And where is your own dad now ?

Might evil man Awo be your dad? If so you must be evil too. So expressly Awo=Yoruba? Now we take it from there.

Sauron the ode buruku. Awo went looking for both Zik and Sardauna at the same time. He thought he was smart but the two men saw through his evil treachery. That is the kind of father you guys have. Bunch of evil people. No typical Yoruba (those of Awo hue) can rule Nigeria. Only people like Obj who hated Awo and his evil ways can. The North and others will always ensure this.

Now I know why only very few Yoruba have ever condemned the evil man Awo. It seems to run in the blood of most of them. Come to think of it, why was Awo always interested in finance ministry? He was a lawyer and not an economists/accountant? Could it be that he was already scheming on how to loot when corruption was not an issue in Nigeria? If any probe of past leaders will take place, it will have to start with Awo as the finance minister. Did Awo's love for the finance ministry the elusive prelude to why Yorubas in govt have turned out to be looters of the treasury?