PROFESSOR Banji Akintoye is a historian, and one of the leading scholars on the history of the Yoruba people. In this interview, Akintoye, who was Deputy Youth Leader of Action Group (AG) in the First Republic, expresses worry that the causes of the Jan 16, 1966 coup and the ‘revenge coup’ of July 29 of the same year are still staring Nigeria in the face. An Afenifere leader and senator who represented Ekiti Central in the Second Republic on the platform of then-Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) led by the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, he spoke  in his Lagos residence last week.

Opinions are divided about the inevitability of the Jan 16, 1966 coup after the crisis in the Western Region proved intractable. But the general view is that the political leaders of that time behaved badly. With a benefit of hindsight, can you tell us what happened? 




Problems started as soon as we became independent in 1960. The British planted the roots of evil. What they did was to manipulate everything to make one little group in the country the controllers of the country at independence because they regarded that little group as friendly people. So, they created a large number of precedents and traditions.

First, it became clear that the election was not the means of choosing rulers but the real people who chose rulers were the people who had power in their hands. That was the beginning of the disaster. The second thing they did was to write into the Constitution the right of the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in a region, take over the region, suspend elected governor and appoint a sole administrator.   So, it happened that...... READ FULL INTERVIEW:
https://ugobestiky.com/no-power-can-hold-our-youths-if-they-want-to-break-away-prof-akintoye-afenifere-leader/

I think Nigeria and Nigerians did not learn anything from our pass and for this reason what occurred in the pass might still occur which will put the end to our unity. And as a result of this we will have a Nation by a Nation of enemy to each others.