Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom

Saturday, 1 October 1960
Nigeria gained independence from the United Kingdom on 1 October 1960. And an Executive Council, made up entirely of Nigerians, was led by a Prime Minister, Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Its first government was a coalition of conservative parties, and it came into power on the back of increasingly enthusiastic demands for political independence from colonial powers that swept across much of the African continent during the middle of the 20th Century.

The British recognised that the independence drive had started to gain traction after World War Two, and they steered the country – then the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria – toward a self-governance model.

The conservative coalition government that came into power on 1 October comprised the Nigerian People’s Congress (NPC), the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), and the Action Group (AG) constituted the opposition. The NPC was largely Hausa and Muslim, the NCNC mainly Igbo and Christian, and the AG mostly Yoruba and relatively liberal. The political divisions between the parties were obvious and acute.

References:
• Total Nigeria ”“ The History of Nigeria (Online) Available at www.ng.total.com accessed 29 September 2014

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