Obafemi Awolowo

Welcome to another blog post!

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Today, we discuss one of the foremost figures in Nigerian history. The article will be about a man called “The Greatest President Nigeria Never Had.” This article will be about a man who shaped the direction of a country that 200 million people now reside in.

Why did I decide to write this article? I feel like a lot of African leaders are not paid the respect they deserve in terms of the information published about them. We don’t hear enough about their lives and how they shaped policies and governance. Let’s change that.

Nigeria is a mosaic of cultures, languages, and peoples, but usually they are classified into 3 major ethnic groups: the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Hausa. To put it generally, the Hausa live in the North of the country, the Yoruba live in the Southwest, and the Igbo live in the Southeast.

You may ask yourself, why are these groups together in the first place? Well, let’s take a trip down memory lane in order to find the answers. In the 1800’s, the British expanded their sphere of influence into Nigeria. They conquered Lagos, expelling its King from the region. They established missionaries and used divide and conquer methods to consolidate power in the region. In addition, the British established several trading companies, such as the British North Borneo Company, the Royal Niger Company, and the Imperial British East Africa company. These groups had the ability to raise armies and conduct trade with ethnic groups in Africa. By 1901, the British had total power over the region. A man named Frederick Lugard formally created Nigeria in 1914, amalgamating the distinct ethnic groups into one nation.

Lugard also elevated the uneducated traditional rulers, hampering the progress of educated elites. All in all, the British put together a system in which people who did not get along very well were forced to work together and restricted the consolidation of power into educated elites who may have furthered the country. Not a very good start.

The divide geographically and culturally has led to a lot of civil strife and violence, but it has also generated some of the most fascinating individuals who I feel are not given the attention they deserve.

It is difficult to find information about these leaders, but I used this book for information: Nigeria: A New History by Richard Bourne (fantastic read by the way). Furthermore, I used this article: "Awolowo- The Lost President" to learn most of what I know about Awolowo. I also had discussions with other Nigerians who lived in the country at this time in order to learn about the way this man was perceived by his people during his own time.

Let’s take a critical look into his life, and the actions he took that helped shape a nation.

Obafemi Awolowo was born in Ogun state in 1906. He lived a happy childhood. Unfortunately, these times required men who could handle great amounts of stress and pressure. Awolowo’s life would soon take a turn for the worst, but I believe this gave him the confidence that served him well as he took a large role in the direction of Nigeria’s development.

His father died in 1920. His grandmother and mother moved away. As a result, Awolowo was alone. He had no money and no support system. He had to drop out from school because he could not pay his school fees. He had to make his name.

Awolowo decided to leave the only place he had ever called home, moving to Abeokota (the capital of Ogun State in Nigeria). Here he was able to get an education, training to become a teacher. Here he developed ideas about how Nigerians should perceive themselves in a nation in which they had no control. He was disgusted by the subservient attitude Nigerians had to their British counterparts, and this stoked an anger in him. It was said that until 1953, Awolowo would not even sit down in the same table as another white person. A Nigerian nationalistic energy was developed in these years. Awolowo had a dream of a world in which Nigerians would rule themselves, in the best interests of their nation.

At college he became a clerk, learning to type, and reading a wide variety of material. He then became a trainee reporter at the Nigerian Daily Times before trying his hand at making a fortune.

Awolowo failed at many businesses before becoming a lorry owner, fighting against monopolistic practices in order to give Nigerians a chance to succeed in their businesses. Unfortunately, European firms continued to be successful due to their domination of the law. All of these failures built up the man Awolowo was to become. It opened his eyes to what his country needed in order for him to build a prosperous government.

Awolowo developed his administrative abilities, becoming Secretary to the Nigerian Motor Transport Union. He organized strikes by other lorry owners, fighting to build up Yoruba collectivism in his country.

Awolowo became a member of the Nigerian Youth Movement, and this gave him a formal introduction to politics. The Nigerian Youth Movement wanted to build one Nigeria, free from the control of the British. Some of its policies included free education, voting rights for all adults, a secular government, and equal economic opportunity for Nigerians. Unfortunately, the British advised the Northern groups in Nigeria to refrain from participating in this group, and this lack of cohesion led to its break-up in 1941.

This may have led to Awolowo’s lack of confidence in a united Nigeria due to the abundance of different ethnic groups. He began to advocate for a strong Yoruba nationalist identity, establishing groups to foster this. By the 1950’s he was the head of the Action group, a political entity dominated by the Yoruba people.

He also served as the first Premier of the Western region of Nigeria from 1952-1959. His policies included free education, health care, and many other welfare programs. He helped to build stadiums, skyscrapers, and transferred agricultural plantations to the hands of the government. He was a forward-thinking man and had many accomplishments as the head of government in Western Nigeria. He transformed western Nigeria into the most educated region in Nigeria.

By October 1963, Awolowo was accused of treason, and was jailed. What happened? Why this turn of events?

We will learn more about this time in another blog post.

Thanks for reading!