Continued from Part 1....
Also Read: BENIN AND THE MIDWEST REFERENDUM OF 1963. By Nowamagbe A. Omoigui,
FROM 1934 - 1945
Also Read: BENIN AND THE MIDWEST REFERENDUM OF 1963. By Nowamagbe A. Omoigui,
FROM 1934 - 1945
The Urhobo Brotherly Society evolved
into the Urhobo Progressive Union in 1934, and was later known as the Urhobo
Progress Union (UPU). This tightly knit organization would prove to be a
powerful ally in the fight for the Midwest. In 1935, the Institute for Home-Benin
improvement lobbied for an Edo speaking person to represent the Benin province
in the Legislative council. Up until then Benin was represented by a
Yoruba trader called Mr. I. T. Palmer who was living in Sapele. This wish
was eventually granted when Gaius Obaseki became the first Edo speaking
representative on the Legislative council in the early forties (Usuanlele
op. cit.). In 1937, the first conference of traditional Obas
and rulers in the Southern Provinces of Nigeria took place in Oyo. At
that meeting a decision was taking to rotate the venue of the meetings to the
domains of various prominent rulers. Coincidentally, the Ibo
State Union was also formed that year.
Then in 1939, what Oba Eweka II had feared came to
pass. The ten Southern Provinces (along with the Cameroon trusteeship
province) were consolidated around the Igbo and Yoruba nationalities into two
groups now called the “Eastern provinces” based at Enugu, and the “Western
Provinces” based at Ibadan. In this new set-up, the Benin and Warri provinces
of the independent old “Central Province” were now part of the so-called
“Western group” with the River Niger as a natural boundary. The “Anioma”
or “Western Ibo” subgroup of the Benin province, led by Asaba indigenes, requested
to be merged with the Aboh division of the Warri province in a new Western Ibo
province, but were overruled by the British because of the advent of the Second
World War. [JIG Onyia: My role in Nationalism. 1986 JID Printers Ltd.
Asaba]. Oba Akenzua II took note of the Asaba-led agitation.
However, in the years preceding it, he was distracted by internal problems in
Benin like the Forest reserve dispute of 1934, the abolition of District Heads
in 1935, Uzebu uprising and Benin water rate agitation of 1936 – 1940 [Igbafe,
op. cit.] . It was not long, however, before the Richards
Constitution of 1947 crystallized both groups of provinces into the Eastern and
Western “regions” of Southern Nigeria, each with its own Regional
Assembly. The old “Northern Nigeria” remained as one large region.
Professor P.A. Igbafe has discussed
much of the dynamics of colonial rule and its impact on traditional Benin in
his outstanding book “Benin under British Administration”.
The late Jacob Egharevba also discussed tensions between Oba Akenzua, a few of
his prominent chiefs (like Iyase Okoro-Otun) and the emerging Benin educated
and commercial elite in his seminal book “A Short History of Benin.”
Such tensions were driven by different agendas but manifested opportunistically
from time to time. Nevertheless, these tensions - which undermined
the Oba’s stature and even threatened his throne - were temporarily resolved
after negotiated concessions following appeals from British officials and
Traditional Rulers in other jurisdictions, like Warri.
During this era too, Oba Akenzua II,
motivated by visions of a united pan-Edoid nation, agreed to the British
proposal for transfer of large tracts of land from the Benin province to the
Warri province for “administrative convenience. Affected tenants, who
agreed to continue to pay royalty in return, populated such lands, many of
which had opened up after 1897, including places like Jesse, Ogharefe and other
lands across the Ethiope River - which are now in the Delta State portion of
the former Midwest.
In August 1942, the conference of
traditional Obas and rulers in what was now the Western Provinces of Nigeria
took place in Benin City. It is said that at that meeting,
there was an attempt to speak Yoruba as the Lingua Franca, thus causing some
irritation among delegates from the Benin and Warri provinces.
Nevertheless, the Second World War was in progress and all efforts were focused
on its successful prosecution, so sleeping dogs were allowed to lie. The
war was interrupted only by reports that the Institute for Home-Benin
Improvement had transformed into the Edo National Union in 1943 and that
Nnamdi Azikiwe proposed eight (8) protectorates in his “Political Blueprint for
Nigeria” [RL Sklar: Nigerian Political Parties. Princeton, 1963]. At
about this time tribal unions like the Bauchi Improvement Association, Ibibio
State Union, and the Pan-Ibo Federal Union became known. The pro-independence National
Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) was formed by Herbert Macaulay
in 1944. It attracted many young educated elite from the Benin and
Warri provinces initially. Among them were men like Mr. Anthony Enahoro,
TJ Akagbosu, Chief Gaius Obaseki, Arthur Prest, O.N. Rewane, Begho and
Edukugho. [EA Enahoro: Fugitive Offender, London: Cassell, 1966]
AFTER WORLD WAR II
In 1945, two significant events occurred in
Benin. Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie, already mentioned earlier
in this essay, retired from the public service and quietly returned to
Benin. He was an ex-student of King’s College Lagos where he was a
Schoolmate of Oba Akenzua. 1945 was also the year that Oba Akenzua
re-established the Aruosa Church as the Edo National Church of God. He
later wrote its catechism and published two volumes of liturgical books as well
as a rule-book based on its constitution.
In the same year, Michael Adekunle Ajasin and Jeremiah
Obafemi Awolowo conceptualized founding the “non-political” exclusively Yoruba
vanguard cultural group called the Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society of
Descendants of Oduduwa) in London. It would later be formalized in 1947
and then metamorphose into the Action Group political party in 1950/51. [Sklar,
op cit]
After the war, the momentum for independence began to gather
strongly, led by Macaulay until his untimely death in 1946 when Nnamdi Azikiwe
took over the leadership of the NCNC. By this time Obafemi Awolowo had
begun staking positions publicly and was quoted in 1947 as saying, “Opportunity
must be afforded to each group to evolve its own peculiar political
institutions.” [Awolowo: Awo – The autobiography of Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Cambridge University Press, 1960]
Indeed, one of the controversial
issues of that era was the extent to which Edo based parties and groups should
ally themselves with parties and groups outside the Edoid region. Oba Akenzua
II was opposed to external alliances because he saw them as a threat to Edo
National aspirations. In 1947, for example, there was a
conference of delegates from the Benin and Warri provinces at the old
Conference Hall in Benin City, where fears of domination in the West were
articulated.
On the other hand, some Edo speaking
politicians like Anthony Enahoro and Gaius Obaseki, for example, became
disillusioned with Nnamdi Azikiwe and the NCNC allegedly for Ibo leanings after
Macaulay’s death. [Enahoro, op. cit.] The Pan-Ibo Union
had been one of the founding organizations of the NCNC. However, Azikiwe
later assumed its Presidency in 1948. The West African Pilot later
quoted him in 1949 as saying “It would appear that the God of Africa has
created the Ibo nation to lead the children of Africa from the bondage of
ages….”
Meanwhile deep discomfort in Benin
with the provincial administrative changes of 1939 was heightened by proposals
in the new Richards Constitution of 1946 for the formal creation of the
Eastern, Western and Northern Regions in Nigeria. The new constitution
created a separate House of Assembly and House of Chiefs in the Northern
region. Initially, the Eastern and Western regions were allotted a unicameral
House of Assembly each, to which were later added a House of Chiefs for each of
the Regions. But back in Benin, Oba Akenzua II found himself once again
in dispute with elements of the “new elite” even as he kept an eye on events at
the national level.
Following the death of Iyase
Okoro-Otun in 1943, efforts by the Oba in November 1947 to abolish the title of
Iyase (“Prime Minister”) on account of his experience during the water rate
agitation were strongly opposed. Opposition was mobilised by the new
“Benin Community Tax-Payers Association” primarily formed to pressure the Oba
to confer the title of Iyase on a literate individual. Thus he
reconsidered his position, even though supported by a group of chiefs and prominent
citizens including Omo-Osagie, Egbe Omorogbe, Ogieva Emokpae, J. O. Edomwonyi,
D.E. Uwaifo, C.Y. Legemah etc. These chiefs and other men later created
the Edo Young People’s party [Edomwonyi, op. cit.] . After
an unsuccessful attempt to confer the title on Idehen, then the Esogban of
Benin, Oba Akenzua eventually conferred it in April 1948 on Hon. Gaius Obaseki,
son of the late Iyase Agho Obaseki, some say under pressure from British
authorities. In the next few years to follow the Oba was subjected to
humiliations such as a decrease in his salary and ban from conferring titles
without permission [CN Ekwuyasi: Benin Situation as it is today. Daily
Times, April 26 1950, p8].
As the Iyase, Gaius Obaseki was executive
Chairman of the newly re-organized Benin Divisional Council while Oba Akenzua
II was the President. Obaseki was also the concurrent Chairman of the
Benin City Council and its powerful Administrative Committee. In addition
he was elected the Oluwo or Leader of the influential Reformed Ogboni
Fraternity (ROF), a fact that would assume great significance in the politics
of Benin. The ROF was a religious order said to be have been in existence
since the late 19th century but formally founded in 1914 by African
Christian clergy led by Anglican Archdeacon Ogunbiyi. It was later
introduced into Benin society from Yoruba land, (but is different from the much
older traditional Ogboni society of Yoruba Obaship). The ROF describes
itself as the equivalent in the United States of “the Freemasons, Odd Fellows
Fraternity, The Rosicrucians, etc. [Morton, Williams. The Yoruba
Ogboni Cult in Oyo. AFRICA Vol. xxx 1960, p 362-374].
At the Benin provincial level, there
were two conferences that year, both marked in part by growing rivalries
between two prominent sons of Benin – Chiefs Gaius Obaseki and Humphrey
Omo-Osagie. It was also in May 1948 that Bode Thomas, an emissary of
Obafemi Awolowo paid a visit to the Benin and Warri provinces to canvass
support for a new political party with a “Yoruba orientation”. The result
of Bode Thomas’s visit was to split the hitherto united nationalist front of
young Midwest based politicians into pro-NCNC and anti-NCNC factions. At
about this time, midwesterners barely took note of a new northern organization
called the Jamiyya Mutanen Arewa, which was founded in May 1948. It would later
evolve into the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), a political party that was
destined to play a critical role in the creation of the Midwest region after
independence.
Anyway, having accepted the Iyase
situation, on October 16th, 1948, Oba Akenzua II addressed the
inauguration of what was known as the “Reformed Benin Community”, formed
by Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie in Benin:
He said, inter alia:
“The aims and ideals of this new political
body seem very laudable and there is no doubt that it will help develop
usefully like its counterparts, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa of the Yorubas, the
Federal Union of the Ibos and so on….
In the scheme of things, all Benins
should strive for a state or principality of Benin in the new Nigeria in the
making. The Hausas, the Yorubas, the Ibos, and so on are on the move and
the fact that this or that non-Benin political party has awarded scholarships
to Binis for higher studies should not deprive us of our identity, custom,
tradition, language and culture, or lull us into a false sense of security. …..
I believe Nigeria expects each of
her states to do or mind its own business, though all states have one common
business to perform, that is work together in order to achieve in a short time
independence for a United States of Nigeria.....
Therefore, the Richards Constitution
in 1950 must aim at creating more regions with full autonomy than there are at
present, each with its own Governor. At least there must be a fourth region to
be known as the Central or South West provinces……
I sincerely hope that the day will
come when there will be a larger body to be known as the Federal Union of the
Central or South West Provinces in which the Edo, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ishan, Ora,
Ivbiosakon, Sobe and so on will be principal members of the
union…." [SOURCE: National Archives of Nigeria,
Ibadan; File BP2647. Reformed Benin Community. ]
Akenzua further advised the Reformed
Benin Community to unite all the Edos, critically study the Richards
Constitution, which was due for review, and make the creation of the new region
the main focus of the organization. At about this time, the only other voice
that was loudly heard in the wilderness of States agitation was that of
Barrister Udo Udoma who was the first to conceptualize the Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers
(COR) State.
Meanwhile, the new Iyase of Benin,
Gaius Obaseki, was waxing stronger, exploiting his unique concentration of
powers. Jacob Egharevba wrote: “As a result of various
differences, ill-feeling grew up between the Oba and the Iyase.”
Professor Igbafe was more direct:
“Like Cardinal Wolsey of Tudor
England, Gaius Obaseki concentrated power in his own hands with ruthless
efficiency and uncompromising vindictiveness against known opponents……..The
Ogboni began to indulge in excesses. Gaius embarked on a vigorous membership
drive. Those who held out were persecuted.
The result of this
over-concentration of power in the hands of a single individual and the
excessive exercise of that power vis-Ã -vis the Oba’s loss of prestige, stipend
and power, produced an inevitable but opposite and equal reaction. There
was bitterness against the Ogboni, which now began to dominate the councils and
to infiltrate all walks of life in Benin. Progressive young men found the
Ogboni influence a social menace and unacceptable to their way of thinking.
Possibly the Iyase’s position in the council and in the Ogboni gave excessive
political importance to this cult. Having struggled to place a literate
young Iyase in a position of power in order to deflate the Oba’s palace
autocracy, the people found that the Ogboni cult was now too powerful and
sinister for their comfort.” [Igbafe: op. cit.]
At the Warri and Benin provincial
conferences of 1949, all Edo-speaking people (including Urhobo) supported calls
for a Midwest State [Files BP/2328, BP/2678/1, BP/742; WP/569/1 National
Archives, Ibadan]. During this period opinion among leaders from
Asaba division was predominantly in support of consolidation with the Eastern
region or creation of a western Igbo province within the Western region. Asaba,
western Ijaw, and an Itsekiri faction all opposed creation of the Midwest. When
Benin and Warri delegates in favor of creation of the Midwest region attempted
to raise the issue at the Western regional conference on Constitutional reform
that year, they were prevented from doing so. Therefore, with Oba Akenzua
in the lead, they walked out. Meanwhile both Obafemi Awolowo and
Nnamdi Azikiwe at this stage were expressing preference for a Three-States
based Nigeria, a position they elucidated at the All-Nigeria Constitutional
Conference in Ibadan in January 1950, preparatory to the take-off of the
MacPherson Constitution.
Back in Benin, the fear and
resentment of the Ogboni was amplified the suspicion that it was some sort of
mechanism for the Yoruba infiltration and control of Benin society [Abiodun
Aloba: It is a choice between Ogboni and Benin. Daily Times, October 1st,
1951, p8]. This later became the template for a popular
uprising. Many who had tormented Oba Akenzua in the difficult days of the
1930s and early forties became royalist. The “Reformed Benin Community” noted
above, later evolved, first to “Otu-Adolo” and then to “Otu-Edo” on March 15th,
1950, specifically, according to J. Osadolo Edomwonyi, to “counter the excesses
of the ill-motivated activities of the so-called Taxpayers Association cum
Ogboni.” [Edomwonyi, op. cit] After a crack-down by Obaseki
against local demonstrations, a delegation of leaders led by E. O. Imafidon was
sent to Lagos to invite Humphrey Omo-Osagie back to Benin from a meeting in
Lagos, to lead the Otu-Edo. The new party was dedicated to the
“development of Benin and the unification of all Edo-speaking peoples of
Nigeria.” In its constitution it also said it would promote “a sense of
nationalism among the people of Benin” and combat threats to “the structures of
our laws and custom” and “national unity.” [Orobosa Oronsaye: Cultural
Organisation and Political Development – The case of the Otu-Edo.
University of Ibadan, Department of History, June 1977.]
It was in this context that the
Otu-Edo party was formed in a crisis atmosphere, to support the Oba in his
fight against the taxpayers association under Iyase Gaius Obaseki at the local
level while mobilizing support for the Midwest State Movement at the provincial
level. [Otu-Edo Union, File No. 1170/1 National Archives, Ibadan]
Although, there were some initial problems with key NCNC leaders like Ernest
Ikoli, Mbonu Ojike and Nnamdi Azikiwe, some of whom were suspected of being
members of the ROF in Lagos, Otu-Edo later entered into an alliance with the
NCNC at the national level. Meanwhile, at the local level in Benin,
according to Professor Igbafe:
“……..the Ogboni allied with the
Action Group founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo out of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa in
Yorubaland…”
How did all this play out?
After Otu-Edo was created, another
political party, called the Benin Action Group was created in Benin in March
1951, in response to the activities of Bode Thomas mentioned earlier.
They were both opposed to Ogbonism in Benin politics, as crystallized, in their
opinion, by the Benin Community Taxpayers Association. Indeed both parties overlapped
and shared membership.
In the weeks preceding the formal
launching of the united “Action Group” at Owo from April 28 – 30, 1951, Anthony
Enahoro had organized a meeting of Benin and Warri leaders of thought in
Sapele, ostensibly to discuss Midwestern solidarity. People like
Gaius Obaseki, Arthur Prest, Festus Edah (Okotie-Eboh), Okorodudu, S. O.
Ighodaro etc. were present. At the meeting, most participants expressed
sentiments against the creation of a separate midwestern region.
However, two dissenters, Chike Ekwuyasi and E. O. Imafidon who were present,
rushed back to Benin to alert Omo-Osagie who then called a rally of his own and
initiated counter-measures [Oronsaye, op. cit.; Uwaifo, op. cit].
On April 28, delegates from Benin
and Warri provinces attended the main Action Group conference at Owo, at which
merger of the Midwestern and Western components was accomplished. Gauis
Obaseki emerged as the Vice President for Benin Province, S.O. Ighodaro, as
Treasurer, Anthony Enahoro as Assistant Secretary, while Arthur Prest and W. E.
Mowarin emerged as Vice Presidents from the Warri province. However,
Benin Action Group delegates, like D.N. Oronsaye, C. N. Ekwuyasi, S. O.
Ighodaro, and others, who were not members of the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity,
opposed Gaius Obaseki’s election at Owo. When they returned, the Benin
Action Group dissociated themselves from Chief Awolowo’s Action group and later
allied themselves with H Omo-Osagie’s Otu-Edo party in what was known as
Otu-Edo/Benin Action Group Grand Alliance. Iyase Obaseki, now Vice
President for the Awolowo Action group, moved immediately, some say ruthlessly,
to consolidate his hold on Benin division [Oronsaye. Op. cit.].
The stage was set, therefore, for a
bitterly fought council election, which took place in December 1951. The
period preceding it was associated with waves of violence, including arson and
murder, in an uprising against the Awolowo Action Group/Benin Taxpayers
Association/Ogboni known locally as “Airen Egbe Ason”, meaning “people do not
recognize each other at night”. Beginning in July, but with its
high point on September 6th, it was allegedly triggered by actions
of two members of the “Ogboni Action group”, namely Iyare and Obazee, at Evbowe
in Isi district. [File 1818/6/B National Archives, Ibadan]
Farmers who opposed the Ogboni were allegedly mobilized and
concentrated at Eguaholor from where they proceeded to burn down the houses of
leaders of the Ogboni in villages all over Isi district. The
epidemic breakdown of law and order necessitated massive mobilization of
Policemen to many parts of rural Benin province [File B.D. 1818/7. Benin
Situation Report. National Archives, Ibadan]. Many were detained,
subsequently charged to court, fined and even jailed. GCM Onyiuke, Charles
Idigbe, and Mr. S. O. Ighodaro, then the Secretary of the Benin Action group,
comprised the legal team hired by Otu-Edo to defend its members.
Nevertheless, after the mayhem, with
the Ogboni infrastructure broken in the rural areas, Otu-Edo, under Humphrey
Omo-Osagie, with the Oba as its patron, came to power in Benin in 1952 - while
at the regional level, the Awolowo Action Group dominated the legislature in
Ibadan. The Macpherson Constitution replaced the Richards
Constitution in 1952. It created a central legislature that was called the
House of Representatives and initially led to false hopes that a quick
mechanism for States Creation would be established. Meanwhile, Oba
Akenzua had to preside over the residual bitterness that accompanied the recruitment
drive for ROF, followed by the uprising of 1951 in Benin division. It
tore families and communities apart. However, with no justification
intended for the violence, had Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie not come to power that
year to align the “new elite” with the “traditional leadership”, the subsequent
unified role of Benin as the heartland of the agitation for the creation of the
Midwest may never have seen the light.
When the Western House of Assembly opened in January 1952,
21 out of 24 Midwesterners were allied with the NCNC while three – S.O.
Ighodaro, Arthur Prest, and Anthony Enahoro - were allied with the Action
Group. One immediate source of irritation was the government’s
official pamphlet, which insensitively described the Parliamentary Mace with
four ceremonial swords as representing the authority of Yoruba Chiefs. To
aggravate matters, when the unicameral Western House of Assembly was formally
declared open by then Lt. Governor Sir Hugo Marshall, the Alake of Abeokuta,
rose to speak immediately after Sir Marshall and said:
“On my right sits the Oni of Ife; On my left, the Leader of
our Government, Obafemi Awolowo. The Voice of the West is complete.” [Hansard
of Western House of Assembly: January 7, 1952]
In other words, as the delegates from Benin and Delta saw
it, the “voice of the West” did not include those of the people of Benin and
Delta provinces. To compound matters, Benin and Delta delegates later
complained too about derogatory epithets that had allegedly been hurled at
them, such as “KoboKobo”, used to refer to persons (or barbarians) whose
diction cannot be understood. [File BP/2328/1 National Archives,
Ibadan]
>From this point on, the Oba of
Benin, Akenzua II, supported by the Benin and Warri (Delta) legislative
delegation, began openly touring Benin and other Divisions of Benin province as
well as the Delta province to campaign for the Midwest (Central) region.
According to Professor Michael Crowder:
“In the Western region, as a
reaction against the allegedly Yoruba-dominated Action group, the Mid-West
State movement was started, supported largely by non-Yoruba-speaking peoples
and in particular the people of the old Benin Empire.” [M Crowder: The
Story of Nigeria. 3rd Edition, 1972. Faber]
Indeed, at the very next Benin
Provincial Conference at Ogwashi-Uku in June 1952, attended by
pro-Midwesterners like JO Odigie of Ishan, Chike Ekwuyasi of Benin and Dennis
Osadebay of Asaba, separatist sentiments were strongly expressed, resulting in
the creation of the “Central State Congress”. [File
BP/2328/1 National Archives, Ibadan] One of the criticisms of the Western
region government was the alleged decision to spend 225,000 pounds in Awolowo’s
home province of Ijebu with a population of 383,000, as compared with 169,000
pounds in the Benin province with a population of 624,000. Subsequently,
a subgroup known as the Committee of the Midwest Organization emerged under
R.O. Odita.
Before the end of 1952 another
significant event occurred. It was the decision of the Action Group
government based in Ibadan to restore the title of the ‘Olu of Itsekiri’ to
‘Olu of Warri’ as it had been known in previous centuries. Non-Itsekiris
in Warri Province reacted violently, concerned that there was an implication of
suzerainty over the whole province. Thus a compromise was reached.
In exchange for acceptance of the designation of the Olu as ‘Olu of Warri’, the
province was renamed ‘Delta province’. [personal papers, Alfred O. Rewane]
In spite of this compromise, the experience soured the relationship
between many Urhobo leaders of thought and the Action group leadership, which
they felt, had been beholden to a powerful Itsekiri lobby. It served to
drive Urhobos, already so inclined, further into the warm embrace of the
Midwest Separatist Movement.
Back in Benin, another one of the
many clashes between H. Omo-Osagie and Gaius Obaseki was playing out. In
1953, Otu-Edo got Iyase Obaseki deposed as Chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Benin Divisional Council allegedly for not attending meetings. His
Orderly and Police escorts were withdrawn and monthly salaries stopped [Oronsaye,
Op. Cit.]. However, the Oba did not cooperate in the attempt to strip
him of his title as Iyase, allegedly for not performing the rites of the
office. Thus Obaseki retained his title as Iyase – although he never
really performed the formal traditional ceremonies of acceptance of the title
in the first place. Nevertheless, colonial authorities removed the
Resident in Benin province, Mr. H. Butcher for his role in during and after the
controversial Iyase affair of 1948.
In July/August 1953, Councilor J.
Osadolo Edomwonyi moved a motion in the Benin Divisional Council praying the
Constitutional Conference in London to include on its agenda, the creation of a
separate region for the Benin and Delta provinces [Edomwonyi, Op. Cit.].
However, overshadowed by a bitter fight between Obafemi Awolowo of the Western
region and Nnamdi Azikiwe of the Eastern region over excision of Lagos on one
hand and Southern Cameroons on the other, creation of new States was overruled
at the London Constitutional conference [Report of the Conference on the
Nigerian Constitution, held in London, July-August, 1953 Cmnd. 8934, (London:
H.M.S.O., 1953, p4)]. When he returned from London, Chief Omo-Osagie
briefed Oba Akenzua II, who then made arrangements to host a conference of
traditional and political leaders of the Benin and Delta provinces on September
18, 1953 in Benin City. Anthony Enahoro, S. O. Ighodaro, Arthur Prest and
the Olu of Warri boycotted this well attended meeting. In his address,
Oba Akenzua II said, among other things that Midwesterners were seeking
freedom, “not only from the white man, but also from foreign african
nations…” He went on to state that,
“Benin-Delta was a sovereign nation
before the occupation of the country by the British.” Akenzua also
said, “The divide and rule policy of the British Government had done much harm
to the national solidarity of Benin-Delta Province in the past but as God now
wants things to be what they were before the advent of the British Government,
that is, the Yoruba State for the Yorubas and Benin-Delta State for the
“BENDELITES”, that is, the inhabitants of the Benin-Delta Province, steps
should now be taken without further delay or fear to move the British
Government to repair the damage they have done by restoring the national status
of Benin-Delta Province before they transfer power back to the Nigerians from
whom they have taken it.”
Mr. JIG Onyia of Asaba then moved a
motion, which said inter-alia:
“Be it resolved, and it is hereby
resolved that:
1. We (the peoples of
Benin-Delta Province) in a conference holding at Benin City this 18th
day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and fifty
three, demand as of right an immediate creation of a separate State for the
peoples of Benin-Delta Province…….” [Edomwonyi, Op. Cit.]
Spurred on by stronger and stronger
perceptions of discrimination in the West, exemplified by matters such as the
state ment of Alake of Egbaland in 1952, Adegoke Adelabu’s emergence over
Osadebay as NCNC leader of Opposition in the West, threats of Western regional
control of Midwestern forests, etc. H Omo-Osagie urged the assembly to create a
“party which will serve as the Vanguard in the battle for the Midwest.”
The envisioned party was to be independent of parties based in other regions.
After overruling an alternative concept put forward by JIG Onyia of Asaba, that
the organization so created should be a “movement” rather than a “political
party”, the Benin Delta Political Party (BDPP) was created. It was to function
under the patronage of a President General (Oba Akenzua II) and six Vice
Presidents (Ogirrua of Irrua, Emeni of Obiaruku, Ovie of Ughelli, Momodu of
Agbede, Ovie of Effurun and Ogenieni of Uzairue). Members of the
Executive Committee were D.E. Odiase, T.O. Elaiho, G. Brass Ometan, J. W. Amu,
J. D. Ifode, J. Igben, Martins Adebayo, John Uzo, H. O. Uwaifo and Barrister
Gabriel Edward Longe. Chief Oweh later replaced JD Ifode. Other BDPP
stalwarts included Onogie Enosegbe II of Ewohimi, E. A. Lamai of Fugar and
Martins Adebayo of Akoko-Edo. [File Ben Prof 2/BP/3022, National Archives,
Ibadan]
Oba Akenzua II subsequently notified
the Western House of Chiefs of this development, quipping, “I think that the
Benin Delta State can succeed very well without being tied to the apron strings
of the Yoruba State.” He also said “The fact is the Benin/Delta People’s
Party will not allow the Benin/Delta State to be annexed to the Yoruba State
whether the North and the East are broken into small States or not.” [Western
House of Chiefs Debates, Oct. 20, 1953] Then he proceeded to lead a
series of tours all over the Midwest to campaign for the Midwestern region.
Such tours were undertaken in December 1953, February and May 1954. The
BDPP hinged its success on the prestige of various traditional rulers, inspite
of undercurrents of tension with some western Ibo, specifically Asaba leaders
like F. Utomi and G Onyia, who issued public statements after the Western
Igboid Conference of December 1953, that Asaba people should not attend BDPP
meetings. In his memoirs, Dennis Osadebay says “they feared that the
creation of the region would mean the resuscitation of the old Benin Kingdom
and it’s alleged oppressive rule and domination of minorities.” [DC
Osadebay: Building a Nation: An Autobiography. MacMillan, 1978.]
In 1954, Obafemi Awolowo became Premier of the Western
region under the 1954 Constitution that created the Federation of Nigeria. At
the same time Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh of Warri, representing the NCNC, became
the Regional Minister of Labour and Welfare. Dennis Osadebay emerged as
NCNC Opposition leader in the West, while V.I. Amadasun became NCNC Chief
Whip. Meanwhile the BDPP relied increasingly on the local NCNC
operational infrastructure, even while foreswearing any party links in public.
As time went on, therefore, pressure grew from within the BDPP to formally ally
the party with the NCNC – which the Oba was opposed to. Meanwhile there
were unconfirmed rumors at the end of 1954 that the Oba had reached a secret
deal with Chief Awolowo. [Michael Vickers, Ethnicity and Sub-Nationalism in
Nigeria, p93] Concerned about these rumours, Chief Omo-Osagie
decided to ignore the General Secretary of Otu-Edo, Mr. J. Osadolo Edomwonyi,
who had close links to the Palace, and unilaterally nominate Mr. Eric Imafidon
to contest the All-Nigerian Parliamentary elections. Both Omo-Osagie and
Imafidon defeated Edomwonyi’s “Oba of Benin BDPP faction” candidates. [Uwaifo,
Op. Cit.; Oronsaye, Op. Cit.]
The Action Group had in the meantime conceptualized a plan
to seize political control of Benin by co-opting the Oba and destroying Chief H
Omo-Osagie.
According to testimony from Dr. Obas. J. Ebohon,
“My father was the personal driver of Chief Omo-Osagie
through out his political career and what both himself and B2 went through
before, during, and after the creation of Mid-West is unimaginable and
sometimes better than some of 007 epic films. My father once told me that
the journeys to and from the Western House of Assembly in Ibadan was the type
of journeys one makes to and from the battle field. Firstly, they never
exceeded four people and they travelled by Bedford Lorry instead of a car to
which his status demanded. The reason for this was security as his life was
threatened openly by those enraged by his demands for Mid-West State. He said
on approaching Ore, they would disembark and B2 would come out of the
comfortable second row and climb into the back of the Bedford lorry and be
covered with trampoline and that is where he would remain through the numerous
roadblocks put out to hunt him down and, that is how he would remain until they
arrive Ibadan. Sometimes, for the need to confuse his detractors, he would be
hidden in lorries carrying plantain to Ibadan and guess where he would be
sitting - buried among the plantain and that is how he remains until the outskirts
of Ibadan and be transferred into the Bedford lorry again. On numerous
occasions they escaped death with the skin of his teeth. My father indicated
that when they are travelling, it usually was like preparing for a funeral at
B2's house and those of his entourage and the worst is expected and, when they
return unharmed, it was jubilation.” (Source: OJ Ebohon. Edo-Nation
Egroup, July 5, 2002. RE: [Edo-Nation] The Last Edo Political Titan: Chief
Humphrey Omo-Osagie)
Under these circumstances, on March 8th, 1955,
Obafemi Awolowo invited Oba Akenzua II for a meeting in Ibadan. According
to the minutes of the meeting, Chief Awolowo told Oba Akenzua II to disengage
himself from politics before it becomes a disadvantage. Awolowo told him
that he had planned to preserve the position of traditional rulers as an
"important part of the social and spiritual life of the people"
outside the political arena. In response, Oba Akenzua II politely
but firmly drew a distinction between politics and his activities with the
Midwest State movement. He went further to query why the Ooni of Ife and
the Alake of Abeokuta were open supporters and contributors to the
Action Group but were not being similarly advised. Awolowo reacted by
promising to give other Obas similar advice, but also told Oba Akenzua II to go
back to Benin and seriously reflect over his comments. [National
Archives, Ibadan; File B.P.215 Correspondence with the Oba of Benin.]
This meeting between Oba Akenzua and Chief Awolowo was to
presage a complex series of intrigues that would unfold in the next few
months. Just as Chief H Omo-Osagie was to leave for Lagos in March 1955
to take up a new position as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of
Finance, he was involved in a factional split with a sub-faction of the
Edomwonyi group led by A.G. Bazuaye within the Otu-Edo [Otu-Edo Secretariat:
Confusion in the Otu Edo. March 4, 1955]. This was coming to a head just as
the mandate of the Benin Native Authority Council was expiring. The
Action Group Government in Ibadan refused to renew the mandate of the council,
preferring instead to appoint a provisional caretaker council. This
caretaker committee was under the chairmanship of the Oba, but consisted of a
mixture of the pro-Action Group Bazuaye faction of Otu-Edo and elements of
Iyase Gaius Obaseki’s pro-Action Group Benin Tax Payers Association, pending
new elections. The new provisional council included well-known Action
Groupers like S.Y. Eke and V.O.E. Osula [Benin Native Authority Files 730/4
(April 2, 1955) and 730/5 (May5, 1955)]. It increased the salary of
the Oba in a move that appeared to signal a rapprochement between Oba Akenzua
and Iyase Gauis Obaseki. It was hoped that the Oba would cooperate with
an alliance of the Bazuaye and Obaseki groups to oust Omo-Osagie from
power. But the Oba wanted some kind of public indication that the Action
Group would stop being ambivalent or even hostile toward the creation of the
Midwest.
Therefore, on June 14th, 1955, a legislator, MS
Sowole, moved a motion, seconded by JG Ako, a minister of state, which was
carried in the Western House of Assembly titled “Creation of a Separate State
for Benin and Delta Provinces.” Chief Awolowo’s curious reaction to this
development on the floor of the House was to announce that “the Government
adopts no official attitude whatsoever” towards the Sowole motion [Western
House of Assembly Debates, 14 June, 1955].
According to Professor Michael Crowder, at this stage, the
Action Group:
“…..gave its blessing to this movement, partly because
it was beginning to find the Mid-West an electoral and economic liability
and partly because it realized that if it were to champion the creation of new
states in the Eastern and Northern Regions it could hardly object to the
creation of one in the Western region itself.”
The problem, though, was that the Action group was never
trusted by core Midwest Protagonists, who saw opportunism and duplicity in its
behavior. Dennis Osadebay, for example, was of the opinion that the Sowole
motion was little more than a vote catching gimmick to secure victory at the
1955 and 1956 general elections [Osadebay, Op. Cit.]. In time to
come his suspicions would be confirmed when, after independence, Chief Awolowo
openly said that the Sowole motion was not binding on the Western region.
It was in this situation that local government elections
took place in Benin in September 1955. Once again, Chief Omo-Osagie and
the Otu-Edo were victorious [Oronsaye, Op. Cit.]. A few weeks
later, on October 25th, 1955 Oba Akenzua was appointed Minister
without portfolio in Awolowo’s government at Ibadan – an announcement that
practically destroyed the BDPP. The Oba explained that henceforth he
would use his membership of the Action group Government of the Western region
to push for the creation of the Midwest. In response, members of Otu-Edo
in Benin staged a mock funeral of the Oba right in front of his Palace.
Meanwhile, according to Michael Vickers, in December 1955,
western Ibo leaders, not unmindful of developments in Benin, but also confident
in their trained manpower advantage over others, decided that a future Midwest
would best serve their interests, rather than either the West or East.
Thus they began renegotiating the terms of renewed cooperation with the now
moribund BDPP. [Vickers: Ethnicity and Sub-Nationalism in Nigeria.
Worldview Publishing, 2000. p121] Thus, inspite of his
stature as the earliest and most consistently committed advocate of the Midwest
cause, H. Omo-Osagie would later concede the leadership of the Midwest State
Movement to Dennis Osadebay, also known as the “Gentleman Leader of the
Opposition” in exchange for support.
In January 1956, the Oba removed himself as a Patron
of Otu-Edo, and stopped making public demands for the creation of the Midwest,
hoping to achieve it, nonetheless, by some kind of internal understanding with
Chief Awolowo’s government. The Oba’s high stakes moves throughout
1955 caused a lot of mistrust within Otu-Edo as well as pro-Midwest sympathizers
in other parties. But Oba Akenzua remained convinced that his presence in
the government was the tactical thing to do in the circumstances. He
would give Chief Awolowo time to fulfill his promise. In February,
he hosted the Queen at the Benin Airport and made a point of emphasizing the
uniqueness of the grand Benin-Delta reception. Tragically, Iyase
Gaius Obaseki died in April and was mourned throughout the region as a man of
great stature. [Egharevba, Op. Cit.]
Another development in the Western Regional Assembly that
created consternation in the Benin and Delta provinces was the attempt in 1956
to enforce Yoruba as a language medium in all schools throughout ALL the
provinces. The British Lt. Governor, Sir John Rankine, vetoed compulsory
implementation in the Benin and Delta provinces, explaining that it was a
time–bomb. It is not clear what role Oba Akenzua II played in
securing this veto. [personal communication, D. A. Omoigui]
On May 5, 1956, the Midwest State Movement (MSM) was
inaugurated from the ashes of the BDPP. Its patron was the Obi of Agbor.
Members of the Executive Committee were Dennis Osadebay (Leader), Chief H.
Omo-Osagie (Deputy Leader), J. E. Otobo (Secretary), G.E. Odiase, O. Oweh, F.
Oputa-Otutu and M.A. Kubeinje. Its legal advisers were A. Atake, M.
Edewor, W. Egbe, GE Longe, and JM Udochi. [JA Brand. The Midwest State
Movement in Nigerian Politics. Political Studies, Vol. XIII, 3 (1965), p351]
In preparation for the September 1956 London Constitutional Conference, the MSM
embarked on fund raising drives and political tours through the Delta and Benin
provinces [Vickers, Op. Cit.]. It also began developing
detailed arguments to justify the creation of a new region. Such
arguments included the proposed region’s distinct way of life, various examples
of discrimination including allocation of funds to various line items in the
budget. The proposed region’s economic viability was also studied, taking
note of its agricultural base, Rubber, Timber, Palm oil, brown coal, water
resources, ports and its capacity to create secondary industries from the
African Timber and Plywood Factory in Sapele. The conference was,
however, later deferred until 1957.
Meanwhile on May 26, during Western parliamentary regional
elections in Benin, Otu-Edo secured victory once again. Notably, G.I.
Oviasu of Otu-Edo/NCNC defeated S.O. Ighodaro of the Action Group and the Oba’s
second son, Felix Akenzua, lost to VI Amadasun. One irritant during this
election was the complaint that many students from the Benin and Delta
provinces at the University College Ibadan were so mistrusted by Action group
operatives on campus that their names were surreptitiously removed from voters’
registration lists in Ibadan.
ALSO READ: A Self Deceiving Nation Called Nigeria- Patrick E. Osagie
LONDON CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1957
LONDON CONSTITUTIONAL CONFERENCE OF 1957
During the 1957 London Constitutional Conference, the MSM
declared that it would be willing to accept a plebiscite in the Benin-Delta
area. However, efforts by the MSM to insist that the creation of states
be discussed before self-government were outflanked as the NCNC and AG resisted
any effort to create new states in their own regions [Report by the Nigeria
Constitutional Conference held in London, May and June 1957. Cmnd. 207. London:
HMSO, 1957]. The AG, for example, accused the NCNC of stalling
about the proposed COR State because of the possibility of discovery of Oil,
even as it was busy proposing regions elsewhere. The NPC was also
uninterested in the creation of new regions in the North. All three
parties did not want any delays in independence merely on account of creation
of new states for minorities.
Eventually, Chief Awolowo, while opposing all State requests
except those of the Midwest, COR and Middle Belt, which he said should be
created simultaneously, got his rivals in the NCNC and Northern Peoples
Congress (NPC) to accept certain fundamental principles which would guide
creation of new regions and which would be enshrined in the proposed new
constitution. These requirements included a two-thirds majority
consent of the legislature of the concerned state from which the new state was
to be created, as well as the federal parliament; that ethnic groups should not
be split; that ethnic groups that chose not to separate could stay with the
original state; and that both the proposed new state and the residual state
from which it was created should meet tests of viability.
For the Midwest in particular, Anthony Enahoro proposed an
idea patterned after the Ministry of Welsh Affairs that had been created in
1951 in the United Kingdom by the Conservative government. This concept
meant that rather than a new Midwest region, the Midwest would be managed under
a “Ministry of Midwest Affairs” concurrently under his supervision as the
Western region Minister for Home Affairs. Chief Awolowo accepted this concept.
By the time the conference came to an end, delegates from
the three major ethnic groups had agreed that in addition to tough legislative
requirements at federal and regional levels, a plebiscite should be conducted
in the area of any proposed new state to determine if 60% of registered voters
in the area wanted a new state [Joint Proposals by the NPC, NCNC and Action
Group Delegations: The creation of New States. Statement submitted to the
Nigerian Constitutional Conference, London, June 1957.]. As a
consolation prize, a Commission of Inquiry was recommended to ascertain the
facts about the fears of minorities and consider what safeguards should be
included in the new constitution, with the proviso that creation of states only
be considered as a last resort. The Rt. Hon. Alan Lennox-Boyd, Secretary of
State for the Colonies, appointed this commission in September 1957. It later
came to be known as the Willink Commission. Its members were Henry
Willink, Gordon Hadow, Phillip Mason and J.B. Shearer. It arrived in
Nigeria on November 23rd, 1957 and held public sittings and private
meetings from December 8th to 23rd at Benin and
Warri. Following an extensive schedule of visits all over the country, it
left for the UK on April 12th, 1958 and eventually submitted its
report on July 30th, 1958. [Cmnd. 505. London: HMSO, 1958]
Before settling down to prepare for the Willink Commission
visit, reaction to the outcome of the London Conference among members of the
MSM was extremely negative. Chief Omo-Osagie, for example, said,
“The people of the Midwest would willingly submit to the use
of nuclear weapons, devastating bombs or machine guns to annihilate them,
rather than remain in a self governing West.” [West African Pilot. July 14,
1957]
TESTIMONY AT THE WILLINK COMMISSION
It has been said that the Midwest State Movement flew the
two expatriate counsels that led the testimony of the pro-Midwest witnesses at
the Willink Commission, into the country. In point of fact Chief
Omo-Osagie paid for their round trip fares and expenses out of his own
pocket. Money was not forthcoming from the NCNC. The more senior of the
pair was George G. Baker.
Three major sets of opinion were canvassed. The
Midwest State movement was only interested in the creation of the Midwest
(meaning Benin and Warri provinces en bloc) – to which it wanted the
Edo-speaking Sobe and Ijagba areas of Ondo province appended. The
Action Group, represented by its lawyer, Fani Kayode, conceded that the Midwest
might, as a last resort, be allowed to go (after all the legislative hurdles)
but that Warri division and Akoko-Edo should join Ondo province, while the
western Ibo should join the Eastern region and the western Ijaw should join
eastern Ijaw. He even went further to suggest that Ishan division should
be excluded from the “residual Midwest” for no other reason than because Ishan
had a significant number of Action Group supporters. The government of
the Western region, represented by Rotimi Williams, differed slightly from Fani-Kayode,
by accepting that Afemai and Ishan divisions could join the proposed “residual
Midwest”, implying the Benin and Urhobo divisions, if they wished.
[Willink Commission report. Cmnd. 505. London: HMSO, 1958]
The position of the MSM was based on fear of colonization by
the Yoruba. Detailed testimony was heard from a broad range of witnesses,
including Chiefs Ezomo, Oliha, Ineh and Osula. Other witnesses included
the Chairmen of the Iyekovia, Uhunmwode and Benin City councils, namely Messrs Adonrin,
Atohengbe and Ogbebor. Edo women made a submission through Madam
Eweka. Complaints included lack of rubber markets and processing
facilities, excessive local taxation, including “head taxes” which would then
be remitted to Ibadan, poor infrastructure, and discrimination in the award of
scholarships and opportunities for Edo women traders at Ibadan. More
recently, Mr. Isaac Asemota recalled that, “While Benin- City stayed in the
dark with no electricity, running water, good roads, separate and unequal
schools and grossly inadequate health clinics, there in Ibadan, Edo tax monies
were being squandered in the construction of Cocoa House, Mapo Hall and
Commercial Broadcasting Service Radio Station whose frequency we couldn’t even
pick up in Benin-City. The best we could hope for was Redifussion radio which
had a very low frequency and could not be heard more than two miles away from
the broadcasting booth. “ (Isaac Asemota: “The last Edo Political Titan:
Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie” unpublished manuscript, Edo-Nation Egroup, July 2,
2002.)
The most powerful and emotional testimony from Benin came
from Chief H Omo-Osagie. He lamented the insidious cultural role of
Ifa divination and Ogboni activities in inserting Yoruba values and ways
into Benin society. He explained that Ifa divination required
knowledge of Yoruba, while the Yoruba derived Ogboni society, was, according to
him, “more dangerous than freemasonry.” In fact he openly stated that
after independence, laws would likely be passed, making membership of the ROF
compulsory. He went on to criticize the Western region Chiefs Law No. 20
of 1957 which was being used with effect to intimidate traditional rulers and
influence the selection of chiefs and Dukes inside the Midwest. The Chief
also went into additional detail about perceptions of Yoruba domination of the
Police, government boards, the public service, and the use of scholarships as a
tool for punishing separatist divisions. The Benin division, for example,
had not, under the period of review, received any scholarships, while the Ijebu
province (home to Chief Awolowo) had secured 17 such awards. Another
complaint was that Rubber was being developed in the Ijebu province when
investment in the promised Ikpoba Rubber processing factory for already established
rubber plantations of the Midwest was being help up. A similar shenanigan
affected the Koko port. He went on to use examples of the decision by the
Action Group government to dissolve the Benin Divisional Council in 1955 as an
example of arbitrary misuse of power. In conclusion, Chief Omo-Osagie
opposed the new “Welsh-type” arrangement implemented by the Action Group
through the establishment of the “Ministry of Midwest Affairs” and the Midwest
Advisory Council, and demanded either the creation of a Midwest region or a
return to a unitary government at the center with provinces at the
periphery.
Supporting testimony from the Ishan division, where the
Action Group had deposed the Onogies of Idoa and Ubiaja was also heard from G.
Ebea, A. Ibhazo, Prince Shaka Momodu, and His Royal Highness, Enosegbe II,
Enogie of Ewohimi. Similarly, the Commission heard from the Oba of Agbede
who bluntly stated that the Oba of Benin, and not any of the Yoruba Obas, was
his Oba. On their part, Messrs Utomi, Onyia and Odiakosa provided the
views of the Asaba division. Interestingly, while scholarship complaints
were commonplace in the Benin division, the Asaba division was doing very well
with scholarships under the guidance of its representative, Dennis Osadebay, who
was then the Chairman of the Regional Scholarships Board. In Warri,
there was a split among the Itsekiri. While Chiefs Arthur Prest and
Festus Okotie-Eboh were in support, at this stage, of creation of a Midwest
region, O.N. Rewane and the Olu of Warri were against it.
In response to testimony of pro-Midwest witnesses, a shadowy
organization called the “Anti-Midwest State Movement” was put forward by the
Action Group. It asserted that Edos had more to fear from Igbo than
Yoruba domination, and that creation of a Midwest region would expose Edos to
Igbo domination.
Among its observations, the commission noted that actual
expenditure on road development in the Midwest area up to March 31, 1957, was
only 15% of the estimates, compared with 50% in the Yoruba West. It also
made the following observation:
“What is feared is a permanent Action Group majority in the
Western House of Assembly. The Action Group drawing its inspiration from
a Yoruba society, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa expressing itself….through the Ogboni
Fraternity, controlling Boards, Corporations and Commissions, eventually even
the Magistracy and Judiciary, aiming at the obliteration of all that is not
Yoruba. That is what is meant by Yoruba domination.”
But in its recommendations, the Willink Commission advised
that short of a new state, the “Midwest area” for which the Ministry of Midwest
Affairs of the Western region was being established be reduced to a “Council
for Edo Affairs” with responsibility for development, welfare and culture preservation,
covering the Edo-speaking divisions of Benin, Urhobo, Afenmai and Ishan.
In addition to a similarly proposed “Calabar Council” in Eastern Nigeria, the
commission felt that “these two are the areas in which it seems to us, there is
the strongest and most united local sentiment and the most clearly
distinguishable culture.” (see Willink Report, Chapter 14, Section 4, Item 36,
page 97.)
In reaction, the MSM rejected the Willink report, insisted
on creation of the Midwest region, but left open the possibility of a
“Provincial Commissioner for Benin and Delta provinces” at the federal level –
an option the Action Group rejected outright.
1958 – 1960
While the Constitutional Conference and Willink Commission
were finalizing their activities, the Western region passed what was known as
“amendment No. 4” to the local government law of 1957, which gave it new powers
by which it could manipulate the control of local councils. The
combination of the local government and chieftaincy laws, control of customary courts
and heavy handed use of tax assessments was then exploited in an aggressive
drive by the Action Group to take control of the Benin and Delta provinces [Sklar
- Benin: A Study in the Mechanics of Chieftaincy Control. P238-42, In: Sklar,
Nigerian Political Parties.].
During the Lancaster House conference in London which took
place in September and October 1958, the concept of a minority area inclusive
of Benin and Delta provinces, except Warri division and Akoko-Edo district was
discussed and vaguely agreed to, pending further consultation, without plans
for a Special Ijaw Area Board. [Report by the Resumed Nigeria
Constitutional Conference Held in London, September and October 1958, Cmnd.
569, London: HMSO, 1958]
In the meantime, the rising political profile of key
Midwesterners who would come to play critical roles in the creation of the
Midwest was unmistakable. A national government was formed based on
the 1957 constitution, in preparation for independence. In this
government Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh of Warri emerged as the Minister for Labor
and Welfare (NCNC), a position which gave him direct access to northern leaders
with whom he consolidated strong personal relationships which would be used by
the Midwest movement with devastating effect after independence. The
Action Group was represented by Chief SL Akintola (Communications and Aviation)
and Mr. Ayo Rosiji (Health). Other Midwesterners like H. Omo-Osagie,
James Otobo, V. I. Amadasun, Oputa-Otutu, Shaka Momodu, FH Utomi and others
also became more prominent in party and legislative affairs at regional and
national levels. It was in May 1958 that initial talks to enter
into a post-independence government coalition were held between the NCNC and
the NPC [Enahoro, Fugitive Offender, Op. Cit.].
Back in Benin, the battle to undermine Chief Omo-Osagie’s
power base was continuing – on all fronts. Local government elections
took place in Benin on May 17th, 1958 [Oronsaye, Op. Cit.].
The manipulation of post-election council nominations made it possible for the
Action group to dominate the council although the party did not win the
elections. On November 25th, Action group stalwart S. Y. Eke,
moved a motion to ban Owegbe “juju” (also known as Isigidi, Aimuekpensulele or
Iselogha) from the Benin division. The motion was carried and confirmed
on March 19th, 1959 by an order of the Western region
Governor-in-Council – with the support of Oba Akenzua II [West Regional
Gazette, No. 14 of 19 March, 1959]. The Oba, who was then a
Minister in the government, had commented in a letter on January 23rd,
1959, that Owegbe was an imported juju and that its existence in Benin was a
threat to peace. Chief Omo-Osagie demanded a formal judicial
inquiry, saying the ban was politically motivated, and explained that that
there was no “juju” or “cult” as such, but that there was indeed an “Owegbe
society” which was the “youth wing” of the Otu-Edo party. The existence
of youth wings was by no means a new phenomenon in Nigeria. The Zikist
National Vanguard and Awo National Brigade were examples, according to the
Chief, who also directed attention to the violations of fundamental human
rights and freedom of association which the ban implied [Debates of the
Western House of Assembly, May 27, 1959; col. 863].
When however, Chief Omo-Osagie asserted that the Oba would
testify that there was no such thing as “Owegbe juju” known in the Benin
division, the Oba, in a letter dated July 22nd, 1959 stated that
there was such a “juju” which, in his opinion at that time, as a Minister in
the Action group government, was dangerous. In what seemed to reflect the
underlying political fear, the Oba said the danger was not with claims of
powers to kill or save but in the ability of intelligent citizens based in
Benin, having convinced less sophisticated rural based folk to take oaths,
could then by order, cause disturbances anytime they wished – a veiled
reference to the disturbances of 1951. Using this cover, the western
region government moved to emasculate the Owegbe society, which was actually
originally created to provide sanctuary for those who wanted a way to fortify
themselves from Ogboni recruitment drives. To illustrate the political
nature of this development, the Oba reversed himself when he wrote a letter in 1962
(having since left the Action group) to the government saying he no longer had
any concerns about Owegbe (see below).
At the same time, the national wing of the NCNC was seeking
to wean itself from its dependence on the Otu-Edo. It accused
Otu-Edo of restricting choices for candidates in elections to Benin indigenes,
to the detriment of resident Igbos who wanted to contest in Benin and represent
the party at the center. This complaint was curious, considering that
Chike Ekwuyasi, an Ibo speaking Midwesterner from Ogwashi-Uku was actually
elected on Otu-Edo platform to represent Benin back in 1951 – and no Benin
indigene had ever been elected from any Igbo district. Nevertheless, the
party established the Orizu and Onyia Commissions of inquiry to probe Otu-Edo –
resulting in a recommendation by J.I.G. Onyia of Asaba to dissolve Otu-Edo and
replace it with straight party membership of the NCNC, also known as “NCNC
simplicita.” The report also pointed out that Omo-Osagie had not held
elections for the position of President-General of Otu-Edo since
1950. This aspect of the report was attractive to Omo-Osagie’s critics
within Otu-Edo – like GI Oviasu, DEY Aghahowa etc, who then formed a faction
called “NCNC pure.” Nevertheless, Omo-Osagie, leery of non-Edo based
political parties, insisted that Otu-Edo would not be swallowed by any national
party but would remain independent. [Oronsaye, Op. cit.]
Other noteworthy developments in 1959 include the decision
of the NCNC to establish a Midwest secretariat in Benin and the emergence of
the States creation issue in the campaigns for federal elections in December
1959. In that election, the Action Group – which said it would also
support the creation of the Midwest, but only if it occurred simultaneously
with states creation in other regions - won three out of fifteen seats in
the Midwest, two of which were in Ishan (A. Enahoro and P.D. Oboh) and one in
Afenmai (M. Obi). The other twelve federal legislators from the Midwest
were all members of the NCNC, including A. Opia, U.O. Ayeni, E. A. Mordi, J.B.
Eboigbodi, Jereton Mariere, J.K. Deomonadia, O. Oweh, Festus Okotie-Eboh, and
N. A. Ezenbodor. In the Benin division, H.O. Osagie, D.N. Oronsaye and
D.E.Y. Aghahowa secured the federal seats. (Daily Times, December 14, 1959,
pp5-6). These legislators would all play crucial roles in the fight
for the Midwest after independence. For example, Jereton Mariere, a
distinguished member of the Urhobo Progress Union, and businessman who had
managed the late Mukoro Mowoe’s business at Agbor, would later emerge the first
Governor of the Midwestern region. [personal communication, Professor PP
Ekeh]
1960
As was the case in previous years, 1960 was full of action,
for and against the creation of the Midwest, including false and real hopes and
intrigue. [Isuman JU. Facts about the Midwest State. Amalgamated
Press, Lagos, 1960]
On July 7th, the Oni of Ife, Oba Adesoji Aderemi,
became the Governor of the Western region while the Alake of Abeokuta became
the President of the House of Chiefs. Chief Omo-Osagie wasted no time in
making a public statement about the development. Oba Akenzua II,
who had been generally snubbed and cut off from many day to day decisions in
the Ministry of Midwest Affairs except his approval was important to some
Machiavellian scheme or the other, finally had enough. Independence was
approaching and the Midwest region had still not been created. The
post-independence federal government was going to be formed by the NCNC and the
NPC. The vast majority of the federal legislators from the Midwest
belonged to the NCNC. Therefore, the Oba decided to abandon the Action
group, resigning his position as a Minister without portfolio.
By so doing, he realigned the traditional establishment with the
“new elite” for the final push to secure the Midwest.
But shortly after he did so, the Action Group won 15 out of
30 seats from the Midwest in the Western House elections of August 8, 1960,
even barely beating an Otu-Edo candidate in Benin as well Prince Shaka Momodu
in Irrua, in what was regarded as an upset, perhaps influenced by manipulation
of the 1959 voter’s register. This outcome emboldened Awolowo and
Akintola to publicly declare that they would not support the creation of the
Midwest until after the 1964 federal elections when they would be in
power at the center – although they kept up pressure for creation of the
Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers and Middle Belt States in other regions. Meanwhile,
Barrister SO Ighodaro had taken over the Ministry of Midwest Affairs from
Anthony Enahoro, when the latter elected to go federal, having lost out to SLA
Akintola who returned to the West to succeed Awolowo as the Premier.
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The 1960 constitution specified that for a referendum to
take place seeking to establish support for a new region, two-thirds majority
must approve it in the Federal House of Representatives and Senate, followed by
majority approval in two-thirds of regions. Recognizing the key role
which the governing party in the federal government in Lagos would have in
initiating any legislative move toward the creation of the Midwest, Festus
Okotie-Eboh and his mentor, Humphrey Omo-Osagie, were busy lobbying northern
leaders. Eventually Festus Okotie-Eboh almost single handedly got Alhaji
Muhammadu Ribadu and Alhaji Ahmadu Bello of the NPC to agree in principle to
make an exception for the Midwest based on its unique history, knowing they
were generally opposed to States creation. Without this crucial
achievement on the part of Chief Okotie-Eboh, the creation of the Midwest would
have been dead in the water. It was in recognition of this strategic feat
that Festus Okotie-Eboh was given a chieftaincy title in Benin, the Elaba of
Uselu. Chief Humphrey Omo-Osagie, the indefatigable fighter
with whom Oba Akenzua II had had his ups and downs but whose firm resolve and
loyalty to his people had stood the test of time, was conferred with the title
of Iyase of Benin. [Egharevba, Op. Cit.] (The Action Group
Western region government, however, refused to confirm both titles until 1962
when there was an emergency administration in office at Ibadan).
Nevertheless, the Akintola government in Ibadan moved
quickly to consolidate its gains. It appointed many Midwesterners to
ministerial positions, created a Midwest minority area and advisory council,
and reorganized its administrative structure to create six new regional
conferences, as if in tacit recognition of the six regions it was canvassing
for the country. Chief Anthony Enahoro became the Chairman of the
Midwest regional executive – which did not include Akoko-Edo district and Warri
division. Dalton Ogieva Asemota, a well known independent,
distinguished retiree from the United African Company (UAC), personal friend of
Oba Akenzua II and first Chairman of the Midwest Advisory Council, became
appointed by the Western region as the first post-independence Senator from
Benin Province in Lagos, while Senator M.G. Ejaife, a household name in
Urhoboland, was appointed to represent the Delta.
Dennis Osadebay, leader of the Midwest State movement, left
Ibadan for Lagos to take up his new position as Senate President, to replace
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe who had become the Governor-General. Chief Festus
Okotie-Eboh became the Federal Minister of Finance and leader of the
parliamentary party. The straight shooting Michael Okpara
replaced Nnamdi Azikiwe as Premier of the Eastern region and leader of the
NCNC. Alhaji Tafawa Balewa of the NPC became the Prime Minister.
Alhaji Ahmadu Bello held fort in the Northern region.
The ducks were lining up in a row.
1961-62
The years 1961 and 1962 moved with dizzying speed. At
the Midwest regional conference of the AG, Chief Awolowo kept up his oft
repeated statement that he would work for the simultaneous creation of
the Midwest, COR and Middle Belt States. In the Midwest, however,
his comments were regarded with skepticism, all the more so considering what
was regarded as his preference for a balkanized version of the Midwest.
In any case, in March 1961, the NCNC – urged by Chief Okotie-Eboh - formally
opposed the exclusion of Akoko-Edo and Warri from the Midwest minority
area. When Chief Awolowo was confronted with the commitment the Western
regional House of Assembly had made to creation the entire Midwest back
in 1955 by approving the Sowole motion, he replied that he was no longer bound
by that motion because the country was under colonial rule at the time [Federal
Parliamentary debates, April 4, 1961]. The comment merely
served to confirm suspicions that he did not support the creation of the
Midwest – under any circumstances – even though he challenged Balewa to create
the Midwest before the end of May 1962.
Meanwhile, back in the Midwest, the NCNC and Action Group
were locking horns in increasingly aggressive confrontation between party thugs
regarding the alleged misuse by the AG of customary courts and tax assessments
to harass political opponents, particularly in Ishan division, where the
pro-Midwestern Prince Shaka Momodu was active, but just as much elsewhere [West
African Pilot, August 30, 1961]. In the near crisis atmosphere
that this created in the Midwest, Michael Okpara and the NCNC wanted the Balewa
government to declare a state of emergency in the West, but Balewa resisted the
temptation, seeing as it had other problems on its hands such as the
controversy over the Anglo-Nigerian defence pact and the Congo
controversy. Balewa also wanted to reach out to the Action Group during
this period.
On April 4th, 1961, what is now known in history as
the first Midwest motion was moved and carried by voice acclamation in
the federal House of Representatives [Federal Parliamentary Debates, 4
April, 1961, col. 802]. It was a private member’s motion, which
would run into legal trouble later because no formal count had been taken, as
constitutionally required, of those in favor or against, and many complained
that they had left the council chamber before the voice vote was taken.
The April 1961 Midwest motion in the federal legislature was followed by
initial approval in June 1961 in the Eastern region and in September 1961 in
the Northern region. During this period newspaper articles written by AG
loyalists appeared in which various ethnic groups of the proposed Midwest were
warned of “Benin domination.” In the smear campaign, designed to derail
Midwest unity, rumors were spread about how certain posts were going to be
dominated by “Benin.”
In early 1962, Dr. Okpara’s plans for a contrived state of
emergency in the Midwest petered out, reportedly because it had been leaked by
a reporter. In February, faced with what seemed to be a constitutional
certainty, the AG met with the NCNC in Lagos, in order to get an agreement on
the proposed Midwest Constitution Act which would respect its views on what should
constitute the Midwest. By this time it was obvious that the first
Midwest motion was inadequate because no vote count was taken. Therefore,
on March 22nd, 1962, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa introduced the second
Midwest motion.
Late on March 23rd, 1962, Senator Dalton Asemota
of the Benin province received an important visitor in his apartment at the
federal legislator’s Legco Flats in Victoria Island, Lagos. His
visitor was none other than Chief Anthony Enahoro, Vice President of the Action
Group and leader of the Midwest Regional Executive. Enahoro stayed on in
Senator Asemota’s flat until the early hours of the morning lobbying him to
adopt the party position of the AG to vote against the second Midwest
motion. The Senator, who was not a party man, was nonetheless reminded
that he owed his position to the goodwill of the Action Group government in
Ibadan. Early on the 24th, late Senator Asemota’s wife, late
Mrs. Onaiwu Asemota (nee Obinwa family of Onitsha) rushed to my parent’s house
to report the conversation Enahoro had with Senator Asemota. On
this basis, the Senator’s brother in Benin, late Pa Elekhuoba Asemota was
contacted emergently by phone with a report of what had transpired. My
parents rushed to the Senator’s flat to ask him whether he had decided to
oppose the motion. The late Senator, to his eternal credit, smiled and
told my parents, “Do not worry, my children, even if it costs me this position,
I shall not act against the interests of my people.” (personal
communication, GO Omoigui)
After overcoming an attempt by Action group legislators,
therefore, to amend the motion by deleting Akoko-Edo, Warri and western Ijaw
from the definition of “Midwest” and then obfuscate issues by adding the
creation of 11 new states as a pre condition, the Federal House of
Representatives and Senate approved the second Midwest motion by 214-49 on
March 24, 1962. The final count-down had begun.
Six days later on March 30th, 1962 the Midwest
referendum Bill was passed. It was followed on April 17th and
18th by the Midwest Parliamentary Bill which specified the addition
of Akoko-Edo, Warri and Western Ijaw areas to the proposed Midwest. No
sooner did this vote take place than Barrister S. O. Ighodaro, Attorney General
of the Western region, went to court to challenge the validity of the Midwest
Parliamentary Bill and the Eastern region’s approval of the federal Midwest
Bill. Separately, the Olu of Warri and Chief Reece Edukugho filed court
proceedings to contest the inclusion of Warri in the Midwest.
Meanwhile, on April 4th the Eastern region passed
the second Midwest motion, followed on April 5th, by the Northern
region. On April 13th, a counter-motion was passed by the
Western House of Assembly, opposing the federal Midwest motion [Daily
Times, April 14, 1962].
In May 1962, an important development occurred within the
Western region and Action Group which would open the way for the Midwest to
bolt out of the West. A crisis erupted between Chiefs Obafemi Awolowo
(Party Leader and Leader of the Federal Opposition in Lagos) and Samuel
Akintola (Premier of the West). This crisis had many causes [Sanya
Onabamiro, Glimpses into Nigerian History. MacMillan Nigeria, 1983. p149].
For one, the positions of party leader (Awolowo) and head of government
in the western region (Akintola) were held by two different persons, one from
the non-Oyo group of rain forest Yorubas (Awolowo from Ijebu) and the other
from the Oyo group of savannah Yorubas (Akintola from Ogbomosho).
Secondly, Akintola felt that Awolowo ought not to have allowed any competition
with him as “deputy leader” for the position of Premier when Awolowo left
Ibadan to go to Lagos as Federal Leader of Opposition at the end of 1959.
Thirdly, control over spending of the Cocoa Marketing Board investment funds
built up during the Second World War caused friction between them.
Fourthly, they disagreed over whether to accept an invitation by Prime Minister
Balewa for the Action Group to join the federal government. In this
proposal, Balewa intended for Awolowo to be deputy-Prime Minister and Minister
for Finance – which would have displaced Okotie-Eboh from that position.
To all of this was added the undercurrent of a serious conflict between their
wives.
On April 19, 1962, one day after S. O. Ighodaro went to
court on behalf of the Akintola government to challenge the Midwest motion,
Chief SL Akintola was expelled from the Action Group by Chief Obafemi Awolowo
after an unsuccessful attempt at reconciliation. The Governor of the
West, Sir Adesoji Aderemi was advised by a majority of Action Group legislators
at Ibadan to dismiss Akintola as Premier and replace him with Alhaji D. S.
Adegbenro – an act that was challenged all the way up to the Privy Council in
London. On May 26, 1962 an attempt by the Western House to meet and
ratify Akintola’s dismissal ended in confusion, leading to Police
intervention. Armed with his wet handkerchief as an antidote to
teargas, V.E. Amadasun was one of the first to rush to Lagos from Ibadan to
inform the Midwest community in the federal government of the development,
which led to the eventual declaration of a State of Emergency in the West on
May 29 [Federation of Nigeria Official Gazette, supplement to No. 38, Vol.
49, May 29, 1962]. Although the Privy Council eventually approved
the Governor’s action, its “approval” had been overtaken by events in Nigeria
because of a constitutional amendment by the Federal House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, under the “emergency administration” of the West led by
Senator MA Majekodunmi, a fresh slate of predominantly pro-Midwest
Midwesterners became ministers, including Mark Uzorka, T. E. Salubi, Webber
Egbe, A. Y. Eke etc, with Oba Akenzua II and the Olu of Warri as
“advisers.” It was the emergency administration in the West which gave
the Western region’s approval for the Midwest referendum to proceed.
In May, there was an All-party Midwest conference in Benin
at which Senator Dalton Asemota of Benin was made Chairman of the Midwest
United Front Committee (UFC). The conference – which was boycotted
by most members of the Action Group - was a confidence building measure
designed to iron out party differences and differences between ideological and
ethnic interest groups. The conference resulted in the creation of many
committees to plan for the future Midwest. In addition to the
UFC, these committees were the constitutional and legal, finance and general
purposes, civil service, delimitation, and minority protection
committees.
In June, the Majekodunmi regime filed a motion to withdraw
the court cases that were pending against the Midwest motion. Both
motions were eventually dismissed in July by the Supreme Court.
On September 9th, there was another all-party
round-table at the Oba’s Palace in Benin which most members of the Action
Group, except Ja Isuman and JE Odiete boycotted. At this meeting, a
75 man Midwest Planning Committee including all Midwest legislators at regional
and federal levels was created. It too was chaired by Senator Dalton
Asemota, assisted by EB Edun-Fregene, JAE Oki, Dr. Christopher Okojie, Chief
Festus Okotie-Eboh, Dennis Osadebay and Humphrey Omo-Osagie. Various
sub-committee chairmen were Olisa Chukwura for the constitutional and legal,
Chief A. Y. Eke for the finance and general purposes, J.I.G. Onyia for the
civil service, Chief Obasuyi for delimitation, Ja Isuman for the Plebiscite,
and Chief Odiete for minority protection. About one week later a
new political party called the Midwest Peoples Congress (MPC) was formed.
It was allied to the Northern Peoples Congress and led by Apostle Edokpolo. [Vickers,
Op. Cit.]
A week later on September 22, Chief Awolowo and many others
were arrested for an apparent plot to overthrow the government of Prime
Minister Balewa. Chief Anthony Enahoro initially escaped into exile in
Ireland but was extradited back to Nigeria in May 1963 to stand trial.
With the Promised Land in sight, there was need for all
resources to be mobilized for known and unknown threats during the
referendum. Therefore, Oba Akenzua II wrote an interesting letter to the
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Midwest Affairs on October 2nd, 1962, in
which he said:
Dear Permanent Secretary,
Your MWP144/358 of 26/9/62. I do not now see any
justification for the continued ban on “Owegbe”. I, therefore, support
the suggestion that the ban on “Owegbe” should be lifted. I recommend
that the ban on “Owegbe” in the Benin Division and elsewhere should be lifted.”
Yours sincerely,
(sgd) Oba of Benin
(see Exhibit 63/5 p143, Owegbe Commission of Inquiry, 1966)
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