Abbas Yushau Yusuf
The killing spree that greeted the first generation of Nigerian leaders on January 15th, 1966 was a pointer to the fact that the Unity of Nigeria was laid on a shaky foundation.
The method of Federalism Nigeria practiced then was that the regions are having a great deal of autonomy compared to that of states created on July 27, 1967.
The Western Région apart from the North was the second largest and the opposition to the NPC /NNDP led coalition was very apparent to the extent that the west was called wild-wild west.
The Premier of the western region chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola was not spared when the mutiny of January 15 1966 spread all over the four regions of the North, West, East, and Midwest.
There has been controversy of who actually won the 1964 general elections in the western region between the United progressive grand alliance UPGA or the Nigerian National Alliance NNA.
Therefore as at the time of the January 1966 coup that sends the first generation of Nigerian leaders to their early graves, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola was the Premier of the Western region.
The Region which at the time of independence was led by the Action Group leader, AG Chief Obafemi Awolowo, when the Late Awolowo decided to be in the opposition, Chief Akintola led the region but as time goes on they had a conflict with the political leader of the western region and its first Premier chief Obafemi Awolowo,.
What Chief Samuel Akintola did was to form an alliance with Northern People’s Congress, NPC with his Nigerian National Democratic party NNDP, that gave birth to Nigerian National Alliance, NNA.
The election was won by NNA, available literature indicates that the soldiers that overthrow the first republic are more sympathetic to the UPGA alliance, that is why they refuse to spare Northern leaders and some western leaders.
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For any military coup that took place in Nigeria, those at the helm of affairs are very much aware, but they mostly don’t know when the coup will take place.
So when the premier of the western region chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola have an inkling about the coup of January 1966, he took a plane and landed in Kaduna and intimated the Northern Premier Sir Ahamdu Bello about the impending rebellion.
He advised Sardaunan Sokoto and himself to arrange and leave Nigeria, but the Northern Premier refused, Sir Chief Akintola left and went back to the west.
On the day of the coup, the soldiers went to the Premier’s residence to forcefully arrest him, Sir Akintola retaliated and brought out a pistol to retaliate but in the course of the battle, he was killed and become the second and last premier of the region.
