WHEN SHALL AFRICA ATTAIN THIS LEVEL OF FREEDOM?

 

The 1928 general elections in Nigeria has loads of things to teach a politics and history student. It was based on the first constitution of Nigeria- Clifford constitution of 1922.

A few thousands registered to vote in Lagos and about 600 registered to vote in Calabar. Eventually 4 Nigerians were elected; 3 in Lagos and 1 in Calabar.

The bush around Enugu was probably being cleared to build a few houses for coal miners. I'm still trying to ascertain the state of Onitsha,Aba, Owerri, Abakaliki, Umuahia,Asaba,Port Harcourt,Nnewi,Awka, Nsukka ,etc at the time but one thing seems  clear.

No records of anyone registering to vote in this area exist. At least I haven't seen any of such records.

Nobody joined the contest from those areas. Maybe no 21 year old male earned £100 the previous year. It was the major constitutional requirement for that election.

They appointed Rev GT Basden to represent the Igbo in the Legislative Council from 1931-1937. He was the only one with an idea of who the people are.

In some places like Enugu Ezike,they even appointed Ibrahim Adukwu, a Nupe horse trader the warrant chief. He was the only one who knew that area well.

30 years later, the story became completely different. A man from this area was winning elections in Lagos and Ibadan. A movement was being organised in his name in Kano. Another man from this same area has become the richest billionaire in Nigeria and the British was handing the army they built over to another man also from the same area.

This same backward region (I can't find another word) was virtually leading the country and Africa in all spheres of human development according to historians. Please correct me if you think I am wrong.

How the hell did a people come from behind to achieve such unprecedented historical progression? What made that happen? What did they do? What kind of leadership did they have?

Can this happen again? Can the children of Africa one day be freed from "the bondage of ages" in one burst of energy like this one recorded in the history of Nigeria?

WRITTEN BY; MBE NWANIGA