I have this conviction that the British
granted us independence much too early,
considering the fact that we weren't unitedly
prepared for self-rule. We must understand that " the original idea of one Nigeria (Zik's vision) was pressed by the leaders and intellectuals from the Eastern Region. With all their shortcomings, they had this idea to build the country as one. The first to object were the Northerners, led by the Sardauna, who were followed closely by the Awolowo clique that had created the Action Group. The Northern Peoples Congress of the Sarduanians was supposed to be a national party, yet it refused to change its name from Northern to Nigerian Peoples Congress, even for the sake of appearances."