WHO BETRAYED WHO AMONG THE ETHNIC GROUPS IN NIGERIA

 

There are three major tribes in Nigeria namely: Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa these three groups have their differences in terms of different Identity, Languages, Culture and of course Region. The Igbo are in the Eastern part of the Country, the Yoruba in the Western Region and Hausa`s in the Northern part hence Nigeria was first administer on Regional basis.

Most of my friends are Igbo’s and I easily make Igbo friends while I was in school. Once in a while jokingly, we somehow run into argument with the caption “The Yoruba`s betrayed the Igbo`s” but my sincere question had always been how? In determining this I think is best to run through the common history.

The three regions became a country as a result of the 1913/1914 amalgamation by the colonialist for their easy administration and up to 1959 when they were going to gain their independence from the British Government up until then there was no single clash between the Igbo’s and the Yoruba’s. Then 4there was need for a parliamentary election to determine who takes over from the British Government.  

The result of the election was regionally biased in that the Easterners voted in favour of the Eastern party NCNC (National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons which also came first with 2, 594, 577. 34 81 seats the Western Party came second with 1,992,364.26 73 seats and the Northern Party came third with 1,922,179.25 134 seats and other independent parties

 

Results

Party	Votes	%	Seats
National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons†	2,594,577	34.0	81
Action Group‡	1,992,364	26.1	73
Northern People's Congress*	1,922,179	25.2	134
Northern Elements Progressive Union†	509,050	6.7	8
Mabolaje Grand Alliance*	610,677	8.0	6
Igala Union*			4
Independents‡			2
Independents*			2
Igbira Tribal Union*			1
Niger Delta Congress*			1
Total	7,628,847	100	312
Sources: Wikipedia.

https://guardian.ng/opinion/revisiting-the-nigerian-1959-federal-election/

Consequently, there was need for a coalition of convenience between political parties in which Action Group of the Western Region traveled to Asaba in the East to meet with Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe of NCNC for possible coalition in which the Action Group was willing to concede the position of Prime Minister to Dr Nnamdi Azikwe while Chief Obafemi Awolowo of Action Group was ready to either deputize or be given Ministerial appointment. They were lodge in an Hotel had dinner together waiting for the signing the next day only for them to read in the dailies that the NCNC of Eastern region had gone to the North to form coalition with the Northerners making Sir Ahmadu Bello of NPC the first Nigerian Prime Minister it was an unimaginary phenomenon for the Yoruba`s “can this be called an act of betrayal or not”?

In 1966 there was a coupe de tat majorly by the Igbo young Officers in which they started their plot against the then Prime Minister, Abubakar Balewa from August 1965. It is clear to all and sundry that the January 1966 coup was what gave birth to the July 1966 counter-coup. This was also the cause of the first and only civil war that occurred in 1967 between the eastern Nigeria and the rest of the country’s.

In the course of the first military coup in Nigeria, up to eleven senior politicians were assassinated by Kaduna Nzeogwu and his fellow coup plotters. They also killed two soldiers and kidnapped up to three other soldiers. Sir Samuel Ladoke Akintola, was the premiere of the Western Region; he was also killed during the coup same for the wife of the Northern Nigeria’s Premier’s wife, Mrs. Lateefat but the Igbo leaders were spared “can this be called an act of betrayal or not”?

Sources : https://blogcroc.com/the-first-military-coup-in-nigeria/

Young officers from the north carried out a counter coupe de tat that took the lives of many Igbo officers inform of retaliatory fight back to the initial coupe de tat carried out majorly by Igbo officers. As at the period Francis Adekunle Fajuyi was the military governor of the Western Region. the military governor of the Western Region who was a very close friend to the Military head of State stood his ground when the officers of the North came for a retaliatory attack on  Brigadier JTU Aguiyi-Ironsi during his visit to Western Region and decided to die first rather than allowing the Northerner to take the life of his friend “can this be called an act of betrayal or not”?

Consequently, all of these resulted to agitation by the Igbo`s to secede from Nigeria which resulted into first Civil war in Nigeria called Biafrian War. Before we continue on the need to point out who betrayed who, I feel we need to have a general understanding of the word betray or betrayal. Betrayal is the noun form of the verb betray, which means to be disloyal or traitorous. A specific act of disloyalty is a betrayal. the act of betraying someone or something or the fact of being betrayed: violation of a person's trust or confidence, of a moral standard, etc. the betrayal of a friend a betrayal of trust a betrayal of one's principles.

There was a propaganda by the Eastern Region that Chief Obafemi Awolowo had discussed with Ojukwu who was then the Governor of Eastern Region that if the East is forced to secede from Nigeria, that he will pull out the West from Nigeria. Mean while there was no supportive document signed by Obafemi Awolowo to have emphatically make such statement on one hand even if he made such construction was that a commitment to fight along the Igbo`s ? however, what the man said was the same he had been saying and written which is “THE EASTERN REGION MUST BE ENCOURAGED TO REMAIN PART OF THE FEDERATION. IF THE EASTERN REGION IS ALLOWED BY ACTS OF OMISSION OR COMMISSION TO SECEDE FROM OR OPT OUT OF NIGERIA, THEN THE WESTERN REGION AND LAGOS MUST ALSO STAY OUT OF THE FEDERATION”. Which was his general statement written and published.

During the war at a particular point the Igbo fought into the Nigerian region which was Ore. My question is who were they killing while they fought their way in the Hausa`s Fulani or the Yoruba`s “can this be called an act of betrayal or not”? I have a yoruba friend who`s father loss all his family who lived in Ore to Biafran war.

In all of these I wish to ask a question who was betrayed the Igbo`s or the Yoruba`s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqhz4V7_F4