₦airaland Forum

Irony1:
Oga you sabi lie no be small. Calabar was the capital of southern protectorate and not southern Nigeria. And it was only for two years before the Amalgamation ensured the capital was moved to Lagos. In 1951 no one moved any capital of Enugu from there.

See this full.

Southern Nigeria and southern protectorate is what ?

FSBoperator:
See this full.

Southern Nigeria and southern protectorate is what ?

Southern protectorate was excluding Lagos colony. Bros try and read well and stop exposing yourself

peleson1:
You are very cunning

Calabar was the capital of Nigeria and not capital of eastern Nigeria.

Enugu was capital of eastern Nigeria

Full

First page of this thread is about facts, lies and counter- lies.

FSBoperator:
This one has come with his lies.

It is on record that Enugu was built from scratch using resources from minority people.

Enugu was the very first Abuja.

What was the rationale from moving the capital of Eastern Nigeria from Calabar to one desolate water barren land that is Enugu?

Go and read up on why western Cameroun people wanted out of Nigeria and you will see where they condemned the severe marginalisation of the minority enclaves in preference to developing Enugu.

You do know that Enugu became the capital of Eastern Nigeria in 1960 by a majority Ibo house ruling.

You do know that Enugu was dubbed the fastest growing city in the world because every resource was being channeled to building it from scratch.

As per the economy of western Nigeria, cocoa was the mainstay which Yoruba provinces dominated.

And Ibadan was already a cosmopolitan city long before independence .

There was no talk of marginalisation as a reason for wanting to have their own region by the minorities in western Nigeria.

The motivation was to have their own cultural identity which the Oba of Benin used in highlighting as a major grievance.

Did the Yorubas oppose the minority aggitarion?

Capital No.

The Yorubas instead stated that they who led the independence movement will be the biggest hypocrites to oppose the agitation of their own co Africans.

Was this the case in the East and northern Nigeria ?

Hell no.

Enugu that had coal will need resources from other places to develop it? Intresting....FYI, Enugu was a capital way before 1960.

FSBoperator:
Full

That's all you can say when they have busted your lies.

FSBoperator:
All three regional leaders, (Awo, Zik and Ahmadu Bello) wanted to balkanize each others regions.

Yorubas did not oppose Midwestern region unlike how Ibos did everything to block COR region.

A Yoruba man at the regional house in Ibadan was the one who led the motion for a referendum to decide on the creation of Midwestern region.

The majority Yoruba house voted unanimously for such and when the final results were out, another Yoruba man at the Federal Parliament stood up to call upon the federal parliament to ratify the plebiscite.

The entire Midwestern project was conceived by the then Oba of Bini at the regional House of Chiefs from where the issue was quickly passed by a Yoruba dominated house in Ibadan.

The OP is being highly dissenginious in trying to claim Ibos were behind the Midwestern region creation.

Stop with your lies! Midwest region is a creation of nnamdi azikiwe, Taiwan balewa & Michael opara. Yorubas were oppressing the edos, igbos and other minorities in the west then,its well documented fact. Theres was an election where 89% ofthe people of the Midwest voted to leave SW.

Ezeama400:
Very eloquent and Gallant man


History with facts and figures, not fabricated lies, propaganda with zero evidence..

Things were very tough for Midwesterners to the extent that Igbos of Delta state today (Anioma), also resumed their long term agitation which was to join Eastern Igbos if Midwest creation becomes impossible.. Then Okpara and other foresight leaders had to step in to liberate them from westerners, including other leaders from parts of Today’s Delta and Edo states.

At Ibadan those days, they used to lock non yoruba traditional leaders outside, especially those that attended the Council of traditional rulers meeting late, but no record of such happening to Yoruba traditional rulers even when they were also guilty of similar offence..

A lot of incredible things happened in western region where non Yorubas minorities were subjected to a lot of ridiculous situations.

The one that broke Carmel’s back was imposing Yoruba language on non Yorubas in the western region.. Eastern Igbos couldn’t bear it anymore.

YOUR People of ANIOMA only 5% of my ANIOMA people..... Why do OBEDIENTS like propaganda? You start well but in between, fill it with lies....

ANIOMA: 70% EDO
15% IGALA
10% Y of which Pa Ned's dad is from Ukwunzu( mum from EDO / Uzebu royalty Idumuju Igboko )

5% your people, principally from Ibusa( and pockets of few other families elsewhere but not much entering our land in 1450), even Ibusa has Umu Eze Chime of EDO blood line

Ezeama400:
You are a liar, a big one for that matter .

Easterners like Okpara and co i posted his video above came into the picture when westerners were resisting the creation of the Midwest..

If you are sure of yourself, bring evidence and names of Yorubas that pushed for the creation of Midwest..



Yoruba man pushed for the creation of midwest ?

lol

.

Stop the lies..
Awolowo kicked against it.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola also opposed the creation of Midwest region, even went to court and later supported it for obvious reason, he didn’t have options left again because forces were against him, and and also to cripple Awo’s political ambition when they started having issues..


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, minority ethnic groups in the Benin and Delta areas demanded a separate region from the Western Region, which was dominated politically by the Yoruba majority. Akintola as Premier of the Western Region (1960–1962) opposed the proposed region which would later become the Mid-West Region, officially created in 1963.

WHY AKINTOLA OPPOSED IT
➡️The Western Region would lose significant land and population.
➡️The Midwest area contained important resources and revenue sources.
➡️A smaller Western Region could become destabilised, weakened politically and in national influence.
➡️He also reportedly saw it as an attempt by his political rival, Obafemi Awolowo, to weaken the Western Region's territorial integrity and power base.

The Western Regional Government (under Akintola’s leadership at the time) questioned the legality of the federal action — particularly whether the federal parliament had the constitutional power to organise the referendum that would carve out the new region.
The case went up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was Nigeria’s highest court of appeal before 1963. The court ruled that the Federal Government acted within its constitutional powers. That cleared the way for the 1963 referendum, after which the Mid-West Region was officially created.

HIS LATER SUPPORT

Interestingly, following his split with Awolowo, Akintola aligned with the Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Tafawa Balewa who had a vested interest in weakening the opposition-led Western Region by supporting the creation of the new region.
Ultimately, despite local opposition, the Mid-Western Region was created through a referendum in 1963.

Chief Akintola first became Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1959. He took over the position following the transition of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the federal parliament. Akíntọ́lá held this office during the First Republic, with his tenure lasting from 1959 to 1962, and again from 1963 until he was k!llēd in January 1966.



Don’t forget to provide your evidence , don’t bore me with jargons..

.
As I saw this post on fp, I came to troll this same fsboperator character for lying that Yoruba championed the independence of the Midwest. We'd had this argument before, you see, only for me to get here and see he's up to his old lies again. Even being FTC.

SMH.

Ezeama400:
No you lied!!

The British colonial administration—specifically under Sir Bernard Bourdillon and the regional administrative evolution of the Southern Provinces—shifted the administrative focus and capital of the Eastern Provinces to Enugu around 1938/1939 (following its earlier role as the headquarters of the Southern Provinces starting in 1929).

Leave Igbos alone and stop the propaganda.

Your write-ups are so factual and insightful, either you were grown up then or well educated and history inclined or a good researcher, please stop wasting your time with these fellows, immediately one mentioned AI I know who he/she is, knowledge is power honestly, you're a good historian,keep it up

I wished many of these past leaders were sincere in their intentions to lead properly. Nigeria was never ready for independence based on the obvious differences in ideologies, religions & cultures possessed by the regions, so also other African countries. We've found out that whilst colonialism was bad, we've no effective alternative. [quote author=Ezeama400 post=140926846]Video Of Michael Okpara Campaigning For The Creation Of The Midwest Out From SW

Young and ebullient Michael Okpara toured the whole of the region canvassing support for the creation of Mid-West .

His aura and glory were contagious! https://t.co/sTCvKyowQp

— Anambra 1st son (@UchePOkoye) October 16, 2026

]

Ezeama400:
No, you are very ignorant, It’s the other way round.Make your research, Port harcourt was developed with Coal from Enugu in the early 20’s.. The British constructed their first railway from there to Ph. For economic purposes..
Oil was discovered recently when the British were almost gone..

There is a reason Enugu was made the capital just like Ibadan was also capital of the west because of Cocoa


Colonial masters made the three capital for economic reasons..

Enugu, Coal

Ibadan, Coa Coa plantation

Kaduna: Groundnut Pyramids

You are absolutely very correct don't mind that propagandist who is doing everything to turn history on it's head just to redicle those he loves to hate.

plessis:
Awo took proceeds of their resources to build ibadan and left the people of delta and edo with absolutely nothing. Lies and propaganda from those people did not start today.

You cannot point to a block of classroom built by Awo in delta or edo state. But there are several projects of opara outside igboland such as Obudu Cattle Ranch (Calabar Province), Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt Province), Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt Province), Calabar Cement Factory (Calabar Province), ibom oil palm plantation.

Infact, the reason we starved during the war was because opara built the agricultural projects outside igboland.

i am from edo state, if all these your claims are true how come your people till today still fail to recognize south south as a distinct region ?

Ezeama400:
Very eloquent and Gallant man


History with facts and figures, not fabricated lies, propaganda with zero evidence..

Things were very tough for Midwesterners to the extent that Igbos of Delta state today (Anioma), also resumed their long term agitation which was to join Eastern Igbos if Midwest creation becomes impossible.. Then Okpara and other foresight leaders had to step in to liberate them from westerners, including other leaders from parts of Today’s Delta and Edo states.

At Ibadan those days, they used to lock non yoruba traditional leaders outside, especially those that attended the Council of traditional rulers meeting late, but no record of such happening to Yoruba traditional rulers even when they were also guilty of similar offence..

A lot of incredible things happened in western region where non Yorubas minorities were subjected to a lot of ridiculous situations.

The one that broke Carmel’s back was imposing Yoruba language on non Yorubas in the western region.. Eastern Igbos couldn’t bear it anymore.

That foresight he had to balkanize western region in the name of liberating midwest...but when Isaac Boro had the same foresight to seek freedom for his own ijaw people from eastern region, how was it handled...

The disgruntled calabar people whose strongman (Eyo Ita) was displaced for Zik, why didnt Okpara think they deserve to leave the Eastern region.


Now to the truth...The 3 regions had minorities some of whom were disgruntled...Thw middle belt people of benue, igala etc wanted out of the northern region, the ijaws and calabar wanted out of eastern region...but the central govt of Zik/Balewa (North/East) used federal might to balkanise Awolowo's western region who was the opposition party at the time...

Everstrongherbs:
i am from edo state, if all these your claims are true how come your people till today still fail to recognize south south as a distinct region ?

He is a silly propagandist...Many notable people of edo, delta today were beneficiaries of Awolowo's free education....the region was so aligned with the good works of Awolowo that even after the regions were dissolved and military ruled for over 12 years, when democracy returned in 1979, they still voted for Awolowo's UPN party and elected Ambrose Alli who is arguably the best governor the region (bendel (edo/delta) ) have had till date

duro4chang:
Yet they didn't allow the ijaw to have their own region.

Ijaw of 2 local governments? IJaw that did not even fill up Bayelsa?

Ezeama400:
You are a liar, a big one for that matter .

Easterners like Okpara and co i posted his video above came into the picture when westerners were resisting the creation of the Midwest..

If you are sure of yourself, bring evidence and names of Yorubas that pushed for the creation of Midwest..



Yoruba man pushed for the creation of midwest ?

lol

.

Stop the lies..
Awolowo kicked against it.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola also opposed the creation of Midwest region, even went to court and later supported it for obvious reason, he didn’t have options left again because forces were against him, and and also to cripple Awo’s political ambition when they started having issues..


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, minority ethnic groups in the Benin and Delta areas demanded a separate region from the Western Region, which was dominated politically by the Yoruba majority. Akintola as Premier of the Western Region (1960–1962) opposed the proposed region which would later become the Mid-West Region, officially created in 1963.

WHY AKINTOLA OPPOSED IT
➡️The Western Region would lose significant land and population.
➡️The Midwest area contained important resources and revenue sources.
➡️A smaller Western Region could become destabilised, weakened politically and in national influence.
➡️He also reportedly saw it as an attempt by his political rival, Obafemi Awolowo, to weaken the Western Region's territorial integrity and power base.

The Western Regional Government (under Akintola’s leadership at the time) questioned the legality of the federal action — particularly whether the federal parliament had the constitutional power to organise the referendum that would carve out the new region.
The case went up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was Nigeria’s highest court of appeal before 1963. The court ruled that the Federal Government acted within its constitutional powers. That cleared the way for the 1963 referendum, after which the Mid-West Region was officially created.

HIS LATER SUPPORT

Interestingly, following his split with Awolowo, Akintola aligned with the Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Tafawa Balewa who had a vested interest in weakening the opposition-led Western Region by supporting the creation of the new region.
Ultimately, despite local opposition, the Mid-Western Region was created through a referendum in 1963.

Chief Akintola first became Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1959. He took over the position following the transition of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the federal parliament. Akíntọ́lá held this office during the First Republic, with his tenure lasting from 1959 to 1962, and again from 1963 until he was k!llēd in January 1966.



Don’t forget to provide your evidence , don’t bore me with jargons..

Thanks a lot for your copy and paste but please can you also copy and paste for us the real reasons people like Awolowo opposed it.

MOTION ON CREATION OF MORE STATES
By Obafemi Awolowo
Apr 04, 1961

I beg to move the following amendment:
To delete the words of the Motion after `territorially' and substitute `of Benin and Delta Provinces in the Western
Region excluding Akoko Oke District in Afenmai Division and Ward and Western Ijaw Divisions in Delta Province',
provided
1. That the remaining part of the Western Nigeria shall continue to be a region under the Constitution.
2. That a prior agreement shall be reached between the major political parties in the area of the new region on the following matters and that such agreement shall be
embodied in the Act of Parliament establishing the new region, namely
a) constitution of the new region;
b) constituency delimitation;
c) fiscal arrangement;
d) interim administration;
e) date of first election to the new regional
legislature.
3. That the rest of the Federation shall simultaneously be
divided into the following regions:
i) NORTH EAST, that is, Bornu and Sardauna Provinces
ii) CENTRAL, that is, Ilorin, Niger and Kabba Provinces
iii) MIDDLE BELT, that is, Adamawa, Bauchi,Plateau and Benue Provinces, and southern part of Zaria Province
iv) NORTH-KANO Province, Northern Zaria and Kaduna Capital territory
v) NORTH-WEST - Sokoto and Katsina Provinces
vi) EAST, that is, Old Owerri and Old Onitsha Provinces
vii) CALABAR, that is, Old Calabar Province
viii) RIVERS, that is, Old Rivers Provinces and Western Ijaw Division
ix) OGOJA, that is, Old Ogoja Province'

Mr. Speaker, Sir, the text of the Amendment speaks for itself.
Hitherto, the Action Group had adopted two distinct
but coordinated approaches to the issue of more states m Nigeria. The first approach is idealistic
.
The Action Group believe, as a matter of fundamental principle, that if the unity of this country is to be lasting and if our people are to have abiding peace and happiness, each ethnic or linguistic group in Nigeria must be assured of political sell determination within the Federation.

In other words, each ethnic or linguistic group should either have a region of their own now or should have a definite and invincible assurance that, granting financial and administrative viability, they will have a region of their own in the future.


Furthermore, the Federation of Nigeria is monstrously abnormal in structure in the sense that one of the three Regions is not only bigger in territory and population than the other two put together, but has also in actual practice succeeded in placing itself in a position where, at its arbitrary and capricious pleasure, it can bend the will of the entire Federation to its own.

This abnormality must be terminated if every section of our country is to enjoy the full fruits of freedom in an independent Nigeria.

And the termination of this abnormality does mean the breaking of the Northern Region into more Regions than the two hitherto advocated.( emphasis ours)

The second approach of the Action Group to this problem is pragmatic. As a matter of expediency, we believe that the creation of one of the Regions advocated by us is a step towards the eventual realisation of our dream. It is for this reason that we have always supported the demand for the creation of the Mid West Region. But the parties now in control of the Federal Government have been unashamedly illogical, spiteful, unprincipled and opportunist, in their approach to the creation of more States in Nigeria.

There can be no rational ground for their insistence on creating the Mid West Region when demands for the creation of other
Regions in the East and in the North are ruthlessly silenced, or, at the very best, contemptuously ignored.

Since the motion for the creation of the Mid West Region first came to this House last year, we have had a chance of
knowing more of the evil designs of the NPC and the NCNC against the Action Group which is the champion of the
minority group, and against the majority ethnic group of the Western Region.

It is an open secret that the Federal Government plans to use every artifice to install the NCNC in power in the new Mid West Region and, if it could, to incapacitate the Action Group in the rest of the Western Region.

NCNC spokesmen have been very loud in their boast that during six months of control by the Federal Government of the administration of the Mid West Region and of the Yoruba West, the fortunes of the NCNC would have been sufficiently advanced to enable them to win the succeeding elections in the two Regions.

In my letter to the Prime Minister dated 13th July, 1961, I made some important points which can bear repetition on
this occasion, and, with your permission, Mr. Speaker, I quote in extenso from the letter.

`In order to ensure co-operation on the part of all shades of political opinion in the Mid West in all the subsequent steps necessary for the creation of the new State, I have the following concrete proposals to make. First, a conference of political parties with followings in the Mid-West should be convened by you.

The Action Group and the NCNC who are the only parties with the following in the area should have equal representation at the conference. The Governments of the Federation and of the Western Region should be represented as such and in equal number at the conference. The Western Region Government is entitled to be represented because it alone is bound to be affected by some of the decisions that will be taken at the conference.


The conference will be presided over by you, supported by official advisers.

Agreement at this conference will be reached by compromise as was the case at the series of Nigerian Constitutional
Conference over which the Secretary of State for the Colonies presided.

'Second, the matters which should be discussed and agreed upon both at the first and resumed meetings of the conference should include the following: the Constitution of the new Region; allocation of revenue to the new Region; safeguard for minorities within the Region; new report of constituency delimination, that is to say, after a decision has been taken at the first meeting of the conference as to the number of regional constituencies which the new Region should have, it would then be your duty to appoint a Committee to delimit such constituencies (the Commission would, as in similar cases in the past, have consultations with the Action Group and the NCNC representatives before arriving at its recommendation); arrangements for the interim administration of the Mid
West Region, that is, between the coming into existence of the Region and the holding of general election.

In this connection I would like to point out that if the precedent of the Southern Cameroons is to be followed with reasonable modifications, then the present Members of the Western Region Legislature representing the Mid West should constitute the interim legislature of the area. This interim legislature will appoint, from among its own Members, persons who would constitute the Executive Council and thus be responsible for the interim administration of the
new Region.

`Third, it is essential that the Federal Government should make a categorical statement that the rest of the Western Region will ipso facto remain a corporate regional entity under the Constitution.

This statement should not have been necessary but for the statements which some Federal Government spokesmen have made
and which are incompatible with the provisions of the Constitution. it has been said that after the creation of the Mid West Region, what will be left of the Western Region will be regarded by the Federal Government as not legally constituting a Region under the Constitution.

This view is clearly an erroneous one.

In the interest of the people, the Federal Government must not be allowed to fall into the temptation of committing such a grave error as this.

A categorical statement by the Government on the lines suggested above will make the constitutional position abundantly clear and allay any misgivings on the issue.

`Fourth, it is, in my humble opinion, imperative that the agreement reached at the Conference proposed in paragraph 6 above, and the Federal Government's categorical statement on the position of the rest of the Western Region should be reduced into legal terms and should be made to form the Schedule or Schedules of the Bill for an Act of Parliament to create the Mid West Region.'


The Prime Minister's reply, Mr. Speaker, was non-committal. He said, inter alia, as follows — and with your permission, Sir, I quote two paragraphs from the Prime Minister's letter:
`Now specific points you raise in paragraphs 6 to 9 of your letter. The Conference suggested by you of political parties with a following in the Mid West which you asked me to convene is a good idea. But I consider it is a little premature. Such a suggestion can be seriously considered after the Federal Parliament's Resolution has received the blessing of the Western Region Legislature, which is all that remains in order to perform the proper exercise of putting the Constitutional provisions into effect.

`The other point relates to a request for a categorical statement to the effect that, in the event of the creation of the Mid West State, the rest of the Western Region of Nigeria will still remain a Region under the Constitution.

This is an undertaking that the Federal Government cannot give. You will readily appreciate that the issue of the creation of States is not a matter for the Federal Government as a Government. It is a matter, firstly, for the people affected; secondly, for the political parties with a following in the area; and, thirdly) for the Federal Parliament and Regional Legislatures.'


I have listened very carefully to the very short speech made by the Prime Minister in moving the Motion on this subject, and I can find no answer at all to my queries, nor solace for the anxiety of the people of the Western Region in particular and of the minority areas in general.

It goes against the grain, in my view, and it appears to me to be a subtle assault on the Constitution, that, the Federal Government can unjustly and in an indecent haste try to force the creation of the Mid West Region upon the overwhelming majority of the people of the Western Region, without giving the prerequisite guarantees, and without the fullest possible consultations with the accredited representatives of the people concerning procedure.


The whole of this business, if I may say so with respect, smacks of ill-will and spite.

There are many here, and outside this Chamber, who may be startled — and I have no doubt that the Prime Minister himself was startled — by the number of States now proposed for simultaneous creation.

Some will charge us with inconsistency for making this proposal.

If we were inconsistent, then I say that we are in very good company.

It is the most dramatic volte-face in our history for the NPC and for the Prime Minister in particular - the one-time
uncompromising opponent of the creation of any new States at all — to become the foremost advocate and champion or at
least the undisguised godfather of the proposed Mid West Region.

In our case, we have never at any time changed place to take an opposite point of view to the creation of more States.
We have always advocated the creation of more States, and it is merely a courageous and enlightened advance towards the ideal if we now call for the creation of 11 States instead of 6.

The truth, however, is that whatever we demand, whether we demand the creation of 6 States, or 11 States, or even 40 States, we are still acting within the ambit of the principles by which we have always been guided.

As I have said before, our manifest goal on this issue is that more and more States, based on ethnic or linguistic affinity, should be created in Nigeria until each of the ethnic or linguistic groups in our diverse community enjoys political self-determination within the Federation.


Until this ideal is realised, until this goal is reached, consenting minorities can always be constituted into a separate State, as Government now wants to do in the Mid West Region.

In determining whether a particular State should be created or not, regard should of course, be had, among other factors, to financial and administrative viability. I am fully convinced that each of the ix States proposed in this Amendment is viable.

HISTORICAL NOTE: THIS MOTION WAS PASSED BY VOICE VOTE ON THE SAME DATE (APRIL 4, 1961) . IT WAS GIVEN APPROVAL IN THE
EASTERN REGION IN JUNE 1961 AND IN THE NORTHERN REGION IN SEPTEMBER
1961. HOWEVER, IT WAS LATER ON RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND HENCE WAS NULL AND VOID BECAUSE ONLY VOICE VOTE (NO DIVISION) WAS TAKEN.

Ezeama400:
You are a liar, a big one for that matter .

Easterners like Okpara and co i posted his video above came into the picture when westerners were resisting the creation of the Midwest..

If you are sure of yourself, bring evidence and names of Yorubas that pushed for the creation of Midwest..



Yoruba man pushed for the creation of midwest ?

lol

.

Stop the lies..
Awolowo kicked against it.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola also opposed the creation of Midwest region, even went to court and later supported it for obvious reason, he didn’t have options left again because forces were against him, and and also to cripple Awo’s political ambition when they started having issues..


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, minority ethnic groups in the Benin and Delta areas demanded a separate region from the Western Region, which was dominated politically by the Yoruba majority. Akintola as Premier of the Western Region (1960–1962) opposed the proposed region which would later become the Mid-West Region, officially created in 1963.

WHY AKINTOLA OPPOSED IT
➡️The Western Region would lose significant land and population.
➡️The Midwest area contained important resources and revenue sources.
➡️A smaller Western Region could become destabilised, weakened politically and in national influence.
➡️He also reportedly saw it as an attempt by his political rival, Obafemi Awolowo, to weaken the Western Region's territorial integrity and power base.

The Western Regional Government (under Akintola’s leadership at the time) questioned the legality of the federal action — particularly whether the federal parliament had the constitutional power to organise the referendum that would carve out the new region.
The case went up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was Nigeria’s highest court of appeal before 1963. The court ruled that the Federal Government acted within its constitutional powers. That cleared the way for the 1963 referendum, after which the Mid-West Region was officially created.

HIS LATER SUPPORT

Interestingly, following his split with Awolowo, Akintola aligned with the Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Tafawa Balewa who had a vested interest in weakening the opposition-led Western Region by supporting the creation of the new region.
Ultimately, despite local opposition, the Mid-Western Region was created through a referendum in 1963.

Chief Akintola first became Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1959. He took over the position following the transition of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the federal parliament. Akíntọ́lá held this office during the First Republic, with his tenure lasting from 1959 to 1962, and again from 1963 until he was k!llēd in January 1966.



Don’t forget to provide your evidence , don’t bore me with jargons..

After much nonsense spewed by you, can you name one area that the south west don't dominate today? Music? Nollywood? Politics? Your folks? Being hunted by NAFDAC like rats all over Lagos.

FSBoperator:
All three regional leaders, (Awo, Zik and Ahmadu Bello) wanted to balkanize each others regions.

Yorubas did not oppose Midwestern region unlike how Ibos did everything to block COR region.

A Yoruba man at the regional house in Ibadan was the one who led the motion for a referendum to decide on the creation of Midwestern region.

The majority Yoruba house voted unanimously for such and when the final results were out, another Yoruba man at the Federal Parliament stood up to call upon the federal parliament to ratify the plebiscite.

The entire Midwestern project was conceived by the then Oba of Bini at the regional House of Chiefs from where the issue was quickly passed by a Yoruba dominated house in Ibadan.

The OP is being highly dissenginious in trying to claim Ibos were behind the Midwestern region creation.

Excellent Summary! Eloquent!

Very Well put!!

Out of curiosity, why didn't the British build the coal rail line to Onitsha and then build up Onitsha port? Onitsha is nearer to Enugu than Ph. Does it then mean that Onitsha port is not a feasible project?

naijacann:
Out of curiosity, why didn't the British build the coal rail line to Onitsha and then build up Onitsha port? Onitsha is nearer to Enugu than Ph. Does it then mean that Onitsha port is not a feasible project?

Onitsha is not a feasible project. The water body in Onitsha is just a river. It can't handle large vessels.

plessis:
we are waiting for the projects awo built in delta and edo state during his time(1954 to 1959) as premier of the western region.

Every Progaganda has its expiry date.

Awolowo’s administration rolled out extensive cash-crop plantations across the Midwestern provinces to diversify the economy beyond cocoa.
He established massive rubber and oil palm plantations in areas around Benin, Sapele, and parts of Delta. These served as the foundation for the local processing economies that thrived in Bendel State for decades.He set up rural storage and marketing frameworks that guaranteed government buy-back of produce, boosting the wealth of local farmers in places like modern-day Delta.
His government rapidly constructed thousands of primary school classrooms, modern schools, and teacher-training colleges throughout the nooks and crannies of Delta and Edo.Awolowo’s administration built a network of general hospitals, cottage hospitals, and healthcare dispensaries across rural communities in the Benin and Delta provinces. This supported his policy of providing free healthcare for all children under the age of 18.To link the agricultural plantations of Delta and Edo to coastal ports and urban markets, his administration expanded the regional infrastructure with over 2,000 kilometers of bitumen-paved roads.

plessis:
No evidence of infrastructural projects or a single block of classroom in edo or delta state but the media sing praises of Awo's genius.

Does that not sound familiar?😀

Stop this lie. Awolowo build school free education in Edo and Delta. AI is you friend.

Ezeama400:
You are a liar, a big one for that matter .

Easterners like Okpara and co i posted his video above came into the picture when westerners were resisting the creation of the Midwest..

If you are sure of yourself, bring evidence and names of Yorubas that pushed for the creation of Midwest..



Yoruba man pushed for the creation of midwest ?

lol

.

Stop the lies..
Awolowo kicked against it.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola also opposed the creation of Midwest region, even went to court and later supported it for obvious reason, he didn’t have options left again because forces were against him, and and also to cripple Awo’s political ambition when they started having issues..


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, minority ethnic groups in the Benin and Delta areas demanded a separate region from the Western Region, which was dominated politically by the Yoruba majority. Akintola as Premier of the Western Region (1960–1962) opposed the proposed region which would later become the Mid-West Region, officially created in 1963.

WHY AKINTOLA OPPOSED IT
➡️The Western Region would lose significant land and population.
➡️The Midwest area contained important resources and revenue sources.
➡️A smaller Western Region could become destabilised, weakened politically and in national influence.
➡️He also reportedly saw it as an attempt by his political rival, Obafemi Awolowo, to weaken the Western Region's territorial integrity and power base.

The Western Regional Government (under Akintola’s leadership at the time) questioned the legality of the federal action — particularly whether the federal parliament had the constitutional power to organise the referendum that would carve out the new region.
The case went up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was Nigeria’s highest court of appeal before 1963. The court ruled that the Federal Government acted within its constitutional powers. That cleared the way for the 1963 referendum, after which the Mid-West Region was officially created.

HIS LATER SUPPORT

Interestingly, following his split with Awolowo, Akintola aligned with the Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Tafawa Balewa who had a vested interest in weakening the opposition-led Western Region by supporting the creation of the new region.
Ultimately, despite local opposition, the Mid-Western Region was created through a referendum in 1963.

Chief Akintola first became Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1959. He took over the position following the transition of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the federal parliament. Akíntọ́lá held this office during the First Republic, with his tenure lasting from 1959 to 1962, and again from 1963 until he was k!llēd in January 1966.



Don’t forget to provide your evidence , don’t bore me with jargons..

Let's see how your Anioma state will be created.

Very interesting topic dominated by three blind men describing an elephant. But thank God you summarized the whole arguments.

The three political leaders were trying to balkanize one another's province which each initially OPPOSED but later agreed to presenting their own form of states to be created.

Laslas, Awolowo won with his Action Group capturing Midwest!

tunjilana:
He is a silly propagandist...Many notable people of edo, delta today were beneficiaries of Awolowo's free education....the region was so aligned with the good works of Awolowo that even after the regions were dissolved and military ruled for over 12 years, when democracy returned in 1979, they still voted for Awolowo's UPN party and elected Ambrose Alli who is arguably the best governor the region (bendel (edo/delta) ) have had till date

Abi na lie?

Up till today the East is still claiming all minorities area around them.

The North is still claiming all the minorities around them.

The West has no territorial ambition, It is the minorities that want to join the West.

See the difference?

Oga FSBoperated, they asked you to bring your evidence,to prove your point and you are quoting AI for us. The OP is proving his argument with evidence, providing names, year, photo, video which are very convincing.

plessis:
Awo took proceeds of their resources to build ibadan and left the people of delta and edo with absolutely nothing. Lies and propaganda from those people did not start today.

You cannot point to a block of classroom built by Awo in delta or edo state. But there are several projects of opara outside igboland such as Obudu Cattle Ranch (Calabar Province), Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt Province), Trans-Amadi Industrial Layout, Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt Province), Calabar Cement Factory (Calabar Province), ibom oil palm plantation.

Infact, the reason we starved during the war was because opara built the agricultural projects outside igboland.

I asked google AI to list specifically the number of educational institutions built by Awolowo in present delta and Edo states. These include schools built from scratch, existing missions schools which grants were given, primary schoools, modern schools, secondary teacher training etc.

See below

“By scaling the official Western Region education records from 1952–1960 down to the specific Benin and Delta provinces (which historically made up 2 out of the region's 8 administrative units, or roughly 25% of the territory), the numbers for present-day Edo and Delta states are calculated as follows:
• Schools Built Directly: Approximately 900 schools
• Primary Schools: ~780 new schools (Calculated from the 3,120 newly built region-wide).
• Secondary Modern Schools: ~130 new schools (Calculated from the 524 established region-wide).
• Teacher Training Colleges: 5 new campuses (Abudu, Evboneka, Eku, Asaba, and Agbor divisions).
• Existing Schools Given Financial Grants: 15 to 20 schools
• This covers the premium, pre-existing missionary and colonial grammar schools in operation at the time (such as Edo College, Benin and Government College, Ughelli), which received the Western Region's capital Grants-in-Aid to eliminate tuition fees and build new facilities.”

Since you asked for examples, I also asked google to list a few examples:


The primary educational institutions established or fully funded in present-day Edo State and Delta State during the 1950s under Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s Universal Free Primary Education (UPE) regional framework include:

🏢 Teacher Training Colleges (TTCs)

These campuses were built from scratch or transformed into large regional hubs by Awolowo’s government to train an army of educators for the newly launched UPE scheme:
• Abudu Teacher Training College – Abudu, Orhionmwon LGA, Edo State (The Western Region government famously appointed its first administrative staff here in 1953; it has recently been integrated into the Edo State College of Education system).
• Evboneka Teacher Training College – Evboneka, Edo State (Later known as St. David's Teachers College).
• Baptist Teacher Training College – Eku, Delta State
• Government Teacher Training College – Asaba, Delta State

🏫 Local District Council / Secondary Modern Schools

Awolowo's administration introduced this entirely new tier of lower secondary/vocational schools across local government councils in the late 1950s to absorb mass primary school graduates:
• Asaba District Council Secondary Modern School – Asaba, Delta State
• Benin District Council Modern School – Benin City, Edo State
• Aniocha District Council Modern School – Issele-Uku / Kwale axis, Delta State
• Secondary Modern School, Okpara Inland – Okpara, Delta State

✏️ Local Authority (L.A.) & UPE Primary Schools

These modular, multi-classroom public primary blocks were built simultaneously across rural and urban divisions in the Benin and Delta provinces:
• L.A. Primary School, Bomadi – Bomadi, Delta State (A historically symbolic campus established directly after Awolowo physically toured riverine Ijaw communities in 1952 to recruit pupils for the upcoming free education scheme).
• L.A. Primary School, Uselu – Benin City, Edo State
• L.A. Primary School, Ogida – Benin City, Edo State
• L.A. Primary School, Otolokpo – Ika North-East LGA, Delta State
• U.P.E. Primary School – Agbor, Delta State
• U.P.E. Primary School – Sapele, Delta State

FSBoperator:
All three regional leaders, (Awo, Zik and Ahmadu Bello) wanted to balkanize each others regions.

Yorubas did not oppose Midwestern region unlike how Ibos did everything to block COR region.

A Yoruba man at the regional house in Ibadan was the one who led the motion for a referendum to decide on the creation of Midwestern region.

The majority Yoruba house voted unanimously for such and when the final results were out, another Yoruba man at the Federal Parliament stood up to call upon the federal parliament to ratify the plebiscite.

The entire Midwestern project was conceived by the then Oba of Bini at the regional House of Chiefs from where the issue was quickly passed by a Yoruba dominated house in Ibadan.

The OP is being highly dissenginious in trying to claim Ibos were behind the Midwestern region creation.

The issue I have with most of you from that side is how you can tell lies with a STRONG face without caring about the shame and consequences of your lies.


The OP posted an old video to support his claims, but you without any facts and figures to support your lies wants us to believe you abi?


My friend, we are not APC block head followers who doesn't have brains to reason like normal human beings.


🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

I concur. Ezeama400 recap of Eastern Nigeria's history is very informative and detailed. He took the FSB propagandist to the cleaners.

Wispower:
Your write-ups are so factual and insightful, either you were grown up then or well educated and history inclined or a good researcher, please stop wasting your time with these fellows, immediately one mentioned AI I know who he/she is, knowledge is power honestly, you're a good historian,keep it up

Ezeama400:
You are a liar, a big one for that matter .

Easterners like Okpara and co i posted his video above came into the picture when westerners were resisting the creation of the Midwest..

If you are sure of yourself, bring evidence and names of Yorubas that pushed for the creation of Midwest..



Yoruba man pushed for the creation of midwest ?

lol

.

Stop the lies..
Awolowo kicked against it.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola also opposed the creation of Midwest region, even went to court and later supported it for obvious reason, he didn’t have options left again because forces were against him, and and also to cripple Awo’s political ambition when they started having issues..


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, minority ethnic groups in the Benin and Delta areas demanded a separate region from the Western Region, which was dominated politically by the Yoruba majority. Akintola as Premier of the Western Region (1960–1962) opposed the proposed region which would later become the Mid-West Region, officially created in 1963.

WHY AKINTOLA OPPOSED IT
➡️The Western Region would lose significant land and population.
➡️The Midwest area contained important resources and revenue sources.
➡️A smaller Western Region could become destabilised, weakened politically and in national influence.
➡️He also reportedly saw it as an attempt by his political rival, Obafemi Awolowo, to weaken the Western Region's territorial integrity and power base.

The Western Regional Government (under Akintola’s leadership at the time) questioned the legality of the federal action — particularly whether the federal parliament had the constitutional power to organise the referendum that would carve out the new region.
The case went up to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, which was Nigeria’s highest court of appeal before 1963. The court ruled that the Federal Government acted within its constitutional powers. That cleared the way for the 1963 referendum, after which the Mid-West Region was officially created.

HIS LATER SUPPORT

Interestingly, following his split with Awolowo, Akintola aligned with the Northern People's Congress (NPC) and Tafawa Balewa who had a vested interest in weakening the opposition-led Western Region by supporting the creation of the new region.
Ultimately, despite local opposition, the Mid-Western Region was created through a referendum in 1963.

Chief Akintola first became Premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1959. He took over the position following the transition of Chief Obafemi Awolowo to the federal parliament. Akíntọ́lá held this office during the First Republic, with his tenure lasting from 1959 to 1962, and again from 1963 until he was k!llēd in January 1966.



Don’t forget to provide your evidence , don’t bore me with jargons..

Threads like this is just to drive more ethnic division. It's not for history