ACTIVITIES OF SOME NIGERIAN NATIONALISTS IN THE ATTAINMENT OF INDEPENDENCE

 Herbert Macaulay

Born in 1864, Herbert Macaulay was the grandson of Bishop Ajayi Crowther and he was trained as an engineer. He is considered the founder of Nigerian nationalism as the movement was under his influence in the 1920s. He started the nationalist movement because of the belief that the people of different backgrounds living in the British colony of Nigeria needed to come together as one.  He returned to Nigeria in 1893 after completing his studies in London as the first Nigerian to be sponsored by the colonial government for a professional course abroad. He joined the colonial civil service and this exposed him to the ills and irregularities of the colonial government which led him to get involved with politics to fight for the rights of Nigerians. He founded the Lagos Daily News to promote the nationalist movement. He was the first Nigerian to establish a political party in 1922, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP). He became the first national president of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), party he co-founded with Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1944. Macaulay’s political activities were limited to Lagos affairs until the very end of his life and he was on a nationwide campaign in 1946 when he took ill and died on May 7, 1946 in Kano.

Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe

Born on the 16th of November, 1904 in Niger state, Benjamin Nnamdi Azikwe was at the fore-front in the fight for Nigeria’s Independence. He was fondly referred to as “Zik” and became the first president of Nigeria after Nigeria got her independence from the United Kingdom. While working as the editor for the African Morning Post, a daily newspaper in Ghana, Nnamdi Azikiwe promoted pro-African nationalist agenda. Upon his return to Nigeria in 1937, he founded the West African Pilot which was a tool used to promote the cause of Nigerian nationalism. Alongside Herbert Macaulay, he founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944 and he was made the secretary-general of the National Council in 1946. He was later elected to Legislative Council of Nigeria the following year. He was the first Nigerian to be named to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and he also became the Governor General on the same day. With Nigeria becoming a republic in 1962, he became her first president. He died on May 11, 1996 in Enugu following a protracted illness.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo

Chief Obafemi Awolowo was born on March 6, 1909 in Ogun state. He was also one of the pioneer leaders that fought for Nigeria’s independence and he introduced free education in the western region in 1955. After completing his education abroad, he returned to Nigeria in 1947 and took up practice as a barrister. However while he had been in London, he wrote his first book “Path to Nigerian Freedom” in which he criticized the British administration and advocated for self governance. He also helped to found the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of the Descendants of Oduduwa, the mythical ancestor of the Yoruba-speaking peoples), an organization devoted to the study and preservation of Yoruba culture. He was also the founder of the political party Action Group in 1950, a party that called for the termination of British rule in Nigeria. In 1954, he became the first premier of the Western Region. During his lifetime he wrote several books such as “Thoughts on the Nigerian Constitution”, “The People’s Republic,” “The Strategy and Tactics of the People”s Republic of Nigeria.” He resigned his position as commisioner of finance and vice chairman of the Federal Executive Council in 1971 to protest the government’s continuation of military rule. He died on May 9, 1987 and was buried on June 6, 1987.

Sir Ahmadu Bello

Born on June 12, 1910, Sir Ahmadu Bello was the 1st President of the Northern Peoples Party (NPP) in 1951 and he was also the former premier of Northern region. He alongside Abubakar Tafawa Balewa took active roles in the struggle for an independent Nigeria. Upon his return from England, he got a nomination to represent Sokoto in the regional House of Assembly. He used his position there to promote the development of the northern emirates such as Kano, Bornu and Sokoto.  He became the first Premier of Northern Nigeria in 1954 and in 1959 independence elections, his party NPC won a plurality of the parliamentary seats.  His party later formed an alliance with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s NCNC to form Nigeria’s first indigenous federal government which led to independence from the British colonial masters. He was also responsible for the modernization and unification of the diverse people of the North. He was assassinated in a coup on January 15, 1966 while still serving as premier of Northern Nigeria.

Chief Anthony Enahoro:

Chief Anthony Enahoro was born on 22 July, 1923 and was one of Nigeria’s foremost anti-colonial and pro-democracy activists. He became Nigeria’s youngest editor ever at the age of 21 when he became the editor of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s newspaper, the Southern Nigerian Defender, Ibadan, in 1944. Chief Enahoro joined the struggle for Nigeria’s independence in the early 1940s acting as a student leader and leading protests. He was on two occasions jailed by the colonial government for sedition and writing satiric articles. In 1953, he became the first to move the motion for Nigeria’s independence and is usually referred to as the father of “Nigeria State.” His motion was however rejected and a successful motion did not come till 1958, the motion was made by Chief Remi Fani-Kayode. He died on December 15, 2010.

Hajiya Gambo Sawaba

 

Gambo Sawaba was born in 1933. She  was an influential political and public figure in Nigeria. She was an adherent of the Northern Elements Progressive Union. Gambo Sawaba was an element of the political struggle fight that at last led to independent Nigeria. Although she was a low educated lady and early married by force, she was able to influence the fight for the African woman’s emancipation. Hajiya Gambo Sawaba advocated freeing female from African customs that were not good for women. She died in 2001.

 

Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was the first Prime Minister of Nigeria before and after Nigerian independence from Great Britain in 1960.

Born in December of 1912 in Bauchi in Northern Nigeria, Balewa’s father, Mallam Yakubu, was a minor official in the Native Authority, part of the British colonial administration.

Abubakar Balewa entered politics after returning to Nigeria. He and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello founded the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) to represent the Muslim majority in Northern Nigeria. Balewa was elected to the colony’s Northern House of Assembly in 1946 where he gave a famous and impassioned speech calling for a radical change in the Native Administration and its relations with Great Britain. Soon after this speech the British began restructuring the Native Authority for self-rule and eventually Nigerian independence. In 1955 Balewa was appointed Federal Minister of Works and Transport by Nigeria’s Colonial Governor, Sir James Wilson Robertson. When Nigeria was granted self governance in 1957 Balewa became Prime Minister. In January 1960, Balewa was knighted by Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain.

Following Nigerian independence on October 1, 1960 Balewa continued in his post as Prime Minister of Nigeria in a power sharing arrangement with Nnamdi Azikiwe, the country’s first President. From the Muslim North of Nigeria and considered a pro-British conservative, Balewa often clashed with Azikiwe. While in office Balewa worked to develop Nigeria’s transport systems by helping to build ports, river transport systems and railways.

Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was killed on January 15, 1966 in Lagos during a military coup d’état which ended The First Republic, Nigeria’s first civilian government.

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti

Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was born on October, 25 1900. The place of birth is Abeokuta. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was one of the premier female leaders and feminists in Nigeria. She defended the rights of women. At the same time, Funmilayo struggled against the military government and human rights violations. Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was known as ‘the mother of Africa’ for her human rights work. People elected her to the native House of Chiefs. She acted as an Oloye of the Yoruba nation. Funmilayo had membership in the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon. Besides, she was the first Nigerian female to ever drive a car. In 1978, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti was thrown out of the window in the commune belonging to her son and died from her injuries.