As a result of the 1959 parliamentary elections, the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) from the Northern Region of N...igeria under the leadership of Sir Ahmadu Bello (the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region) became the country's leading political party with 134 seats out of the 312 seats in the Parliament. National Council of Nigeria and Cameroun (NCNC) based in the Eastern Region of Nigeria under the leadership of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe obtained 89 seats in the same election. Chief Obafemi Awolowo led Action Group (AG) in the West, elected 73 members to the parliament in 1959. The NPC and NCNC (Chief Nnamdi Azikwe's party) coalesced to form the first government of the newly independent Nigeria with Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (the deputy leader of the NCP) as the Nigerian Prime Minister.
Soon after Nigeria got independence the Western region was in turmoil. Premier Ladoke Akintola and Chief Obafemi Awolowo (the federal parliament opposition leader) became embroiled in a protracted crisis. The leadership of the Action Group (AG), which formed the official opposition in the federal parliament, split in May 1962 as a result of the rift between the two party leaders.
The same month (May,1962). the Western House of Assembly was set to remove Chief Akintola after the party had earlier passed a vote of no confidence on the premier in a party meeting, crisis erupted on the floor of the house. The majority expelled Chief Akintola from the party. The then Governor of the Western Region, the Ooni of Ife, Sir Adesoji Aderemi demanded Chief Akintola’s resignation as Premier and named Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro as his successor. Crisis erupted in the Western Nigeria and this earned the region the appellation "Wild Wild West". Abubakar Tafawa Balewa led federal government intervened to curb the violence by imposing a state of emergency and appointed Dr Moses Majekodunmi (the Federal Minister of Health) as Administrator (interim premier of the Western region) on the 29th of June 1962. This became the first imposition of a state of emergency in Nigeria’s history due to heightened levels of violence. Following an alliance between Ladoke Akintola and Ahmadu Bello, Akintola was returned to power on the 31st of December 1962 in spite of protests by Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe who requested fresh elections rather than reinstating Chief Ladoke Akintola.
By 1963, the plot between Chief Ladoke Akintola, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello was perfected and Chief Obafemi Awolowo was arrested for coup plotting/treason. His trial commenced in earnest and he was alongside some accomplices convicted for treason and jailed for 10 years. This again was the first alleged coup plotting and conviction in Nigerian history
Intent on totally decimating Chief Awolowo, Chief Ladoke Akintola together with his Deputy Premier Remi Fani Kayode "Fani-Power" (both of Nigerian National Democratic Party) went into a political alliance with Prime minister Tafawa Balewa's Northern People's Congress (NCP) and new political party known as the Nigerian National Alliance (NNA) was formed
Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe led NCNC teamed up with incarcerated Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Action Group (AG), the Northern Progressive Front (NPF), the Kano People's Party (KPP), the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), the United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC) and the Zamfara Commoners Party (ZCP). To form the United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA)
In 1964, federal elections became due. Ethnic chauvinism, intimidation and violence was part of the frenzied campaigning. Chief Remi Fani Kayode and Chief Ladoke Akintola’s campaign was almost entirely based on tribalism. When the elections were finally held, the result was a victory for the Northern People's Congress (NPC), which won 162 of the 312 seats in the House of Representatives, whilst the NNA held a total of 198 seats. Indeed Deputy Premier Remi Fani Kayode had famously boasted that “there is nothing they can do, whether they vote us or not, we will win.” This statement turned out to be true as massive rigging was orchestrated in the elections. Once again this became the first pioneering act of election rigging by indigenous actors in Nigeria’s history. The announcement of the rigged election results quickly sparked off unprecedented acts of thuggery, violence, arson, mass murders and general acts of lawlessness in the Western region.
Following the crisis, Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe requested the military GOC to intervene and reorganise the elections in the Western region to avoid catastrophe, but the military high command refused and Dr Azikiwe was briefly held in house arrest for making such a request. Without any resolution and with Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello as fellow conspirators with Chief Ladoke Akintola and Chief Remi Fani Kayode in the massive election heist, nothing was done to curtail the violence which gradually intensified. Daily mass murders and arson became routine in the Western region (wetie).
In the midst of the constitutional crisis the elections to the Western House of Assembly were conducted on 11 October 1965. The decline in constitutionalism and disorder accelerated with this election. Ironically no state of emergency was declared; instead the Federal government sent security forces to support the victory of Chief Ladoke Akintola and Chief Remi Fani Kayode's NNDP. The violence and lawlessness in the Western region was to continue from 1964 until 1966. It was under these conditions that a section of the military finally struck and overthrew the government on 15 January 1966.
As a result of the 15 January (1966) military coup, which again was Nigeria's first military coup, key government officials and senior military figures including Alhaji Ahmadu Bello (the Premier of the Northern Region), Sir Tafawa Balewa (the Prime Minister), Chief Okotie-Eboh (the Minister of Finance), General Maimalari (the Chief of Army Staff), Brigadier Ademulegun(Commander of the Northern Garrison) Chief Ladoke Akintola (Premier of Western Region) and so many others were killed.

asorocker:
...
Following the crisis, Dr Nnamidi Azikiwe requested the military GOC to intervene and reorganise the elections in the Western region to avoid catastrophe, but the military high command refused and Dr Azikiwe was briefly held in house arrest for making such a request...

asorocker:
Zik was not a party to Awolowo going to jail and infact worked with the party of awolowo, a yoruba man by the name akintola worked with ahmadu bello to jail awolowo and the sentence was handed to awolowo by justice sowemimo

Deadlytruth:
Zik should have simply resigned from the NPC-NCNC coalition government if he truly had no hand in Awolowo's incarceration and the unconstitutional reinstatement of Akintola to Western Region Premiership position by the government. Meanwhile the Zik who initially rejected Awolowo's AG-NCNC coalition offer on some very flimsy and meaningless excuses later turned around to form the UPGA alliance with AG while it was too late due to Awo's imprisonment. Zik had to fight alone against the Northern Oligarchy's rigging of 1962 census because the Awolowo who would have added an invaluable momentum to the Southern side in that fight had already been weakened by the Zik/Balewa coalition government.
I keep asking why Zik would prefer to form a government with the Born-to-rule chanting Northern Oligarchy against an all South ideologically based alliance that would have in no time placed Nigeria on the path of rapid development and industrialization.

ClintonJr:
I like the way Yorubas are beating around the bush just to drag Zik into the mess, then turn a blind eye to the role Akintola played in jailing Awolowo #backstabbers

Deadlytruth:

I keep asking why Zik would prefer to form a government with the Born-to-rule chanting Northern Oligarchy against an all South ideologically based alliance that would have in no time placed Nigeria on the path of rapid development and industrialization.

Deadlytruth:
Zik should have simply resigned from the NPC-NCNC coalition government if he truly had no hand in Awolowo's incarceration and the unconstitutional reinstatement of Akintola to Western Region Premiership position by the government. Meanwhile the Zik who initially rejected Awolowo's AG-NCNC coalition offer on some very flimsy and meaningless excuses later turned around to form the UPGA alliance with AG while it was too late due to Awo's imprisonment. Zik had to fight alone against the Northern Oligarchy's rigging of 1962 census because the Awolowo who would have added an invaluable momentum to the Southern side in that fight had already been weakened by the Zik/Balewa coalition government.

I keep asking why Zik would prefer to form a government with the Born-to-rule chanting Northern Oligarchy against an all South ideologically based alliance that would have in no time placed Nigeria on the path of rapid development and industrialization.

Duru1:


You probably will continue to wallow in this ignorant stream of thought if you do not brush up on your knowledge base. The question you should first pose to yourself is "when did NNDP break from AG? The formation of NNDP by the rebellious Action Group stalwarts led to Awolowo's incarceration.

asorocker:

http://community.vanguardngr.com/forum/topics/the-crisis-that-truncated-the-first-republic

Deadlytruth:
Zik should have simply resigned from the NPC-NCNC coalition government if he truly had no hand in Awolowo's incarceration and the unconstitutional reinstatement of Akintola to Western Region Premiership position by the government. Meanwhile the Zik who initially rejected Awolowo's AG-NCNC coalition offer on some very flimsy and meaningless excuses later turned around to form the UPGA alliance with AG while it was too late due to Awo's imprisonment. Zik had to fight alone against the Northern Oligarchy's rigging of 1962 census because the Awolowo who would have added an invaluable momentum to the Southern side in that fight had already been weakened by the Zik/Balewa coalition government.
I keep asking why Zik would prefer to form a government with the Born-to-rule chanting Northern Oligarchy against an all South ideologically based alliance that would have in no time placed Nigeria on the path of rapid development and industrialization.

ClintonJr:
I like the way Yorubas are beating around the bush just to drag Zik into the mess, then turn a blind eye to the role Akintola played in jailing Awolowo #backstabbers

Deadlytruth:
Zik should have simply resigned from the NPC-NCNC coalition government if he truly had no hand in Awolowo's incarceration and the unconstitutional reinstatement of Akintola to Western Region Premiership position by the government. Meanwhile the Zik who initially rejected Awolowo's AG-NCNC coalition offer on some very flimsy and meaningless excuses later turned around to form the UPGA alliance with AG while it was too late due to Awo's imprisonment. Zik had to fight alone against the Northern Oligarchy's rigging of 1962 census because the Awolowo who would have added an invaluable momentum to the Southern side in that fight had already been weakened by the Zik/Balewa coalition government.
I keep asking why Zik would prefer to form a government with the Born-to-rule chanting Northern Oligarchy against an all South ideologically based alliance that would have in no time placed Nigeria on the path of rapid development and industrialization.

T9ksy:



Your question is a no-brainer, am afraid.

The sardunna was not too keen on the concept of one nigeria where his educationally-challenged and backward people -his main constituency will be at the wrong end of the economic ladder hence his position was simply, "give me ultimate power in the new nation or else i walk away with my people".

Unfortunately, at the time, only zik and his covetous people were chanting "one nigeria/ pan-Africanism" like an agama lizard who, having fell off a tall tree and believing he's alone decided to nod his head in self-congratulation .

Zik, himself admitted years later that, had he formed a coalition with his southern neighbour, the sardunna will have immediately and without much ado, taken his people out of the new nation. But zik and his fake "one nigeria enthusiasts" would have none of it. They want the northerners who incidentally have never liked the ibos and have never shy away from expressing these negative emotions in more violent forms, first in 1945 and then again in 1953, as an integral part of the new nation.


Meanwhile, their (ibos') sole objective is the absolute domination of the other groups in the new nation but typical to form, there mouth ran out on their myopic cognitive processor which culminate in the unenviable but highly predictable scenario before our very dear eyes extantly, where "the hunter has turn into the hunted "


LOBATAN!!!




N.B: Greed and covetousness is not an endearing or profitable trait.

hollandis:


Pls stop educating thw ignorant people.Ignorance is a disease.These a ssholes dont know Azikiwe was the biggest problem .

2elliot:
You must think logically that at the time of independence, some were naive of the tribal interests and born to rule mentality of others. Nigeria was too young for some of them to understand the game at play.

2elliot:
If this is the only thing your dead brain cells could come up with, then I am afraid you are hopeless.

T9ksy:




....but you with the supposedly functional brain cells can only shoot down the messenger rather than deal with the message.

2elliot:
No offence bro. U be correct guy, but that msg no gel.

Casham:
Zik happens to be the only one of those useless "founding fathers" I respect. Bello is an arrogant religious extremist. Balewa is a known hypocrite. Awolowo is an ethnic bigot and a snitch. Akintola is a selfish mofo.

Deadlytruth:


Zik actually carried all those traits you credited the others with. Go and read Ojukwu's memo about Zik, Ahmadu Bello, Awolowo and see Zik for who he really was

Casham:
of course anything coming from Ojukwu can be comfortably taken as propaganda. Besides, it is expected for Ojukwu to malign Zik; they both Stood for freedom but under opposing ideologies. Zik was pan-Nigerian, Ojukwu was separatist. Ojukwu is one man I respect so much(and I am not even Igbo), but for the sake of fairness, I take anything he's got to say about Zik with a pinch of salt.

ClintonJr:
I like the way Yorubas are beating around the bush just to drag Zik into the mess, then turn a blind eye to the role Akintola played in jailing Awolowo #backstabbers