₦airaland Forum

Strikethem:
God bless you, but we thank God he wasn't allowed to be the premier of western region where he would have used tribalism to destroy but imposing his tribesmen on us. We saw that when he was president. Awo saw the future then and quickly quenched it.

Deadlytruth:
Though I am neither Yoruba nor Igbo, my open minded research of Nigeria's history leads me to the conclusion that Nigeria's current failure as a country is 95℅ attributable to the self delusions, short-sightedness/greed and stupidity of Zik and Ironsi.
These two figures did a lot of damage to the future of the entire Southerners in the context of the North-South dichotomy.
While there are generally no heroes in Nigeria in the true sense of the word, Zik and Ironsi are relatively the worst villains whose choices and actions laid the foundations of all the present confusion, bloodshed, misrule, etc that have come to define Nigeria as a Shithole.

ODVanguard:
Dont mind those hypocrites. That Zik loss is still paining them till today, probably as much as (if not worse than) Soyinka's Nobel laureate win against their Achebe preference. See, I am always thankful that Zik's longthroat ambition to become Western premiere was stopped in its tracks (they can continue sulking about that failure till kingdom come, na dem sabi). Else we probably wouldn't have recorded the many firsts that hallmarked Awolowo/Action Group's administrative era, like first the first T.V station in subsaharan Africa, first tallest building/skyscraper, the establishment industrial areas, etc, that are still very much around till today.

I doubt that Zik could have achieved anything close to that considering the abysmal and unimpressive legacy he left behind as premiere of the Eastern region - you can't give what you don't have. And also, thanks to that failure on his part, we have been spared what would've been another reason for them to thump their chests in our faces. They would have undoubtedly invented the narrative that it was Zik that 'developed' Ibadan and by extension the rest of the SW; a feat he failed to register in his own backyard throughout his lifetime. Little wonder they honour the likes of Nnamdi Kanu and Ojukwu above him even up till today, yet they expected us to gift the highest leadership position in our region to such a character?

Deadlytruth:
Though I am neither Yoruba nor Igbo, my open minded research of Nigeria's history leads me to the conclusion that Nigeria's current failure as a country is 95℅ attributable to the self delusions, short-sightedness/greed and stupidity of Zik and Ironsi.
These two figures did a lot of damage to the future of the entire Southerners in the context of the North-South dichotomy.
While there are generally no heroes in Nigeria in the true sense of the word, Zik and Ironsi are relatively the worst villains whose choices and actions laid the foundations of all the present confusion, bloodshed, misrule, etc that have come to define Nigeria as a Shithole.

Throwback:
It is good that Azikiwe lived to see the result of his shortsighted politics in the life of his people.

It is also good that he also saw that other regions could also populate themselves in federal government jobs and positions like he was doing with his clansmen and termed as meritocracy during the independence government.

Igboid:
Apart from Yoruba oluwole propaganda gazette and media.
Can we get a foreign neutral media news carrying this Ikejina story, I take Yoruba narratives with a pinch of salt, knowing how liable to propaganda and propagation of Igbophobic falsehoods, you folks are.

I am waiting.

Igboid:
How exactly were Zik achievement in the Eastern region, abysmal, in comparison to those of Awolowo.

Available stats had it that The Eastern region in the 60s under Zik, we're leading in most facets of development, throughout the whole country.

Igboid:
How exactly were Zik achievement in the Eastern region, abysmal, in comparison to those of Awolowo.

Available stats had it that The Eastern region in the 60s under Zik, we're leading in most facets of development, throughout the whole country.

T9ksy:
Abeg, present the "available stats" here for us all to peruse (like DL had just done with the election result of 1951 in western nigeria).

Even free education, zik could not provide for his people though when Awo initially suggested the notion, the former and his clueless and incompetent sidekicks mocked him however these same people who have no concept of shame and a proclivity to eat their vomit, migrated in droves to yorubaland chorusing "One Nigeria" just so they could partake in the free education that Awo (whom they just love to hate) had set-up with his people' s fund to benefit primarily his kith and kins.


That senile hate-filled bigoted man that penned that piece of junk, he called "there was a country", claimed that by the mid-60's, his tribemen had wiped out yoruba's lead in the educational field but the inherently mischevious git failed to eluciadate on how his tribesmen accomplished such a feat.

Igboid:
Zik had a superior system called the "Ibu Anyi ndanda " system, which ensured that even in the height of Awo free education days, the East had more kids enrolled in basic education than Western region.

I have the stats to back this up as well.

Throwback:
You are expecting foreign news to cover a story of tribalism and certificate forgery affecting a character of the University of Ibadan?

Did any foreign news media in this 21st century cover the Dino Melaye ABU scandal or his claims that he graduated from Harvard that Harvard denied?

But you want foreign news media source for a scandal that was news in the University of Ibadan campus community in the 1960s?

jonero4:
o42 4life

Igboid:
Lol!

Neutral? I guess Hitler too were neutral.
You fool no one, your obvious Igbophobic nature is laid bare before everyone on this forum.

If you are neutral, Igbos here would be the first to say it, and not you and your Yoruba fans.

How exactly were Zik and Ironsi the worst villains in Nigerian history?

You mind itemizing your reasons for pushing this falsehood?

MightySparrow:
What are his achievements? Awo talked for three days trying to convince him about secession clause which he vehementy rejected.; the result? IPOB

Igboid:
I take it that this is you admitting that other than the usual Yoruba propaganda media machine, you have no neutral third party account, validating this your Yoruba falsehood.

Thank you.

Igboid:
How exactly were Zik achievement in the Eastern region, abysmal, in comparison to those of Awolowo.

Available stats had it that The Eastern region in the 60s under Zik, we're leading in most facets of development, throughout the whole country.

Deadlytruth:
You deceive yourself. How does neutrality question come in here? Of course there is no neutrality between good and evil. I made myself clear that I don't fancy Ironsi and Zik. How you saw that as a claim to neutrality is beyond my understanding.
Moreover, how can Igbos be the judge on neutrality when they themselves are an interested party to the issue under discuss by virtue of being the brothers of Zik and Ironsi who put us in this mess by virtue of the following:
1. Ironsi introduced military rule into Nigeria through the excuse of the Ifeajuna coup which after foiling he could have saved democracy by simply handing power back to the civilian structure still on ground.
2. At a time when the public was not complaining about the more or less "we the people" independence constitution, Ironsi unilaterally pioneered a review process which would result in a constitutional crisis around which all the national controversies now revolve.
3. Despite the fact that the crisis which led to the anarchical situation in the first republic was a fall out of abuse of power by the government at the center, Ironsi promulgated decrees which further concentrated powers at the center. How sensible was that?
4. Zik and his cheerleaders deprecated and mocked every attempt to have the secession clause in the independence constitution. Such a clause would definitely have instilled the fear of the consequences of misgovernance in all our post independence leaders thus Nigeria would not have been this misruled.
5. Despite the fact that everyone in the Eastern Region registered an aversion for the NPC in the 1959 election where the party scored zero, Zik, in pursuit of his selfish interest, subsequently took the East's NCNC into alliance with NPC thereby giving power to the North to actualize and institutionalize her born-to-rule philosophy as we have it today.
7. The current Benue State, Kogi East Senatorial District and Southern Taraba were all in the Southern Protectorate as at 1900, therefore the South was obviously going to be stronger than the North in all future democratic bargains. But while these three territories were being gerrymandered to the North at the time of regions creation, the Zik who was supposed to be mounting irredentist opposition to it from Enugu as the leader of the Eastern Region into which they should naturally fall was far away in Ibadan greedily seeking to become premier there.
Talk of pursuing a selfish agenda in a far away land while his own home was in flames.
How many would one even enumerate?

sangresan:
I see lies flying left and right here.....Some guys can go to any length to defend the indefensible.

As at 1956,total primary school enrolment in the whole Eastern region stood at 775,000 while Western region enrolment was already more than 850,000 in 1955 when Awo introduced the Free Education Policy.....

Eastern Region also abolished tuition in all primary schools in 1957 and school enrolment shoot up to over 1 million. The policy was abandoned in the East in 1959...(NERDC,1990)

Those who want to rewrite history have a hard task ahead


If you want to argue next time, you go back home and ask your clansmen how many primary and secondary schools were in the whole Eastern Region in 1960 compared to the Western Region....Then, we can compare notes....This quoting of fictitious characters won't help you....The archives are always open to scrutiny...

Talk about Chief Michael Okpara if you want to discuss credible Igbo leaders.
Zik was just a dreamer and given to sloganeering.

How much was the minimum wage in Zik's Eastern Region compared to Awo's Western Region?

#another assignment#

sangresan:
Richard Sklar (Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation. 1963: pg 419)


"Possibly no single decision of the decade prior to independence had been more fateful for the development of the political economy of Nigeria than the education venture of the Western Regional Government during the 1950s"..

Igboid:
This is the annoying part of this whole thing.
We the pro Biafra Igbos left this forum for the naive One Nigeria chanting Igbos to defed Ndiigbo against their so called fellow countrymen Igbophobia?

But what do we get? These weak group of Igbos can't even defend Igboland from hawks in Nigerian political section of this forum. Anti Igbo peeps and posts are allowed to run amok with little or no rebuttal in the absence of pro Biafra patriotic Igbos.
Is this how this group of Igbos want to do one Nigeria with Igbophobic elements in Nigeria?

Where are the ones that call themselves "Igbo defender ", Obailala, Obikenobi1, etc ?, how come they are never found in threads like this, but rather always found in threads where they continiously push Atiku and APC agenda?

Deadlytruth:
Here it is below. It is very long on account of its being very detailed in order to put an end the lie that Zik won and Awolowo used tribalism to deny him of victory.


First Nigeria Regional Elections:
Western Nigeria 1951 Elections
Matthew Mbu and history:
Ambassador Mathew Mbu is a well-
respected Nigerian. But in this piece,
veteran journalist, Mr Felix Adenaike
challenges some of his claims about
Nigeria's past 'Falsehood may have
its hour, but it has no future' -
Francois D. Pressense
In what seemed his 48th
independence anniversary gift to
Nigerians, Dr. Matthew Tawo Mbu,
politician, lawyer and diplomat, gave
The Nation an interview run in its
October 1 edition addressing some
political issues in Nigeria of which he
had been a key player. Among
others, he spoke on the Western
Nigeria election held in 1951, two
generations ago, and repeated the
claim of the National Council of
Nigeria and the Cameroon (NCNC)
that it won that poll, but had been
robbed of victory. Then as now, Dr.
Mbu did not provide any evidence to
substantiate the NCNC claim.
Dr. Mbu said of that election held on
24 September 1951 that: "Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe was betrayed by the
Western Region of Nigeria, not by
the electorate, but by the leaders.
The NCNC won the election against
the Action Group (led by Chief
Obafemi Awolowo), but the Action
Group introduced what was
unknown to Nigerian history",
namely, "carpet crossing. They
Action Group bought members of
the NCNC to join the Action Group
after these people had won election
on the platform of the NCNC. Zik, the
leader of a majority party in the
Western Region became the Leader
of Opposition overnight".
Reminded by the interviewer that the
late Chief AMA Akinloye had
maintained in his lifetime that he
and his group had contested the
election on a neutral platform from
the NCNC, Dr. Mbu said: "That is his
version. He is entitled to say what he
wants to say. I don't want to say ill of
the dead. He knew he was NCNC and
his group was NCNC. Adelabu
remained NCNC. He stuck on to
NCNC till he died".
The late Dr. Kingsley Ozumba
Mbadiwe said in his autobiography,
Rebirth of a nation, among others
that: "But in pursuance of the policy
of creating a political climate healthy
enough to make one a citizen
wherever he lived, Dr. Azikiwe
contested and won the general
elections in 1951 into the Western
House of Assembly. To stultify this
policy of one Nigeria in favour of his
tribally-based philosophy, Chief
Awolowo got some elected members
to cross carpet from the NCNC to his
AG side. Zik the victor lost. And
Awolowo's party was able to form the
government of the Western Region."
At a news conference in Lagos on 20
September 1989, more than two
years after Chief Awolowo's death,
Dr. Mbadiwe returned to the topic
saying: "Dr. Azikiwe and his party
won the majority of seats in the
Western House of Assembly. He was
due to be elected the Leader of
Government Business, when
overnight, the Action Group
introduced the notorious carpet-
crossing. By this manipulation,
members who won under the NCNC
crossed over to the Action Group
building it to become the majority
party in the West. As a result of this,
Chief Awolowo was elected Leader of
Government Business and Dr.
Azikiwe had to resign."
Neither Dr. Mbu nor Dr. Mbadiwe
named the members of the NCNC
who contested the election on the
party's platform and later joined the
Action Group to enable Chief
Awolowo form the government to
the exclusion of Dr. Azikiwe. These
are weighty allegations such that
they would have assisted their
readers to clear the issues rather just
repeat their own version of the
events at that time in the hope that
such repetition would turn
falsehood into facts.
To avert conflicting claims over
candidates, Mr. Harold Cooper, the
Government Public Relations Officer,
wrote to the parties to furnish a list
of the candidates contesting election
on their platforms. Only the Action
Group complied with this request
and its list of candidates was as
follows:
1. Ijebu Remo Division - Obafemi Awolowo and M.S. Sowole;
2. Ijebu Ode Division - S.O. Awokoya,
Rev. S.A. Banjo and V.D. Phillips;
3. Oyo Division - Chief Bode Thomas,
Abiodun Akerele, A.B.P. Martins, T.A.
Amao and SB Eyitayo;
4. Osun Division - SL Akintola, JO. Adigun, JO Oroge, S.I. Ogunwale, I.A. Adejare, J.A.
Ogunmuyiwa and S.O. Ola;
5. Ondo Division - P.A. Ladapo and G.A. Deko;
6. Okitipupa Division - Dr. L.B. Lebi, CA
Tewe and SO Tubo;
7. Epe Division - SL Edu, AB Gbajumo, Obafemi Ajayi and
C.A. Williams;
8. Ikeja Division - O. Akeredolu-Ale, SO Gbadamosi and FO
Okuntola;
9. Badagry Division - Chief
CD Akran, Akinyemi Amosu and Rev.
GM Fisher;
10. Egba Division - J.F.
Odunjo, Alhaji A.T. Ahmed, CPA Cole,
Rev S.A. Daramola, Akintoye Tejuoso,
SB Sobande, IO Delano and A
Adedamola.
The others were as follows:
11. Egbado Division - J.A.O. Odebiyi, D.A.
Fafunmi, Adebiyi Adejumo, A. Akin
Illo and P.O. Otegbeye;
12. Ife Division -
Rev S.A. Adeyefa, D.A. Ademiluyi, J.O.
Opadina, and S.O. Olagbaju;
13. Ekiti Division - E.A. Babalola, Rev. J Ade
Ajayi, S.K. Familoni, S.A. Okeya and D
Atolagbe;
14. Owo Division - Michael
Adekunle Ajasin, A.O. Ogedengbe, JA
Agunloye, LO Omojola and R.A.
Olusa;
15. Western Ijaw Division - Pere
EH Sapre-Obi and MF Agidee;
16. Ishan Division - Anthony Enahoro;
17. Urhobo Division - WE Mowarin, J.B. Ohwinbiri
and JD Ifode;
18.Warri Division - Arthur
Prest and O. Otere, and
19. Kukuruku Division - D.J.I. Igenuma.
Of the names on the list, only MA
Ajasin from Owo Division, which
comprised Akoko then, did not run
because of party solidarity and unity
in Owo. He stood down for A.O.
Ogedengbe and R.A. Olusa to contest
two of the three seats, which they
won, while D.K. Olumofin won the
third for the NCNC.
Three secretaries of the Action Group, who ran as independents and won were:
1. Egba Division- Alhaji D.S. Adegbenro
2. Ekiti Division - J.O. Osuntokun, and
3. Epe Division - S.O. Hassan.
At the close of polls on 24 September
1951, the Action Group had won 38
of the 72 seats in contention out of the total of 80 in the Regional Assembly. The shortfall was due to the fact that elections had been postponed in Lagos and Benin due to security concerns. Lagos had five seats in the West Regional Assembly all later won by the NCNC in the election of 20 November 1951, while Benin had three all later won by Otu Edo candidates in the election of 6 December 1951.
Of the 68 candidates on the list furnished by the Action Group to the Government PR
Department, 38 of the elected AG
members were from that list, and were as follows:
1. Ijebu Remo - Obafemi Awolowo and M.S. Sowole;
2. Ijebu Ode - Rev. SA Banjo and S.O. Awokoya;
3. Oyo - Bode Thomas,
Abiodun Akerele, ABP Thomas, TA Amao and SB Eyitayo;
4. Osun - S.L. Akintola, J.O. Adigun, JA Oroge, S.I. Ogunwale, I.A. Adejare, J.A.
Ogunmuyiwa and S.O. Ola.
Other elected AG members from the
list were:
5. Egba - J.F. Odunjo, Alhaji
AT Ahmed, Rev. S.A. Daramola and
Prince Adedamola;
6. Egbado (now Yewa) - J.A.O. Odebiyi, D.A. Fafunmi and A. Akin Illo;
7. Ekiti - E.A. Babalola
and Rev. J. Ade-Ajayi; Badagry - Chief
CD Akran and Rev. G.M. Fisher;
8. Ikeja - SO Gbadamosi and O Akeredolu-
Ale;
9. Ife - Rev. SA Adeyefa and SO Olagbaju;
10. Owo - AO Ogedengbe and RA Olusa;
11. Epe - Safi Lawal Edu;
12. Okitipupa - C.A. Tewe;
13. Western Ijaw - M.F. Agidee;
14. Ishan - Anthony Enahoro, and
15. Warri - Arthur Prest.
In addition to the Action Group and
the NCNC, there were local/divisional
parties such as the Ibadan People's
Party (IPP), led by Chief AMA
Akinloye; Ondo Improvement
League, and Otu Edo of Benin. At the
end of poll, the standing of the
parties was as follows:
1. Action Group - 38;
2. NCNC and its loyal Independents - 25;
3. IPP - 6
4. Ondo Improvement League - 2.
5. Otu Edo candidates won the three
Benin seats, namely, Chief SO
Ighodaro, Chief Humphrey Omo-
Osagie and Chief Chike Ekwuyasi.
Chief Ighodaro opted for the AG,
while the latter two went to the
NCNC. And of the six IPP elected
members, only Adegoke Adelabu
joined the NCNC. The rest of them:
AMA Akinloye, Chief DT Akinbiyi
(who later became the Olubadan of
Ibadan), Chief SO Lanlehin,
Moyosore Aboderin and SA
Akinyemi, opted for the Action
Group. The NCNC National Secretary,
the late Chief Kola Balogun had sent
declaration forms to the IPP
assemblymen asking them to declare
for the NCNC but Chief Akinloye
returned all the forms uncompleted.
The three AG secretaries who had
run as independents - Adegbenro,
Osuntokun and Hassan, five IPP
members, one Etu Edo, and one
Ondo Improvement League, Chief
F.O. Awosika; and Chief Timothy
Adeola Odutola (Independent, Ijebu
Ode) had swollen the number of the
AG elected members. All the
transactions had taken place before
the inauguration of the Regional
Assembly on 7 January 1952. These
were not known members of the
NCNC, nor did the party publish their
names on the list of its candidates,
but claimed them as its "members,
supporters or sympathisers",
according to inimitable Zik in his My
Odyssey, " It takes more than
speculation to claim a person as a
member of your political party". You
cannot just be under the
"impression" as Zik had claimed that
they were and go ahead to field them
as electoral candidates.
For over a
half century, the NCNC is yet to
provide evidence to back its claim
that it had won the West Regional
election in 1951.
Mr Cooper absolved his department
of responsibility for the controversy
generated by the NCNC after the
election. At a post election news
conference in Lagos he said that "Of
the winning candidates, the names
of 38 were on the list sent to me by
the Action Group. The six successful
candidates at Ibadan were all among
those who had been identified to me
as representing the Ibadan People's
Party. No claim of any kind had
reached us about the party affiliation
of the remaining successful
candidates." Why did the NCNC not
send a list of its candidates for the
poll to the Government PR
Department before that poll? And
why have Dr. Mbu and the others not
published the list of NCNC
candidates to substantiate their
electoral victory claim in over 50
years but merely kept reaping false
claims? The records of the poll
conducted in the West and all over
Nigeria by the colonial administration are available at the National Archives and can be accessed by any honest researcher.
In this matter, it is facts that speak,
not what some political/ethnic
partisan said or did not say.
Dr Azikiwe's frustration was not only
in losing the regional election, he
also lost the election to the House of
Representatives held on 10 January
1951 at the House of Assembly, Ibadan, among NCNC members. The total tally for the 1951 poll in the 80 member Western Regional Assembly was as follows:
1. Action Group - 38;
2. Independent/AG - 15;
3. NCNC - 24;
4. Independent/NCNC - 3.
Three
members of the NCNC who had been
elected to the House changed party
allegiance that day ahead of the
House of Representatives vote. They
were: Chief SY Kesington-Momoh, JG
Ako, and Awodi Orisaremi, from
Urhobo and Kukuruku Divisions.
They were running for the House of
Representatives and wanted Action
Group votes. Kesington-Momoh and
Ako were elected, but Orisaremi went
back to the NCNC. That was all the
carpet-crossing that took place on 10
January 1952, namely, three at first
to the AG and one back to the NCNC.
From the vote tally, it is clear that the
NCNC and the Independent /NCNC
totalling 27 seats altogether out of
80 seats could not have formed the
Government of Western Nigeria.
Even if the local/divisional parties
had chosen the NCNC, it would still
be some seats short of 41 required to
form the government. The Action
Group won 38 seats; its independent
candidates - Adegbenro, Osuntokun,
Hassan and Odutola won four seats
making a total of 42 seats. The AG
could have formed the government
without the support of the other
small parties. It did not have to
"bribe" anybody to join it to form the
government. Since politics is a game
of number, only few principled
politicians would not be disposed to
joining the winning party, in this
case, the AG.
Dr. Mbadiwe also claimed in his
book: "Successful NCNC men who
were not Yoruba were scared away.
Dr. Azikiwe who won a seat to the
Western House (of) Assembly from a
Lagos constituency decided to resign.
Since membership of the House of
Representatives was by an electoral
college in the regional house, no
NCNC from the West came to the
House of Representatives in Lagos".
This is blatantly false. Zik resigned
because he lost election to the
federal house from the West, while
Prince Adeleke Adedoyin, Dr. Ibiyinka
Olorun-Nimbe, Chief Frank Oputa-
Otutu, Chief Denis Osadebey and Sir
Odeleye Fadahunsi were elected
from Ibadan to Lagos. Who ever
scared non-Yoruba NCNC people
from the West? Chief Denis
Osadebey succeeded Adegoke
Adelabu as Opposition Leader in the
West and the likes of Humphrey
Omo-Osagie, Festus Okotie-Eboh,
Chike Ekwuyasi, Fidelis H Utomi, Obi
Osagie, Yamu Numa, GO Oweh and
GB Ometan were non-Yoruba NCNC
in that Assembly.
As Mme De Stael says: The "search
for the truth is the noblest
occupation of man; its publication is
a duty". Dr. Mbu and his political
entourage have chosen their own
side of history. It remains to be seen
whether or not history will absolve
them. Their contemporary audience
is composed of intelligent people
who will search after the truth
without inheriting the political
prejudice and stereotype of their
lying grand-parents. That is the way
ahead for Nigeria. And "the greatest
friend of truth is time; her greatest
enemy is prejudice". - CC Calton

femi4:
wasn't the first in the Country but the first independent University. Ibadan was the first University in Nigeria

University College Ibadan was established on 17th November 1948 with three founding faculties; Arts, Science and Medicine

Igboid:
You were the one who dubiously introduced neutrality issue here, forcing me to make it clear that you are too Igbophobic to lay claim to any neutrality claim on any discussion involving Igbos on this board. Your antecedents and posts history speak for you. You can't lay claim to neutrality, neither can you lay claim to being good, you had since crossed that line.

1. Military rule in Nigeria was first introduced by Nzeogwu and people like Ademoyega, who decided to usurp a sitting civilian government in Jan 1966.


2. True. Yet those who removed and killed him for it, decided to consolidate and entrench the same military and unity government rule they accused Ironsi of being guilty of.
9yrs, Gowon had to return the country back to civilian rule, but chose to perpetuate himself in government, but we are supposed to blame Ironsi who ruled for just 6 months for Gowon failures?

3. Even more senseless is the fact that Gowon the man you present as hero, and his gang saw to the death of Ironsi, on the ground of his unity government, yet they perpetuated the unity system and refused to change it for 9yrs, isn't this more senseless?
Of course, I expect you to come up with excuses on why Gowon refused to correct Ironsi "senseless" decision, but rather perpetuated it.

4. Zik was a leader of NCNC, a multi ethnic national party with members spread between the then three regions of the federation, the decision to pursue Nigerian unity using diplomatic means was an NCNC decision, not Ziks personal decision, the party members never objected.
Were NCNC shortsighted for pursing and believing in Nigeria unity? Well events that occurred later and current failed state of Nigeria, suggests they were.

5. Again, NCNC was not East's NCNC, I understand why you are diabolically trying to make NCNC an east only party. But facts remain that NCNC was a national party with members across the three regions.
Here : https://www.nairaland.com/3780719/politics-first-coalition-govt-nigeria
We can see why Zik and NCNC were pushed into alliance with the NPC.
Awo and AG were treacherous and dishonest in their dealings with both NPC and NCNC.

7. How old exactly was Zik in 1900, how could Zik travel back in time and undo and event that occurred before the first almagamation of 1906? Can you see how far your Igbophobia had driven you? Why wasn't Awo advocating and fighting for unification of Western Kogi and Kwara which even had ethnic Yorubas in them with Southern region.


I know you stock in trade is to unnecessary lengthen discussions with unnecessary diversions until your opponent gets bored, but I will only try to avoid your unnecessary diversions.

Deadlytruth:
Where did I even mention neutrality in my very first comment that attracted your response? For your information neutrality is not about apportioning blames equally but correctly which is what I did. The blame for the pioneership of the events which led Nigeria astray rests squarely on Zik and Ironsi's myopic quests for unitary system disguised as a call, albeit dubious, for One-Nigeria. Note the term pioneership
As a minority person, why should I not be igbophobic when the unitary system which Igbos brought into Nigeria through the backdoor has perpetually endangered the minorities? Are you expecting them to send you kisses and thank you cards for for being the first to dismantle federalism which guaranteed their protection from the overbearing attitude of the majorities?


1. Stop being clever by half. As long as the Ifeajuna (not Nzeogwu) coup was unsuccessful it can't be the originator of military rule. Ironsi's coup which actually took power from the civilians was.

2. You personally agree that Ironsi brought unitary system? But some of your brothers here go all lengths to deny it. So who should we believe now?
The Core North's objective for toppling Ironsi was not primarily to correct his blunders but to further perpetrate them so that Igbos might through practical experience understand why unitary system is not desirable for a multi-ethnic nation and therefore unlearn their belief in it. On that account, Gowon's 9 year stay was not even enough to purge Igbos of their over 40 year old fixation with unitary system against every reality on ground.
3. Gowon, on a personal note, had actually begun to reverse Ironsi's blunders until it was overtaken by Ojukwu's intransigence.
4. A party is as good as its leader. Besides that, majority of those asking for one Nigeria were Igbos both in NCNC and outside it. The few Yorubas who joined Zik in that stupid One-Nigeria sloganeering did so to avoid being guilty of anti-party activities. Don't forget that the quest for unitary system disguised as the call for One-Nigeria was initially not in the NCNC's ideology until Zik became its leader.

By the way, how did all your diversion on this answer my question as to why Zik decided to take NCNC into an alliance with the NPC despite the entire South and especially the East rejected it at the polls? What sort of nationalism was Zik pursing by acting against the will of the entire South in favour of the North? Was Nigeria made up of the North alone? In which Southern voter's interest did he do such?
Let us even take it hypothetically that Awolowo was treacherous. Should that have justified going into an alliance that would on a platter of gold give absolute powers to those who had made themselves clear that they would not mind killing and subduing Southerners and even proving it with the 1945 and 1953 Jos and Kano massacres respectively?
Was the independence alliance question about Awolowo or about the need to forestall the impending second class citizen status of all of Southerners spelt by the North's born to rule philosophy?
It is just like how the same Zik gave Ojukwu's egocentric leadership style as excuse for his defection to the federal side during the Biafra War. Was the war in question was about Ojukwu or the freedom, safety and dignity of a whole race?

5. As at independence the NCNC's operational base had shifted to the East thus it had become an Igbo party and representative of Igbo interests considering the fact that other Southern tribes had found reasons to break away from it into splinters like OIL, IPP, Otu Edo, Niger Delta Congress, etc. Moreover Zik had tribalized it by making an Igbo man his successor as leader despite he himself succeeded a non-Igbo.
The story of Awolowo's double dealing with NCNC and AG was an afterthought account seeking to transfer responsibility of their blunder of aligning with the North after it boomeranged explosively on them.
It was obvious to common sense that two fractions had always existed in AG and that Akintola's faction's visit to Ahmad Bello was independent of Awolowo's faction's visit to Zik. Moreover, Akintola was already a minister under the Balewa headed shadow government set up by the colonial masters in 1957 and was therefore in pursuit of sustaining his power relationship with the North into independence. Knowing fully well that AG was already a fictionalized party between Akintola and Awolowo,
what stopped Zik from just placing a call across to Awolowo to ascertain his awareness and approval of Akintola's visit to Bello if not prejudice?
If Zik's decision to team up with the North was based on a conviction that Awolowo was treacherous, then how come just four years later the same Zik would enter into the UPGA alliance with the same Awolowo to displace the same North? Also, why would Okpara later openly regret ever advising Zik to reject the proposed AG-NCNC alliance at independence? Why would Okpara, a staunch Zik loyalist, later travel from Enugu to Ibadan to mend fences and make peace with Awolowo's wife and AG members?
If Awolowo were treacherous how could he have turned down Balewa's offer to release him from jail on the condition that he ordered his faction within the AG to back out of the UPGA deal with Zik and align with the NPC going into the 1965 elections?
Awolowo's major mistake was that he bent over backwards too much just to forge that Southern unity with Zik who was rather a Northerner in mind. Had he accepted Balewa's offer, secured his release and dealt with Igbos decisively, he would not have been labeled a traitor today. I don't pity him. Tinubu obviously learnt from Awolowo's experience hence he never seeks any Southern unity deal with Igbos and consequently he is not termed treacherous.

7. Do you read what you write at all? Did I say that the gerrymandering was done in 1900 to warrant the reasoning that a yet unborn Zik could not have undone or prevented it?
Can you see how far your quest to defend Zik's gaffes have driven you into illogicality?

Go back and read that comment again. I made it clear that those three territories were parts of the Southern Protectorate from 1900 and that they remained in the Southern province post amalgamation until early fifties when regions were being created. Was Zik still yet unborn during the time of regions creation? By all available evidences Zik was at least 46 years and was the leader of the East as at when the regions were being created. What stopped him from rushing back to Enugu to checkmate the gerrymandering? Can't you see that Kanu's current quest to have Benue and Kogi East in Biafra is a pointer to Zik's failure to resist the gerrymandering back then?
You probably never read that while Zik was indifferent to the excision of part of the East to the North back then Awolowo was busy mounting irredentist pressure over the present Kwaras and Kogi Okuns with Zik acting as a spoiler all in his blind quest for a phantom One-Nigeria through which he hoped to acquire the very mundane "Zik of Africa" title.

When you can't address the posers I raise based on your own claim you call it diversion.