BETRAYAL OR WATER POWER: IGBO-YORUBA IMBROGLIO

  By:DEBO AWOSIKA-OLUMO MD., MS., MPH

"Every story has three sides to it yours, mine and the facts."-Foster Mehany Russell.

DEBO AWOSIKA-OLUMO MD., MS., MPH

There are many myths and propagandas used and currently being used by both dead and still alive political jingoists to further their own selfish interests. I decided to use this opportunity to put the facts across as much as possible from available literatures.

The Bible in the book of Hosea says " My people perish for lack of knowledge."

By 1938 the National Youth Movement (NYM) started an effective agitation for Nigeria independence. This promising start was stopped short three years later by internal divisions because of ethnic loyalties and rivalry. The departure of Azikiwe and other Igbo members of the NYM left the organization in Yoruba hands; during World War II, it was reorganized into a predominantly Yoruba political party, and later the Action Group, by Awolowo. Hence, Yoruba-Igbo rivalry became a major factor in Nigerian politics. The internal conflict of the NYM was brought up by successful election of Ernest Ikoli an Easterner from the Rivers state (Awolowo backed candidate) as the president and the defeat of Akinsanya an Ijebu (Yoruba) man (Azikiwe backed candidate). Azikiwe led the Igbo out of the movement accusing Awolowo of tribalism (Betrayal or Water power?).

After the demise of the NYM, the nationalist movement splintered into the Hausa- and Fulani- backed Northern People's Congress (NPC), the Yoruba-supported Action Group, and the Igbo-dominated National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC, later the National Council of Nigerian Citizens).

Nigeria's first political party to have nationwide appeal was the NCNC, founded in 1944 when Azikiwe encouraged activists in the National Youth Movement to call a conference in Lagos of all major Nigerian organizations to "weld the heterogeneous masses of Nigeria into one solid bloc." The aged Macauley was elected figure head president of the new group, and Azikiwe became its secretary general.

The membership of the party was based on affiliated organizations that included labor unions, social groups, political clubs, professional associations, and more than 100 ethnic organizations. The leadership of the NCNC rested firmly with Azikiwe, in large part because of his commanding personality but also because of the string of newspapers he operated and through which he argued the nationalist cause. In the late 1940s, the NCNC captured a majority of the votes in the predominantly Yoruba Western Region but not enough to form the government in the Western Region.

Azikiwe and his party lost the parliamentary election to form government in the Western Region, because Zik and his party failed to put forward a Yoruba man for the position of premiership of Western region despite the mistrust environment created the prior departure of Azikiwe and other Igbo members of the National Youth Movement. This action led the splinter groups like Ibadan party led by Adelabu who had prior arrangement with NCNC because of animosity between segments of the Yoruba community, for example, many people in Ibadan opposed Awolowo on personal grounds because of his Ijebu Yoruba connection.

Azikiwe immediately left for the Eastern Region accusing the Yoruba of betrayal, tribalism etc. The then Premier of Eastern Region Eyo Ita from Cross River was removed unceremoniously and Azikiwe was appointed Premier of Eastern Region (Betrayal or Waterpower?).

To correct the Yoruba action or inaction regarding failed Azikiwe premiership ambition in the Western Region, the NCNC backed the creation of new regions, where minorities would be ensured a larger voice, as a step toward the formation of a strong unitary national government. The Action Group on the contrary was a consistent supporter of minority-group demands for autonomous states within a federal structure, and it even supported the severance of a Mid-west state from the Western Region. "This move assumed that comparable alterations would be made in other two regions. This position won the Action Group minority voting support in the other regions. It also backed Yoruba irredentism in the Fulani-ruled emirate of Ilorin in the Northern Region and separatist movements among non-Igbo in the Eastern Region".

Nigeria became independent from the British rule in 1960. No party won majority during the 1959 elections, the NPC aligned with the NCNC to form a government. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was made the Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe was made the Governor General.

In 1962, part of the Action Group split off to form the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), led by S.L. Akintola. In 1963, the Mid-Western Region was formed from part of the Western Region.


When Nigeria became a Republic in 1963, Nnamdi Azikiwe was made the President of the Federal Republic.

In 1964, there was great controversy over the 1963 population census, which the NCNC thought overestimated the number of people in the Northern Region to give them more of a representation in the federal parliament. There was also allegation of rigging made against the ruling NPC party. Azikiwe vowed because of the rigging not to allow the NPC to form government, instead he promised to call for another election or allow the grand alliance between NCNC, Action group, and other minority parties to form the government in which Azikiwe will be the Prime Minister and Awolowo will be the Minister of Finance, but Zik reneged on his promise and allowed the NPC to form the government in the interest of national unity (Betrayal or Waterpower?). This action and the general climate of alleged injustice led to a lot of reactions in the country.

The establishment of Coker commission to investigate alleged corrupt practices of the Western Government of Action Group, and NNDP led by Akintola. This was view as an act to discredit Awolowo and some Yoruba leaders.

Awolowo and some Yoruba leaders were jailed based on "drum up charge" of treasonable felony with only one eye witness confession. This was done without any Igbo outcry to this action viewed as "injustice to the Yoruba tribes (Betrayal or Waterpower?). This action brought a thick dark cloud of despair on the whole Yoruba race. The cloud was so thick that it could easily be cut by a knife.

This and the general state of the nation led to the January 1966, in which some Igbo army and officers and couple of Yoruba officers staged a coup to overthrow the civilian government of Balewa. Some members of the army killed Balewa, Bello, Akintola, and some senior officers (Azikiwe was undergoing treatment outside of the country.

Two of the three top military officers in the country were killed; Brigadier Ademulegun (Yoruba), Brigadier Maimalari (Hausa-Fulani). Major General Aguiyi Ironsi (Igbo) was left untouched.

After the failure of the coup, General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi became the new Head of States. Aguiyi-Ironsi trying to restore discipline within the army, suspended the regional constitution of the different regions, dissolved all legislative bodies, banned political parties, and formed a Federal Military Government that was more central in nature (rather than having different regional rules). A decree was issued in March of 1967, to abolish the federation, and unify the federal and regional civil servants (Unitary Government- page from NCNC agenda).

There were many suspicions that Aguiyi-Ironsi favored the Igbos over other ethnic groups, and the fact that his administration did not prosecute the officers that killed the northern leaders stirred further rage. "Though Aguiyi-Ironsi had some concessions like protecting the northerners from southern competition in the civil service, many northerners felt like the coup was a plot to make the Igbo's dominant in Nigeria, and many Muslims felt their religion was not being given full dues".

There were fighting between the northerners and the Igbo, in which many innocent Igbo indigenes lost their lives, and in July 1967, some northern officers staged another coup, killing Aguiyi-Ironsi and many other Igbo officials.

The Muslim officers chose Yakubu "Jack" Gowon (who was a Christian) as the new ruler. Gowon had not actually been involved in the coup, but they felt he would be a compromising candidate to head the Federal Military Government. His first steps included restoring Federalism, and releasing Awolowo from prison (pages from Action Group program).

The coup was welcome among the Yoruba than anywhere else in Nigeria, as it brought relief from the chaos and violence of the previous years and also led to the release of the imprisoned Yoruba leaders whom they thought were wrongly imprisoned by the Northerners with the suspected connivance of the then Igbo leaders.

Lieutenant-Colonel Gowon emerged as the new Head of State. The position of the new administration was initially very weak. To gain wider support, it started a series of constitutional talks, and the western delegation was led by Chief Awolowo newly released from jail, together with Obas and rehabilitated Action Group politicians.

The Yoruba appeared divided over their future position in Nigeria. Some wanted to see an independent Yoruba state, to include Lagos and Ilorin. Others favored participation in a loose confederation, while a third group favored a strong federation, with the Western Region split up to give a greater degree of local autonomy (Dudley, 1970).

"The goal of education is not to train future authorities, but people who are not intimidated by those who claim to be authorities. The alternative to gullibility is not the lack of respect for competence, but the ability to find who is competent and who is not".—Walter Kaufman

In the period leading up to the Biafran secession of May 1967, it was not at all clear whether the west would follow suit. In the event a number of factors combined to keep the west in the federation.

Firstly, there was its military vulnerability. The Yoruba were poorly represented in the rank and file of the army. The Yoruba had less than 1000 military officials. The northern troops stationed in Ibadan, who had been a bone of contention between the west and the Lagos government, were finally removed in May 1967, but there were still federal garrisons in Ilorin and Lagos.

Secondly, Gowon persuaded Awolowo to become Deputy Chairman of the Federal Executive Council and Federal Commissioner for Finance a position nearly equivalent to that of Prime Minister. When the country was divided into twelve states in May 1967, the west remained intact, apart from the loss of Colony Province, in which most of its industry was situated (Action Group Program).

Thirdly, it was true that Awolowo newly released from prison made four imperatives, of which one is continuously being used by failed Igbo leaders who are benefiting from the Yoruba-Igbo imbroglio, as the reason for accusing Yoruba as the betrayal of Igbo cause. This imperative was "If by omission or commission the Ibos are allowed to live Nigeria, the West will follow". Hence, for anyone to turn this statement by Awolowo as the betrayal of the Igbos by the Yoruba is very disingenuous at least and a crime to the sense of reasoning of all humanity.

It is very surprising that while Military men were calling the shot in the North and Eastern part of Nigeria, the Igbos expected a civilian just out of prison and trying to rehabilitate his political future and reasonable reasons to mistrust the then Igbo leaders, to be calling the shot in the West. To think that an individual can order or manipulate the Yoruba to go to war is an insult on the Yoruba and a myopic evaluation of Yoruba polity.

The final act that broke the camels back that made the Yoruba not to go along with the Igbos Biafran plan was that the tactical mistake Igbo military planner made when they captured mid western region, by appointing an Igbo man Brigadier Chukwuma as the administrator of Midwestern region. This action won the debate for those who want the Yoruba to be part of the Federal government by playing into the hands of the people who feared Igbo domination.

Some Igbo intelligentsias claimed the Yoruba hated Igbo because Awolowo made a stupid but frank political statement that if elected President he will ban stock fish and second hand clothing. They voted for Shagari and Alex Ekuweme who promised dredging of the River Niger and a port in Onitsha. At the time of my going to the press there is no port in Onitsha, excuse my silliness ‘what a love story’.

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or important, cannot learn at all"- Thomas Szasz

In summary, to call the Yoruba failure to join the Igbo Biafran plan as an act of treachery, betrayal is a misplaced anger and an act of Waterpower. It is an act of dishonesty and propaganda by failed Igbo leaders to blame their failure on the Yoruba, who in the history of Nigeria as a country has never benefited from Igbo support even during our dark periods. The so called Igbo leaders were busy wining and dining with Abacha when he was persecuting and killing Yorubas.

The Yoruba candidate for the 1999 election was Olu Falae, the Igbo supported Obasanjo. The same Igbo propagandists have oiled their dishonest complains that Obasanjo their candidate is favoring the Yoruba course. The Yoruba course is Sovereign National Conference, improvement of the education system, repair of dilapidated infrastructures and the creation of plain feed to allow us dance our "Owambe" and eat our amala (yam or plantain flour).

"A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject"-Winston Churchill

Some emancipated Igbo leaders realized this and they are trying to do all their best to remove mistrust between the Igbo and the Yoruba, but some Igbo intelligentsias who are benefiting from the imbroglio through various appointments and largesse will like this to continue to the detriment of their suffering and disenchanted masses.

It will be very unfair of me if I failed to mention few of the emancipated Igbo leaders to use the Mbadiweic English men of "timber and caliber" such as Dr. Ezeife, Dr. Idika Kalu, Chief Emeka Anyaokwu, Ebitu Ukiwe, MCK Ajuluchukwu, P. Umeadi etc. to mention a few.

References

Nigeria History on Encyclopedia.com 2002. http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/section/nigeria_history.asp

Arikpo, Okoi. 1967. The Development of Modern Nigeria. Middlessex, England: Penguin Books.
Awa, Eme O. 1964. Federal Government in Nigeria. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Coleman, James Smoot. 1958. Nigeria: Background to Nationalism. Berkeley: University of California Press.
DuBois, W. E. Burghardt. 1963. "The Pan-African Movement." Pp. 13-26 in George Padmore, editor, History of the Pan-African Congress. London: Hammersmith Bookshop, 1963.
Dudley, Billy J. 1982. An Introduction to Nigerian Government and Politics. London: Macmillan Publishers.
Ekeh, Peter P., Patrick Dele Cole, and Gabriel O. Olusanya, eds. (1989) Nigeria Since Independence. The First Twenty-Five Years. Volume V: Politics and Constitutions. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.
Eleazu, Uma O. 1977. Federalism and Nation-building: the Nigerian Experience, 1954-1964. Illfracombe: Stockwell. Ihonvbere, Julius. 1996. "A Radical View of Nigeria's Political Development." Pp. 108-134 in Oyeleye Oyediran, ed., Governance and Development in Nigeria. Essays in Honour of Professor Billy J. Dudley. Ibadan: Agbo Areo Publishers.

July 2002

Factors That Kept Yoruba in the Federation

The Reactions

The Origin of the Imbroglio