Awolowo: A More of Division than Unity to Nigeria -By Fakinlede Pelumi

It is two days to democracy day in Nigeria yet i can’t remember if we ever had the dividends of what late fela called the demonstration of crazy. Actually he is right, in Nigeria that is what we are doing, demonstrating how crazy and desperate we are.

I am not part of the Yoruba that adore late Obafemi Awolowo, he has his good sides but most Yoruba don’t know that he( Awolowo) killed the dream of true federalism in Nigeria. He was so desperate to be the president that he said and did things that our dear country Nigeria had not recovered from.

During the first election to the legislative council, Awolowo’s main rival from the East, Nnamdi Azikwe thought of the real and ideal thing of how the country should be ran in election and governance, Nnamdi contested to represent the Lagos council but Awolowo campaigned against him saying “He is kogbede” (someone who doesn’t understand the language) forgetting that Lagos is no man’s land and historically Lagos is not a Yoruba Territory but the binis. Awolowo made sure Azikwe was not voted for in Lagos because he is not Yoruba, bringing tribalism into Nigerian electoral process before independence. It will be funny to note that Nnamdi Azikwe was a more complete Nigeria than Obafemi Awolowo because Azikwe can speak the three major languages in Nigeria.

The tribal orientation of Awolowo caused him more pain during the independence when there was a need to form a coalition government and Nnamdi Azikwe choose to Northern People’s Congress (NPC) over Action Group (AG). It was his desperation that made the old western region to be a conflicting zone after independence. Awolowo wanted to contest to the federal post as the president and when he lost out instead of sitting to ruminate and prepare for the next general election, he wanted to remove Ladoke Akintola who was then the elected premier of the region and crisis broke out.

During the first legislative council election, out of his supposed oral prowess, Awolowo called the itsekiri people who at that time believe that their ancestral link is the Yorubas “awon omo irankinran” children of useless lineage causing great division among the camps of those who would have voted for him to be the president.

I won’t say he Awolowo hated the igbos or his rival with Azikwe caused his hatred but he was the brain behind the burning down of the Niger bridge during the Nigerian civil war. He advised Gowon that once the bridge is burnt, Biafrans will go hungry and become defeated whereas Nnamdi Azikwe never supported the Biafra secession but he wanted a one Nigeria. Awolowo caused several duel among Yoruba people, kings against kings which I believe contributed to his failure to head the Nigerian government and his demise.

As a positive impact, He gave his region the first television station and free education in which those who benefited from it have turned thorns in the educational system of Nigeria now but apart from these good attributes and more. Chief Obafemi Oyeniyi Jeremiah Awolowo divided Nigeria, brought tribalism into politics than he promoted oneness to the Nigerian state.

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