The Genesis of the Crisis
We were in one of our Action Group meetings sometimes in 1959 when the party leader Chief Awolowo dropped what to us was a bombshell. He announced that he was on his way to the centre. Most of us could not believe our ears for we opined that by leaving the Premiership of Western Region, he was vacating certainty for uncertainty.
Of course, we knew that his chances of winning the à Ministership of the Federation were remote. We were worried at the almost sure possibility of our Party Leader becoming the Federal Opposition Leader. This was more so as he had declared that he would not serve under Sir Abubakar Balewa, the then Prime Minister, whom he said was inferior to him in learning and experience.
Besides we were uneasy about the task of finding a worthy replacement as the Premier. We knew a vacuum would be created since we also knew that none of his ministers in the Western Regional cabinet could adequately fill such a vacuum and be an asset to the party. Meanwhile, the N.C.N.C, the opposition party in the Western Region was becoming more and more virile in the region, stronger than they were after the 1956 regional elections.
To our surprise, Chief Akintola withdrew from the Federal House and contested a bye-election to the Western House in order to become Premier. A member of the house in Chief Akintola's constituency had resigned his seat in order for Chief Akintola to be elected and face the challenges the N.C.N.C. would give us in the region.
By the constitution of the Western Region, no Premier could be appointed from outside the Parliament. He must be an elected member of the House of Assembly or House of Chiefs. Chief Akintola had to resign his seat at the Federal House of Representatives before his qualification to contest the bye-election to the Western House. No dual membership of parliament of the Regional and Federal Houses was possible.
He became Premier of the Western Region while Chief Awolowo was elected to the Federal Parliament and became the Leader of Opposition as we had feared. Initially the Leader, Chief Awolowo was so serious about the election that the reports we got during the campaign tours assured most of us that our party, the Action Group, would win. But to our utter dismay, even we of the Action Group won in the West only by a narrow margin since we could not retain many of the seats we controlled at the Regional election in 1956.
We later learnt that some party leaders in Lagos were the backers of Chief Akintola for they felt he would be able to meet the challenge and fill the vacuum. We learnt also that Chief Awolowo was not in favour of Chief Akintola succeeding him as Premier of the Region. But since Chief Akintola was his Deputy, it was appropriate that he should step into his shoes as the Premier of the Region, even though Chief Awolowo had some of his Western Ministers in his mind for the Premiership.
But they were not favoured by the financiers and backers of the party, so he had to consent. Later, during the rift between the two men, Chief Akintola stressed that his Leader was not happy about having succeeded him Chief Akintola also said that Chief Awolowo wanted a Premier who could not use his initiative, or one who would always take the Leader's dictates.
Chief Awolowo too confirmed part of these claims when he said openly (during the rift between them in his famous 24 charges against Chief Akintola) that he had not supported Chief Akintola to succeed him.
* circa 1960, The Honourable Samuel Ladoke Akintola, Leader of the Action Group in the House of Representatives in Lagos, Nigeria, He is of the Yoruba and bears the tribal marks of his people on his face, now holding the post of Minister of Labour.
By H/T Adegoke Adedamola
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