When Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, conspired to politically annihilate Chief Obafemi Awolowo, it was Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara, Premier of Eastern Nigeria, who boldly stood on the side of justice and principle.
As Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka records in his memoir, “You Must Set Forth at Dawn”, Dr. Okpara did not just sympathize – he acted. He provided financial and political support to Awolowo’s camp, reabsorbed Prof. Sam Aluko and other loyalists dismissed from the University of Ife into the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and sent Mazi Ukonu and the Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service to broadcast the authentic results of the Western Region election from Awolowo’s Ibadan residence, directly challenging the state-sponsored electoral fraud.
In an extraordinary gesture of solidarity, Okpara appointed Mrs. Hannah Awolowo, the wife of the imprisoned leader, as Honorary Minister in the Eastern Nigerian Government, equipping her with a Mercedes-Benz, a chauffeur, and full ministerial privileges. This was not just symbolic – it was an open declaration of interregional support and respect.
Equally important was the role of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe (Zik), then President of Nigeria. When Northern leaders sought to transfer Awolowo to a remote prison in the North—where his safety would be uncertain – Zik exercised his presidential authority to ensure that Awolowo was instead sent to prison in Eastern Nigeria, where he was treated with dignity and humanity, against the wishes of the Sardauna and Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa.
This interethnic solidarity was not accidental. It formed part of the broader United Progressive Grand Alliance (UPGA) — a coalition of progressive forces led by the NCNC and the Action Group, which resisted Northern domination and championed democratic ideals.
During this alliance, Dr. Okpara courageously entered Ibadan, despite being declared persona non grata by Akintola, to campaign for the Awolowo faction. His reception by the people was so electrifying and defiant of Northern hegemony that he was affectionately nicknamed “M.I. Power” by the Western Press.
These actions by Eastern leaders — Dr. Okpara, Dr. Azikiwe, and others – represent one of the noblest chapters in Nigerian political history: a moment when ethnicity bowed to justice, and regional differences were set aside in pursuit of a united democratic front.
These truths must be remembered, not distorted or forgotten. Let no one, out of ignorance or bigotry, erase the fact that it was the East – it was the Igbos – who stood with Awolowo when others sought to silence him.
Let us teach correct and verifiable history as it happened, not as some would like it rewritten.
By Otunba Rick Oladele
Adanma Okpara
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