By Bolanle BOLAWOLE
turnpot@gmail.com
Election cycles are when politicians and spin doctors go down memory lane to exhume ghosts of the past. Anything to get at the opponent. Anything to gain the advantage. Suddenly, we are being told again how the leader of the Yoruba, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, “betrayed” his Igbo counterpart, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and how the so-called 1951 carpet-crossing in the Western Regional House of Assembly resulted into the loss of trust and confidence between the Yoruba and Igbo that have refused to go away. The much talked-about “handshake across the Niger” is said to have become elusive since that time. Will the political gulf between two of the country’s biggest ethnic groups ever be bridged?
The starting point, according to some analysts, is to first unearth the truth. Was there really anything remotely resembling carpet-crossing in the Western Regional House of Assembly in 1951? And was Zik coasting home to victory – to become premier of the Western Region on the ticket of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) – but for the carpet-crossing? Did Chief Awolowo orchestrate the carpet-crossing to upstage Zik and become premier of the Western Region instead? Did Zik and, by extension, the Igbo, in retaliation, prefer afterwards to ally with the North instead of Awo and the Yoruba?
The 2023 presidential election rested on the tripod of North (Fulani), East (Igbo), and West (Yoruba). The Yoruba man, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, carried the day. Atiku Abubakar (Fulani) and Peter Obi (Igbo) lost the election. The election proved that in the absence of a handshake across the Niger, either of the East (Igbo) or the West (Yoruba) can still achieve the goal of cornering the presidency if they succeed in building an alliance with the North. Tinubu’s success hinged on that realization; conversely, Atiku and Obi’s failure was explained by their inability to work together.
True, then, is the saying that the failure of the children of the serpent to move in groups is what makes them easy prey for adversaries. Once bitten, twice shy, but have Atiku and Obi learnt any lessons? Has morbid ambition not blindfolded them to the stark reality of another failure if they choose, again, to hunt separately?
Failure is not only an orphan, it comes as well with lorry-loads of excuses, many of which are manufactured ahead of time. One such excuse – if Obi fails again in 2027 – is 1951! But what actually happened in 1951?
Below is an account for readers to peruse. Titled “NCNC DID NOT WIN THE 1951 WESTERN REGION ELECTIONS”, it runs thus: “UNLIKE the Fulanis and the Ibos whose everlasting desire is to dominate Nigeria from Sokoto to Lagos, Port Harcourt to Maiduguri, the Yorùbá have never been comfortable with the Nigerian Union. Their noble desire is for a peaceful separation. This was the reason for Awolowo’s proposal for a SECESSION CLAUSE in the constitution. While it was supported by Ahmadu Bello, it was strongly opposed by Azikiwe because it didn’t conform to the domineering ambition of the Ibos. The colonial masters supported Azikiwe’s position because it fitted into their own agenda to keep us perpetually chained to them.
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Ladoke Akintola – the thunder of history
“In pursuit of his conquest, Azikiwe made immense effort through the NCNC to be the Premier of the Western Region when it was time for the elections and in 1951. However, when the NCNC lost out, instead of Azikiwe to nobly accept defeat, he went to town through the propaganda machinery of his newspaper, The West African Pilot, to claim that NCNC won but the results were manipulated to favour the Action Group (AG).
“Anyway, the following are the accurate records, as against beer parlour and Ochanja market concoction. The stubborn fact of history that propagandists will not talk about is that the continuous false claim of NCNC’s victory in the 1951 Western Region election was challenged in court in 1959 by Awólọ́wọ̀, Akintola and Rotimi Williams in suits No. 1/58/59, 1/50/59, 1/60/59. Judgement was passed against Azikiwe and The West African Pilot for their false claims that NCNC won the elections but were denied victory by the illegal activities of the litigants. The court ruled that the claim was false and libelous. Each of the litigants was awarded £3,500 as damages with £250 as cost in 1961. This made a total of £11,250 against the accused.
“Yet, 10 years later in 1971, Azikiwe still wrote in his book “MY ODYSSEY”: ‘The NCNC was under the impression that it had won 43 seats out of 80’ but 20 of the legislators whom they ‘regarded as members, supporters or sympathisers’ aligned themselves with the Action Group!’ (Witness the way the allegations were cleverly, deceptively, and maliciously couched!).
“For goodness sake, what has your illusory impression got to do with the reality on ground? Unfortunately, this lie from the pit of hell was also echoed by the likes of M. T. Mbu and Ozumba Mbadiwe and it has become the sing-song of the Ibos (till) today.
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE FACTS OF HISTORY
“The first political party in Nigeria was the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) formed by Herbert Olayinka Macaulay (a Yoruba man) on June 24, 1923. It was formed to demand for self-government from the colonialists. It existed till it transformed to the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944 after Ahmadu Bello formed the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) in August 1943.
“All southern politicians and political leaders of all tribes (including Awolowo) were in NCNC until 1946 when Macaulay died and Zik took over. Within three years of Zik’s takeover, all key political positions in the NCNC had been thoroughly Ibolised (to the extent that, today, NCNC is only remembered as an Ibo party).
“When Awo realised that his progressive vision for Nigeria could not be realised under an Ibo-controlled NCNC and the parochial leadership of Azikiwe, he decided to transform his Ẹgbẹ̀ Ọmọ Odùduwà to the Action Group (AG) registered on 21st March, 1951. Very many Yorùbá and some Mid-Westerners joined the AG while many Yorùbá still remained in the NCNC.
“However, many Ìbàdàn indigenes who also left the NCNC with Awo grouped together as Mábọlájẹ́ Grand Alliance and decided to register on June 21, 1951 as Ibadan Peoples Party (IPP) with Augustus Meredith Adisa Akinloye as their leader. It was under this banner that they contested the September 1951 elections. They never contested as NCNC candidates.
THE ELECTIONS
“Mr. Harold Cooper was the colonial government’s Public Relations Officer. In early August 1951, he requested all the political parties wishing to field candidates for the September elections to submit the names of (their) candidates… In the West Regional Assembly, 80 seats were to be contested for, but elections in 5 seats for Lagos and 3 seats for Mid-West were postponed due to security reasons. Therefore, 72 seats were contested on 24th September, 1951.
“AG won 38 of the seats. The 5 Lagos seats which were contested for on November 20,1951 were all won by NCNC candidates. The 3 seats of Mid-West that were conducted on December 6, 1951 were all won by Otu Edo candidates. This completed the 80 seats. The rule was that the party with at least 41 seats shall form the government… Three AG Secretaries and another candidate under AG who contested as independent candidates won. Total = 4. Thus, the total number of AG candidates for the assembly was already 42…
“Therefore, without a coalition, AG had crossed the winning line and were already qualified to form the government of the Western Region. Candidates of other parties that joined AG did so with common sense and the desire to partake in the government of the ruling party rather than aligning with the opposition. Even if they all joined with NCNC, their maximum number of 38 wouldn’t nullify AG’s position as the winner.
“Note that the (non-AG) candidates were not NCNC members as at the time of the elections and did not contest under NCNC. They won their elections as candidates of their own independent parties. Their joining (forces) with the AG was not an overnight decision. The elections were concluded on December 6, 1951 and the assembly was inaugurated on January 7, 1952. Negotiation took place long before the inauguration…
“Yet, Zik went public, without any proof whatsoever, to claim that many of the candidates that were declared winners under the AG were NCNC candidates! He said all 6 IPP members were really NCNC candidates. He also claimed that the other party candidates that declared for AG were NCNC members who “cross carpet”. When? How? No explanations! No evidence!
“This made Mr. Cooper call a post-election news conference in Lagos where he said: ‘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.’”
“These are not invented tales. The records of all elections conducted by the colonial administration are available at the National Archives in Nigeria and in the archives of the Colonial Administration office in London. They are accessible to any diligent enquirer.”
Now, shouldn’t an information as detailed as the one provided above be enough to lay to rest, once and for all, the tales by the moonlight of how so-called carpet-crossing allegedly engineered by Awo robbed Zik of the coveted prize of the premiership of the Western Region in 1951? And should such wild but unsubstantiated claims still continue to influence Yoruba/Igbo relations?
St. Charles Osogbo Old Students give back to alma mater
The 76 set of Charleans, also known as Stanza 726, has celebrated their 50th graduation anniversary with the theme “Together, Taking St. Charles To The Top”, with the commissioning of a number of projects for the upliftment of their alma mater.
The projects include the reactivation of the water tank base of the School’s main borehole, repair of the 1kva solar energy machine, supply of two extra-large storex tanks and increase of the distribution points from five to 10, with a six-month maintenance guarantee.
Moreover, to aid security measures already put in place, the old students also provided a security post for the use of the School security personnel. The total cost of the projects was put at about N4 million.
Speaking at the event, which took place at the SCOBA Alumni Hall within the school premises, Solomon Jemilehin, coordinator of the 726 Stanza, thanked God Almighty for the grace given to all of them to witness their 50th anniversary celebration. He disclosed that although they were 100 at graduation, 20 of their members have since passed on.
Delivering the keynote address on behalf of the SCOBA Global President, Atilola Odudare, the Global Vice President 1 of SCOBA, Dr. Tunde Owojori, described members of Stanza 726 as “one of the forces behind the successes recorded by SCOBA over the years” and prayed for more fruitful years ahead for them.
Also speaking at the event, Professor Babatunde Adélékè preached for peace as he appealed to Stanza 789 to return to the fold and join hands with the rest of the family to continue the good work at St Charles.
Jimilehin, aka Rajah, and I met and became friends at Osogbo, the capital of present-day Osun state, in 1976/77. I was an auxiliary teacher at Osogbo Grammar School while Rajah worked at Mandilas across the road. Behind Mandilas was the grotto of world-acclaimed artiste, Twin Seven Seven. Those were days when boys were boys!
*Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-Chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Westerner newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD’S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in the New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.
