Thread by @RemiAdekoya1

Greetings All! Day 6 of our #NigerianPoliticalHistory sessions based on my thesis research.

Today, we'll focus on the 1953 independence motion that eventually led to fatal riots in Kano, threat of Northern secession and even fears of civil war. This was a really crucial moment.

1952 was relatively calm in politics as leaders adjusted to new roles following the 1951 elections and under the Macpherson Constitution. However, 1953 brought dramatic ultimately tragic events that would have a long-lasting impact on Nigerian politics and inter-ethnic relations.

At the House of Representatives in March 1953, Anthony Enahoro of AG listed a motion requesting the house endorse as primary objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria in 1956. NCNC was in support, but Northern members vehemently opposed such a specific timetable.

Instead, Ahmadu Bello suggested replacing the demand for independence ‘in 1956’ with the phrase ‘as soon as practicable’. Knowing the North had the numbers (allocated 50% of House Members) to block the motion, Awolowo's AG and Azikiwe's NCNC reacted angrily.

Northern leaders feared if independence happened too early before they were ready, they would be dominated in Nigeria's bureaucracy (including in their own region) and economy by the better-educated Southerners.

It is important to note that Southern media, controlled by Awo and Zik, had always wanted independence quickly. Frustrated at the North being in no hurry for this and feeling they represented the more enlightened side, they regularly referred to the North very condescendingly.

Northerners were generally portrayed as backward Muslim fanatics who followed their leaders, often described by Awolowo as 'feudal autocrats', like blind sheep. Zik sometimes publicly referred to Northern assembly members as 'illiterate dummies' and colonial 'stooges.'

This ultimately led to Northern leaders being not only fearful of Southern domination, but often in defensive-aggressive mode against Southern politicians. They trusted the British more than they did Southern Nigerians. This Bello confirmed in his later 1962 memoirs.

In the memoirs, Bello wrote that Northern leaders considered nothing more risky for them and their region than being left at the mercy of Southerners after independence. So, they wanted to grow stronger first. So, they opposed the 1956 date for independence as too early for them.

Speeches made by Awolowo and Bello during that 1953 debate are analysed in detail in a separate chapter. Azikiwe did not speak as he was not a federal House of Rep member. Ozumba Mbadiwe spoke for NCNC.

Suffice to say, passions were high, at one point during the debate....

Bello stood up and said: 'The mistake of 1914 has come to light.'

By this he meant the 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

Bello was effectively describing the creation of Nigeria as a 'mistake', a statement he never walked back or modified in later years.

After the tumultuous debate, Northern members were booed and ridiculed by Lagos crowds on leaving the House of Representatives’ building. They were jeered and insulted throughout their trip back to the North, as angry demonstrators awaited them at each train stop.

In his 1962 memoirs, Bello wrote:

"This journey just about finished it for us. We were not only angry at our treatment, but indignant that people who were so full of fine phrases about the unity of Nigeria should have set their people against the chosen representatives of

another Region while passing through their territory and even in our own."

Following this, many Northern leaders sought immediate secession and were restrained only by practical considerations. The North was landlocked and depended on Southern coastal cities for transportation

routes for its imports and exports. Northern leaders worried an ‘unfriendly South’ might block passage of goods across their lands. Awolowo suggested as much, stating some weeks that if the British let the North secede ‘we [the Western Region] shall declare our independence

immediately and we will not allow the North to transport their groundnuts through our territory'. Groundnuts were a key export for the North at the time. Northern leaders thus opted to aim for a ‘structure which would reduce the powers of the Centre to the absolute minimum and

yet retain sufficient national unity for practical and international purposes.’ They put forward an 8-point program entailing de-facto secession from Nigeria but were eventually dissuaded by the British. Colonial officials feared a domino effect if the North seceded.

At the time, Governor Macpherson wrote to Thomas Lloyd, Undersecretary of State for the Colonies, stating: ‘if Nigeria splits, it will not be into two or three parts, but into many fragments.’ Zik's Pilot suggested the North was part of a British conspiracy to further their rule.

Southern newspapers continued to ridicule Northern leaders for their stance on self-government, inflaming passions even further. In this atmosphere, AG leaders decided on a particularly ill-timed ‘educational tour’ of the North to defend their self-government motion,

visiting Kano, a city with a significant population of Southerners while remaining a predominantly Northern Muslim area. Inter-ethnic violence eventually erupted in Kano, leading to 277 casualties, including 36 deaths - 15 Northerners and 21 Southerners.

Coleman argued the crisis provoked by the self-government motion was ‘the surface manifestation of deep and unresolved tension in two interrelated areas- Northern fear of Southern domination in a self-governing Nigeria and Southern dissatisfaction with the 1951 constitution

and in particular, its frustration over slow movement towards self-government’. After the Kano riots, Oliver Lyttleton, Secretary of State for the Colonies, informed the House of Commons it had become clear Nigeria’s regions could not work together effectively in a tightly-knit

federation and Britain would invite Nigerian leaders to discuss a new constitution providing greater regional autonomy. Here is a May 1953 interview with Zik warning the North against secession and/or civil war, showing how tense things were then.

Constitutional conferences, presided over by Lyttleton, were held between July 1953 and February 1954.

Perhaps we shall stop there for today. We'll continue with the outcome of these negotiations tomorrow.

Have a great day and a great week folks😃!