[b]Now to the matter of Zik-Eyo Ita face-
off:On the eve of the 1951 elections in
which Azikiwe contested for a seat in the
Western House of Assembly from his
Lagos base, Zik declared that he was not
going to accept a ministerial post in “an
inferior legislature of the colonial type”.
In other words, he was not prepared to
serve as minister (premier or prime-
minister) at regional or national level in
the then premature Nigerian political
system. His object, he said, was to
achieve an NCNC majority in the regional
and central legislatures that would act to
“paralyse the machinery of government”
and lead to a reformation of the
Constitution.The Macpherson Constitution
had provided for “semi-responsible
government” at the centre and in the
regions.
The official phrase was “responsible
government within defined limits”. Zik did
not accept this. He wanted total
independence. This was what informed
his declaration above. It was a grand
tactics for national independence that the
Action Group later imbibed.
After the upheavals in the Western House
of Assembly,Zik began to rally his
partymen to the achievement of the
above-stated objectives. This took some
time. Eventually, however, the NCNC
resolved and called its central ministers
to resign in order to actualise the above
independence strategy.
But these ministers were now enjoying
their new stations in life, the perquisites
of ministerial office. Some of them did
not, therefore, want to give up the
positions. In so doing, they were
undoubtedly sabotaging and delaying the
independence struggle that had already
got them to where they were.
Three NCNC central (national) ministers
were the first culprits and were summarily
dismissed from the party. They were
A.C.Nwapa (Igbo), EniNjoku (Igbo) and
Okoi Arikpo(Ogoja).
ONLY DrEndeley (Cameroun) was
supportive of the tactics.Eyo Ita, the Head
of Government Business in Eastern
Nigeria and some of his ministers picked
against the policy and were flabbergasted
when the central ministers were
dismissed by the party. Of course, when
the party asked them to resign, they
equally rebelled against the party and
refused to comply. They became known
as ‘sit-tight ministers’.
Amongst them wereEyoIta (Ibibio),E.I.Oli
(Igbo), S.J.Una (Ogoja), R.I.Uzoma (Igbo),
S.W.Ubani-Ukoma (Igbo) and
S.J.Koripoma (Ijaw). Those who complied
with party directive and resigned were
Dr.M.I.Okpara (Igbo), M.C.Awgu (Igbo)
and S.T.Muna (Bamenda, Cameroun).[/b]

My view:

A simple look at those who backed Eyo Ita against Zik will show the non tribal nature of the East. Eyo ita was backed by E.I Oli( an Igbo) S.j una( ogoja), R.I uzoma( Igbo) S.W Ubani-Ukoma( Igbo) and S.J Koripoma( Ijaw), Eni-Njoku( Igbo),A.C Nwapa( Igbo) .

To suggest that Eyo ita loss was tribally motivated and not ideologically motivated, when we can clearly see that the majority of Eyo ita accomplices were Igbo, amounts to dishonesty and historical revisionism.

The East was united by shared ideology not ethnicity like in the West where the minorities including the Oba of Bini were treated like dogs.

[b]With the above ‘sit-tight’ attitude of some of the ministers, it behoved the legislature to orchestrate the requisite action to paralyse government business, which was practically in the hands of the British Lt. Governor. In the Eastern House of Assembly, the NCNC majority subsequently succeeded in paralysing the constitutional system by voting to defeat or defer every bill before the House. As a last resort, the Lt. Governor was obliged to use his reserve power of legislation, the ultimate proof of colonial rule and subjugation in a politically advanced dependency, to pass the Regional Appropriation Bill into law. On adjournment day, the expelled ministers (Central and Regional) joined with a few other legislators and supporters who had resigned from the NCNC to form a new party, the National Independence Party, with EyoIta as president. Some 10 weeks later, the Eastern parliamentary crisis was resolved by dissolution of the Eastern House of Assembly following the enactment of an amendment to the Constitution permitting the dissolution of the legislature of a single region. During this period, according to Sklar, the strain on the Constitution was not confined to the Eastern Region, as events of a less dramatic but nonetheless fateful character transpired in the West. Action Group’s hostility to the Constitution was scarcely less than that of the NCNC. Ultimately, the Macpherson Constitution proved unworkable and collapsed as Zik had planned after 15 months of its operation and was replaced with a new Constitution (the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954) that granted residual powers to the regions and provided that apart from the Regional Governor, colonial officials of the administration would be excluded from the Executive Council of the Eastern and Western Regions, amongst other favourable provisions.

Meanwhile, with the collapse of EyoIta’s
government in May 1953, a new election
was conducted to elect new members to
the Eastern House of Assembly. Azikiwe
was elected from Onitsha; NCNC
dominated the House and its leader,
Azikiwe, assumed the office of premier or
head of government.
Eyo Ita as leader of the minor party in the
House became leader of Opposition.For
details of these historical facts, see
Richard L. Sklar, Nigerian Political Parties
(1963), pages 115 – 140. Amplifications
of particular points can also be gleaned
from James S. Coleman, Nigeria:
Background to Nationalism (1958).
Given the above prognosis, would it be
wise and correct for anybody to claim
thatZik or the Igbo conspired to oust Eyo
Ita from power? Or that the constitutional
crisis that terminated EyoIta’s government
was tribally motivated? But this is the
verdict or notion that has been
transmitted from generation to generation
in the South-South.
Finally, let me recap that in October 1959,
Professor EyoIta, Head of Government
Business and Minister of Natural
Resources of Eastern Nigeria from 1952 to
May 1953, resigned his leadership and membership of united national independent party ( UNIP) and rejoined NCNC[/b]

My view:
So, Eyo Ita fell from Grace to grass, and despite the fact that he enjoyed Igbo support, Eyo ita will descend low to the old tested and trusted " Igbo want to dominate us" mantra, he became the New poster boy for the COR movement, but when that wasn't yielding dividends, because while he was preaching "Igbophobia", NCNC still had henchmen like Mbu from COR area, showing the people the truth.

Eyo ita, will later rejoin NCNC in October 1959. In a typical if you can't beat them, you join them, Nigerian politicians style.

Still on Eyo Ita:


He had formed the National Independence
Party which later merged with Alvan
Ikoku’s United National Party to become
UNIP. EyoIta proclaimed that he was re-
joining the NCNC in accordance with the
dictates of his conscience and in
obedience to the chiefs and members of
his Calabar constituency. These events
indicate that the problem between Azikiwe
and his compeer, EyoIta, was somehow
resolved in their lifetime.
Or that Eyo Ita personally resolved that
what happened in 1953 did not warrant
his taking steps that tore the party and
the people apart. Hence, he talked about
the “dictates of his conscience” as he
returned to the NCNC.

Still my view:


And oh! Look, even when Eyo Ita became the poster boy of the agitation for COR, he had the support of men like Alvan Ikoku, but that doesn't matter right?

And ehm... Pa Eyo Ita returned to NCNC with a guilty conscience, he of course knew he had been lying against Ndiigbo too.

And look, the Calabar chiefs and his people were part of the reason he confessed that made him return to the NCNC fold.

Don't forget that while Oba of Bini was relegated to a second class traditional ruler in the Western house, the Obong of Calabar was elevated above Igbo kings like Eze Aro, Eze Nri, Obi of Onitsha, Obi of Obosi, etc Obong was the leader of the Eastern house of chiefs, now how about that? The Igbo belief in equity and justice had no rival, even Eyo ita knew that.

So now that we have separated afonjaic Igbophobic falsehood (as propagated by the Afonja slimy one that is all over Igbo related threads in NL spreading his treacherous Igbophobic lies with his Afonja people), from the truth and facts.
We can go back to the main discussion of this thread without unnecessary distractions.

Ndewonu!

Billyonaire:
I am not Igbo, but I am always pro-Igbo because the people are very enterprising and creative. After the civl war, they were left with nothing but yet they are independent business people who can not be too affected by recession. They mark up their prices to match inflation and recession and they are buying even your back yard. No vex for them, learn from them

I wish that I could give this post a thousand likes... If every Nigerian followed this advice then Nigeria would be a much better place today.

Zedoo:


Nobody said forcing eyo ita out was right bros?
Are you frustrated with life
Look America is even worse, its a country of nobody....
If their constitution states you can't run for office except you are born there then fine!

Did the Nigerian constitution at that time state that? NO!!!
If knowing how to speak Yoruba was a criteria, and zik didn't know the language, he wouldn't bother contesting....

My point remains, awo should have used some other yardstick to fence zik out, not sowing that tribalistic seed....
****

Yea like I told you before igbos have been independent-spirited right from day one... They do not believe that one king should dictate your life and control how rich you aspire to be etc.

The Deji is suffering from inferiority complex...

So one day the eze ndigbo will collect his palace Lmao...
Let him goan sleep and think about how to "deji" his people....

#bye

What's this one saying?

No one stopped him from contesting but the point is nobody voted for him because he wasn't one of us! Get that into your dumb brain!

Zik wasn't voted in the West like Eyoita was in the East. His party people and AG party voted for Awolowo only for the idiotic Zik to throw the tribal card that his party people cross carpeted to Awolowo's party.

Eediots always throwing the blame card and acting as the victim when they are always the one to show their inbred greedy devilish acts. Why the fool couldn't contest in the North where he was born is what I don't understand.

Whichever ways, our Deji has spoken and the Eze Ndigbo fool who first attacked the cones of the honey bees now knows whatz up! Greedy self entitled being.

Zedoo:


That's exactly what I am saying...
The issue is WHO STARTED THE TRIBALISTIC APPROACH?
The westerners did.
Nobody said zik was right to chase eyo ita out na

Will you shut your hole!

Who started which tribalistic approach? Get that into your sore loser's mind that when a person isn't voted for, he take the defeat gracefully unlike you sore losers!!

Why should the assembly men vote for him? You mean representatives from Ondo, Ibadan, Edo and others who all knows he's isn't one of us would open their eyes and vote in a strange man to govern the Western states? You're a Dumbass!

Now, you self entitled Sore Losers should get the fact into your dumb brain that the foolish Zik wasn't voted. In fact Zik has never been in a post he was voted in, he has always been an opportunistic just like his brethren.

Igboid:
I can see the slimy Afonja who goes under the veneer of anonymous ethnic group and his fellow afonjas people are out again with their Igbophobic distortion of facts.

For the avoidance of doubt, Eyo ita was not ousted by Zik in the Eastern house,Eyo ita and his fellow sit tight Eastern minister's ousted themselves from NCNC over irresolvable ideological differences, and his ousting had no ethnic coloration whatsoever to it, as his fellow sit tight ministers who decamped from NCNC were mainly Igbos.

What's the Osu saying?

You mean a person was removed from his elected post, only for Zik who was just arriving to fill it up immediately isn't ousting? Tell me what it means then?

Opportunistic self entitled greedy beings.

Kagawa10:


What's the Osu saying?

You mean a person was removed from his elected post, only for Zik who was just arriving to fill it up immediately isn't ousting? Tell me what it means then?

Opportunistic self entitled greedy beings.

I see, another ignorant afonja coming to fill in for the "slimy afonja that masquerades under anonymous ethnicity fooling no one else but himself.

Kagawa10:
What's this one saying?

No one stopped him from contesting but the point is nobody voted for him because he wasn't one of us! Get that into your dumb brain!

Zik wasn't voted in the West like Eyoita was in the East. His party people and AG party voted for Awolowo only for the idiotic Zik to throw the tribal card that his party people cross carpeted to Awolowo's party.

Eediots always throwing the blame card and acting as the victim when they are always the one to show their inbred greedy devilish acts. Why the fool couldn't contest in the North where he was born is what I don't understand.

Whichever ways, our Deji has spoken and the Eze Ndigbo fool who first attacked the cones of the honey bees now knows whatz up! Greedy self entitled being.

Ignore that chap. He is a pretentious joker who goes around parading himself as a pseudo-intellectual, in his misguided bid to be taken seriously. His stock in trade is propaganda. You can see the way he has been throwing tantrums up and down on this thread. Anyone who does not agree with his warped view is Afonja, even if such a person is Gwari, Ibibio, Kataf, Itsekiri or Jukun.

Read this excerpt below, and you will see that Awolowo's victory which was attributed to 'cross-carpeting,' tribalism or an ousting of Zik, was untrue. Some fringe parties in the SW came together to give their votes to Awo. The Western NCNC supported Zik till the end.

In the first place,Zik never wanted to assume the position of Head of Government Business in the Western Region in 1952 as alleged. Evidence abound that all that Zik wanted was to install an NCNC government in the Western Region and then proceed to the central (national) Legislature in Lagos as decided by the NCNC national executive committee.

Secondly, the “famous carpet-crossing saga” is usually somewhat over-stretched and has been used to foist inter-ethnic misunderstanding between the Igbo and the Yoruba. It is not true that Yoruba NCNC parliamentarians abandoned Zik on the floor of the Western House of Assembly and crossed over to Awolowo’s side as often painted.

The truth is that five members of the six elected parliamentarians from the Ibadan Peoples Party, IPP, led by Adisa Akinloye (and some other fringe groups) tilted the balance in Awolowo’s favour by teaming up with the Action Group, AG; the sixth member, Adegoke Adelabu, joined forces with the NCNC to form the NCNC-Mobalaji Grand Alliance.

For too long, many Igbos have been deceived into believing that the Western NCNC abandoned Zik and that the Yoruba are therefore a bunch of shifty, non-trustworthy people that are unworthy of strategic (political) alliance. Far from this, the Western NCNC stood solidly behind Zik to the bitter end.... http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/07/zikeyo-ita-face-off-aladinmas-misrepresentations/

laudate:


Ignore that chap. He is a pretentious joker who goes around parading himself as a pseudo-intellectual, in his misguided bid to be taken seriously. His stock in trade is propaganda. You can see the way he has been throwing tantrums up and down on this thread.

Read this excerpt below, and you will see that Awolowo's victory which was attributed to 'cross-carpeting' was untrue. Some fringe parties in the SW came together to give their votes to Awo. The Western NCNC supported Zik till the end.

Thanks for your input.

I don't even care whether NCNC party members neglected Zik and voted for Awolowo or not, the point is Zik was never voted in!

He wasn't one of us nor born in the West, so why should he govern the West? Someone who couldn't speak the language! Is it his igbo language he would be using to communicate with the assembly men? Yet some self entitled folks keep ranting over something that isn't theirs to begin with when they can't even give out one inch of their land to strangers if the case were reversed.

The same folks who ousted Eyoita from his duly elected post.

Kagawa10:


Will you shut your hole!

Who started which tribalistic approach? Get that into your sore loser's mind that when a person isn't voted for, he take the defeat gracefully unlike you sore losers!!

Why should the assembly men vote for him? You mean representatives from Ondo, Ibadan, Edo and others who all knows he's isn't one of us would open their eyes and vote in a strange man to govern the Western states? You're a Dumbass!

Now, you self entitled Sore Losers should get the fact into your dumb brain that the foolish Zik wasn't voted. In fact Zik has never been in a post he was voted in, he has always been an opportunistic just like his brethren.

Strange man. Dude. Some one who ended up being the first indigenous governor general ahead of your tribalistic ass loving awolowo is by no means "strange"...

Back to the issue. Yea... But it was utterly wrong to openly assert a tribalistic notion in a bid to verbally disqualify him.
That is the point, Felicia...

Kagawa10:


What's this one saying?

No one stopped him from contesting but the point is nobody voted for him because he wasn't one of us! Get that into your dumb brain!

Zik wasn't voted in the West like Eyoita was in the East. His party people and AG party voted for Awolowo only for the idiotic Zik to throw the tribal card that his party people cross carpeted to Awolowo's party.

Eediots always throwing the blame card and acting as the victim when they are always the one to show their inbred greedy devilish acts. Why the fool couldn't contest in the North where he was born is what I don't understand.

Whichever ways, our Deji has spoken and the Eze Ndigbo fool who first attacked the cones of the honey bees now knows whatz up! Greedy self entitled being.

The bile you carry is yours home boy.
Relish it.
The deji is just suffering from esteem issues...
Eze ndigbo that holds no kind of authority in Yoruba land.. Why the thing dey pinch the man..


Well yea the igbos pinch a mile from an inch because it has been proven time and time again that you and your people lack what it takes to move anything forward... Don't be mad boy, I hate zik too for believing in One Nigeria...in the face of your conniving tribalistic forefathers....

You want to go tribalistic?
We can go there.... You and all your geeky "goons"

Lol!
I see two Afonjas crying over my demolition of their lies!

Cry me a river! Cry cry!