Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe didn't like to be called Benjamin, however, that was the name the Sultan, Sir Ahmadu Bello chose to call him. The two foremost nationalists had varying interests in Nigeria. Azikiwe, who could speak Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo fluently wanted a united Nigeria because of his selfish interest in being the President of a United Africa. Ahmadu Bello on the other hand, did not want one Nigeria. He preferred his stronghold on the Northern Nigeria. Like his grandfather, Uthman Dan Fodio, he was an expansionist who specialized in accumulating lands by conquest. Even when Nigeria eventually got independence and the country was in need of a Prime Minister, he turned down the request to be one and instead, recommended Abubakar Tafawa Balewa for the job.

When Azikiwe saw that the Sultan was not cooperating with him in getting independence from the British, he approached the Sultan one last time to remind him why Nigeria had to be one. The Sultan blurted out,
"Benjamin, we are not one".

Azikiwe, who wasn't happy with the name decided to call the Sultan by his first name,

"Ahmadu, we can get independence first and sort out our differences later".

An unyielding Sultan replied annoyingly,

"No, Benjamin", he ensured to emphasize the word 'Benjamin'. "Let's settle our differences first before getting independence. Benjamin, we are not one". The Sultan added.

Azikiwe saw it was going to be a wild goose chase, so, he decided to let the Sultan be. Deep inside him, he knew the Sultan was right. We were not one. We are not one. We are divided principally by religion. And on the core is language. On the periphery, we are divided by culture. We have more differences than we have similarities.

However, Azikiwe wasn't going to back down. He had an ace up his sleeves. He had an ambition. At that time, there were the following African leaders:

Kwame Nkrumah: He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, and he played a leading role in the country's independence from British colonial rule in 1957.

Jomo Kenyatta: He was the first President of Kenya and led the country to independence from British colonial rule in 1963.

Julius Nyerere: He was the first President of Tanzania and led the country to independence from British colonial rule in 1961.

Leopold Sedar Senghor: He was the first President of Senegal and led the country to independence from French colonial rule in 1960.

Ahmed Ben Bella: He was the first President of Algeria and led the country to independence from French colonial rule in 1962.

Azikiwe studied in the United States of America. Returning home, he hoped to replicate a United States of Africa. He had a vision of a strong, powerful united African front with him as the President. He knew he needed the support of Ghanaian Nkrumah, the Kenyan Kenyatta, the Tanzanian Nyerere and other of his contemporaries to fulfill his mission, but first, like George Washington, he needed to put his house in order. To do that was an insurmountable task from a defiant and a very strong opposition, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sultan of Sokoto, a religious and an ethnic leader who wasn't willing to compromise the interest of the North. Even when Nigeria eventually got independence, he stood for a decentralized central government which would not erode Northern interest. That was the foundation of the post-independence crisis in Nigeria.

On the side was a Yoruba man who was spreading civilization across his land with lightning speed. He was busy erecting school buildings and offering free basic education to his people. He also established a Newspaper company which he used to voraciously threaten the colonizers. While Azikiwe and the Sultan battled for the soul of Nigeria, the British grew wary of this silent but effective Yoruba man. Unfortunately for the British, this Yoruba man had like minds with equal capacities and same interest working with him as a team. On the side was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the great Ikenne political plenipotentiary.

The Sultan and Azikiwe could battle as they liked, but the man spreading education across his region was the major threat. Education is light. It was only a matter of time before the British shenanigans were exposed. However, the British were smart. Till this day, I still hold this rather prejudiced (or, maybe racist) view that the White are smarter than the Black.

The British gave Nigeria independence but took note of the region that gave them less trouble.

1960 came but the British retained the Nigerian presidency. A Governor General was appointed to be the eyes of the Queen. So, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first indigenous Governor General. The Sultan was chosen to be the Prime Minister but he passed the responsibility to Tafawa Balewa. Then, 1963 came for us to be finally free from the British. There had been elections in Nigeria prior 1963, there was even one in 1923, another in 1951 and so on, but that of 1963 was the most significant as it made Nigeria a republic. There was no more British representative, no more Governor General. We were to come together to elect our National leaders for the first time.

Azikiwe was a step closer to his dream, Ahmadu Bello was scared of losing Northern influence, the British were lurking in a corner ready to back the North and in the shadow was the Yoruba man, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, scheming his political moves with his team of Awo school of politics.


To be continued…

Chidozie Martins Ugwu,
BSc. Economics. UNILAG

Disclaimer: history can never be re-written. I write this with the information and knowledge available to me. A superior argument backed with facts is welcome.

REFERENCES

Appiah, K. A., & Gates, H. L. (Eds.). (2010). Kwame Nkrumah: A life. Ohio University Press.

Falconer, J. (2010). Ahmadu Bello and Nnamdi Azikiwe: Northern and Eastern Nigerian Political Leaders' Views on Nigerian Unity, 1945-1966. Africa Today, 57(1), 23-40. doi: 10.1353/at.0.0178.

Falola, T. (2001). Awolowo, Obafemi (1909-1987). In N. A. Oyebade (Ed.), The Foundations of Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Toyin Falola (pp. 263-284). Africa World Press.

Iliffe, J. (2016). Julius Nyerere. Oxford University Press.

Murphy, D. (2017). Senghor: A life. Ohio University Press.

Windrow, M. (2018). The Algeria Revolution, 1954–1962. Oxford University Press

Throup, D., & Hornsby, C. (2013). Jomo Kenyatta: A biography. Ohio University Press.

FF

helinues:
FF

You didn't tag the supermod, lalasticlala

Umartins1:

You didn't tag the supermod, lalasticlala

To be continued…

And I replied with FF ( Following)

Are you done with the epistle?

helinues:




And I replied with FF ( Following)

Are you done with the epistle?

Oh, no.