By Olabode Lucas
In the political dispensation during the pre-independence period (1950-1960), and in the first republic that followed, the two southern political parties, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroons later changed to National Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC) and the Action Group (AG) had vicious disagreements over many political issues and policies. The NCNC was founded in 1944 by Herbert Macaulay with Ven (Dr) J. Olumide Lucas as the vice president and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe as the secretary. However, the mantle of leadership of the party fell on Azikiwe when Herbert Macaulay died in the north during the country wide tour of the party in 1946. NCNC at initial stages could not be regarded as a truly political party in the real meaning of the word. It was an association of town unions, trade unions and existing local small political unions. An individual could not join on his own, but through his membership of an organization affiliated to NCNC. The NCNC was therefore a mass movement sold to the Nigerian populace by its leaders, like Azikiwe and trade union leader, Michael Imoudu who toured the country to garner support for the new organization.
NCNC was impactful in the southern part of the country but its impact was minimal in the northern part of the country. The presence of Azikiwe who was an idol of the Igbo people attracted the support of Igbo State Union and other Igbo subnational groups to NCNC and they overwhelmed other tribal groups in the new organization, thereby paving the way for the domination of NCNC by the Igbo till it was disbanded in 1966.
On the other hand, the Action Group was formed on March 21, 1951 by Chief Obafemi Awolowo with seven other people. According to Awolowo, by the time the formation of the party was officially announced, it was already a year old. The party was to become the most effectively organised political party in Nigeria and it was modelled after the Convention Peoples Party formed by Kwame Nkrumah of the then Gold Coast now Ghana. The party operated for a long time within the Western Region. The aim of the party was to encourage and join other organisations in the country for the attainment of self-government for Nigeria.
During the pre-independence period, the NCNC under the charismatic Nnamdi Azikiwe was a formidable political party in the southern part of the country. It formed the government of the Eastern Region where Azikiwe was the premier and the party was strong in the Western Region where it formed the strong opposition under the fiery Adegoke Adelabu. The party won the 1954 federal elections in both the Eastern and Western Regions. The party was equally popular in Lagos where for many years, it controlled the Town Council. It spread its political tentacles to the northern part of the country through a small but vocal political party known as Northern Elements Progressive Party (NEPU) under Mallam Aminu Kano who was regarded as the champion of the Talakawas, the downtrodden. The Action Group under the astute and visionary Obafemi Awolowo could only tenuously control the government of Western Region. However, despite his slim majority, he was able to make unparalleled giant strides in the region. The Action Group also made incursions into other parts of the country through alliances with minority parties such as Tarka’s UMBC in the Middle Belt in the North and with other political leaders from minority areas of Eastern Region.
The NCNC and the Action Group disagreed vehemently as stated above on issues like the free education bill, the local government reform, creation of states, the deposition of Alaafin of Oyo (the father of the recently deceased Alaafin) and the status of Lagos. Of all these issues, there was nothing that divided the parties and their supporters than the issue of the status of Lagos. The stand one took on this issue depended on one’s political affiliation. The Action Group supporters who wanted Lagos to remain part of Western Region had their slogan titled ‘Lagos belongs to the West’ while NCNC supporters who wanted Lagos to be excised from Western Region had the slogan ‘Gedegbe L’eko Wa’ roughly translated to mean that ‘Lagos is on its own’.
If one looks back now, it is difficult to decipher from the cacophony of slogans and campaigns of those days, how Lagos and its inhabitants would benefit by being on either side of the bitter divide. The stand of the NCNC led by Azikiwe was based mainly on political vendetta. Azikiwe who considered Lagos as the stronghold of his party because of the high population of Igbo in Lagos felt humiliated by his failure to take over the old Western Region as the Leader of Government Business/Premier in 1952. He felt that he was deprived of this post because Lagos was then merged with Western Region. He therefore went to the 1953 Constitutional Conference with the determination to get Lagos excised from Western Region dominated by the Action Group by all means. The Action Group led by Awolowo wanted Lagos to remain part of Western Region in accordance with the Macpherson Constitution of 1951 because according to the party, Lagos was purely a Yoruba town whose population was 75% Yoruba. .Also the party argued that most of the wealth in Lagos was contributed by the Yoruba people and Western Region would lose a lot of revenue if Lagos was removed from the West. The party at the 1953 Constitutional Conference tried to allay the fear of the North that the Action Group government in Western Region would prevent goods from the North from passing through Lagos ports if Lagos remained with the West. The Action Group went as far as recommending other locations suitable as capital of the country instead of Lagos..
At the 1953 conference, every party stuck to its own gun and the British government through the Colonial Secretary was asked to arbitrate. The Colonial Secretary, while acknowledging the position of Action Group, agreed with the NCNC and the Northern Peoples Congress to neutralise Lagos and make it Federal Capital Territory because according to him, Nigeria money was used to develop Lagos and so it should not belong to any region. This decision did not go well with the Action Group leadership who made a veiled request for self-determination. Azikiwe and the Sardauna of Sokoto ganged up to get Lagos removed from the West. The Sardauna took this stand to punish Awolowo politically because of his persistent call for creation of states in the North and for his call for Ilorin/Kabba/West merger. The status of Lagos as the Federal Capital Territory lasted from 1955 to 1967 when Gowon military administration created Lagos State with its capital at Ikeja, while Lagos still remained as the nation’s capital until 1991 when the capital moved to Abuja.
Many Yoruba people especially in Lagos in the 50s when the battle was raging supported the excision of Lagos from Western Region to form Federal Capital Territory. Unfortunately these people were oblivious of the political motive of Azikiwe and his Igbo compatriots to turn Lagos into ‘no man’s land’’. Lagos was used as a political pawn in their quest to make Lagos a no man’s land. This idea is still in the front burner in Lagos. It is the same people who want Lagos to be a no man’s land who opposed the motion in the House of Representatives to give special consideration to Lagos because of its peculiarities. Those who supported Azikiwe and the NCNC then focussed on other Yoruba from claiming Lagos. Recent commentators from Lagos still focussed on this aspect without discussing the agitation of the Igbo who claim that Lagos is ‘no man’s land’.
As for physical development, it could not be said that Lagos made outstanding development when it was Federal Capital Territory. There was Lagos Executive Development Board (LEDB) which cleared part of the slum in Lagos and initiated some town planning, but Lagosians suffered loss of identity and they were mostly overlooked in many aspects like appointments, manpower development and scholarship awards even by the federal government which had supervisory role for Lagos through the Ministry of Lagos Affairs. The Lagos Town Council later known as Lagos City Council which was in charge of municipal needs of the city was not above board as shown in the report of inquiry set up by Aguiyi Ironsi military administration in 1966.
Real and visible changes in development came to Lagos during the Gowon military era when many bridges and flyovers were constructed to ease the choking traffic jam in the city. The impact of Lateef Jakande civilian administration was felt in education and in some infrastructural matters and development. Lagos in recent time has been a model to many states in Nigeria and elsewhere in modern governance and upliftment of the welfare of the people. It is now a leading economic hub in Africa, the credit for this goes to Bola Tinubu, the Sheriff who came aboard in 1999 and groomed capable successors who continued his vision for Lagos. Lagos has left the stage where it could be used as a political pawn by any political party or group.