For one month, delighted Londoners watched the 80 ceremonially dressed Nigerians—some with necklaces of animal teeth, others with feathered straw hats, at least one with a jeweled crown—parade into Lancaster House for their historic conference.

Everything possible had been done to make them feel at home.

For the Colonial Office’s big reception at the Tate Gallery, all nude statues were carefully screened so as not to offend Moslems. The Lord Mayor served up a banquet of stewed peanuts, and one paramount Chief—His Highness James Okosi II of the Onitsha —fulfilled a lifelong ambition: to ride the escalator at the Charing Cross underground station.

In the end, the Nigerians got what they had come for: on Oct. 1, 1960, the largest (373,250 sq. mi.) of Britain’s remaining colonial territories would get its independence (TIME. Nov. 3). But behind the scenes the conference had revealed ominous signs of trouble to come.

From the start there was a clash between the personalities of the Premiers of the three regions —each obviously more important than the scholarly Federal Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.

In Western eyes, Obafemi Awolowo of the Western Region seemed the most statesmanlike: as the conference began, the London Times carried a full-page ad proclaiming his declaration for freedom under the title “This I Believe,” prepared with the help of an American public relations man.

In contrast, U.S.-educated Premier Nnamdi (“Zik”) Azikiwe of the Eastern Region seemed to have learned more in the U.S. about Tammany tactics than Thomas Jefferson, and was somewhat under a cloud as a result of a British tribunal’s 1956 investigation into corruption in his administration.

The North’s Premier, the Sardauna of Sokoto, a haughty Moslem of noble birth, could barely conceal his contempt for his less aristocratic colleagues.

▪︎Insults & Accusations.

Under the great chandeliers of the Lancaster House music room, where Chopin once played for Queen Victoria, the Premiers bickered, shot insults back and forth like poisoned darts.

When the conference took up the ticklish problem of how to protect the rights of minorities among Nigeria’s 250 tribes, Awolowo suggested creating three new states. The North’s Sardauna, not wishing to relinquish any of his own territory, vetoed the idea. Nor did he like the plan for a centralized police force under the federal government: he much preferred to use his own force, which, answerable only to him, can pop a man in jail with no questions asked.

At one point, the Sardauna accused Awolowo of sending his supporters to Israel to be trained as saboteurs in the North —a charge fabricated out of the fact that Western Nigeria has imported agricultural experts from Israel to advise its farmers. Awolowo countercharged that the Sardauna flogs his prisoners.

At receptions the delegates sipped their orange juice, icily aloof from one another. In elevators conversation would suddenly stop if a delegate from another region got on.

▪︎Compromises & Contests.

But as the weeks passed, the Sardauna grudgingly consented to let the constitution carry a bill of rights, though he was so thoroughly opposed to giving the vote to women that the conference decided that this was, after all, not necessarily a “fundamental” right.

The delegates then agreed on a centralized police force, but one that would be administered by a council of representatives from each region.

Finally, with their own independence from Britain assured (as well as that of the adjacent British Cameroons, should they choose to become a part of Nigeria), the delegates started for home.

Until Nigeria’s federal election takes place next year, the three Premiers will continue jockeying for power, and the fate of Nigeria could well hinge on who comes out on top. Last week, even as the National Planning Committee of Independence opened its contest for the design of a national flag (first prize: $300), many Nigerians had grave reservations about what lay ahead.

For all its jubilation, Nigeria’s West African Pilot felt obliged to warn: “Independence without difficulties is a dream of Utopia.”

▪︎Time Magazine Editorial on Nigeria – Monday, Nov. 10, 1958

The Swiss city of Geneva is to introduce a minimum wage of 23 Swiss francs ($25) an hour, equal to roughly 3,772 Swiss francs ($4,100) a month for a 41-hour working week.

Nearly two-thirds of the canton of Geneva on Sunday voted in favor of introducing the minimum wage, which is reported to be the highest in the world.

It is set to be implemented this month, according to the Groupement transfrontalier europeen website, an organization representing cross-border workers in France and Switzerland.

The measure had actually been rejected by voters twice in 2011 and 2014.

However, the coronavirus pandemic has further highlighted Geneva’s poverty problem, with reports of thousands queuing for food.

Geneva is known as one of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked ninth on HR consulting firm Mercer’s 2020 global cost of living survey.

Michel Charrat, president of the Groupement transfrontalier europeen, told the Guardian that the vote to pass the measure represented a “mark of solidarity” with Geneva’s poorer residents.

“Covid has shown that a certain section of the Swiss population cannot live in Geneva,” he said.

Geneva’s new minimum wage is more than triple that in the U.S., at $7.25 per hour and more than double the U.K.’s highest basic hourly rate of £8.72 ($11.20).

(CNBC)

1: I want to first thank God Almighty the Father of all creation and the maker of Heaven and earth. Strange as it may sound, I would like to thank the colonial masters who wove our diverse peoples together and for all the efforts that they put into ensuring that we had everything a people had to launch itself into a modern state. It is a time to thank those brave and selfless missionaries who laid the foundation for our modern civilisation by providing us with high quality education.We must appreciate the context of colonialism and the fact that its driving philosophy was the exploitation of our resources and we must concede that they laid the solid foundation for extracting our resources for the development of their own country. Their interests were buried in the womb of the country they created. Today, we have destroyed the institutions they created and distorted their vision for our development.

2: On October 1, 1960 when we became independent, our joy clearly knew no end. It was my first year in primary school.We all turned out as neat as we could afford to be to hear our Head Master talk about the terrible white men who had come and stolen our lands. I didn’t understand this because I never saw anyone stop my father from going to farm. We played around freely in the village and so, I thought to myself, which land did white people take? I had seen only two white men in my life then. Both of them Priests and even though I did not know fully what a Priest was, they were good men and came from a very far country.

3: They had built a Church and school for our village and that was the first building I saw that was not thatched. It was impossible for me to understand how any white man could be wicked or even steal our land. The teacher talked about a new song which we were to sing in praise of our new country even though I did not see anything that was new. I had no idea what was being said in the song but we all tried to murmur something in excitement. The greatest treasure was the little flags and cups that were distributed to us. Holding to my first cup in my life and waving a little flag seemed like a great contradiction to the Head Master’s portrayal of the white thief.

4: We soon learnt the name of our new Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa the man who came to be known as the golden voice of Africa. In his speech on October 1, 1960, the Prime Minister announced that;our new day had arrived and promised to dedicate his life for the service of the country. He noted that our country had emerged without bitterness and bloodshed and that; building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well-built upon firm foundations.

5: Barely six years later, we murdered him. He became a symbol of the blood sacrifice that has now drenched our country in a sea of blood arising from a civil war and endless circles of communal bloodletting which have now become part and parcel of our governance structure. Successive leaders have not come to terms with how to end this culture of death. Today, our country is littered with the very sharp pieces of broken promises. Yesterday’s dreams have become our worst nightmares. As we look back today, watching our country drift in a wide sea of uncertainty, we ask, from where our help come? (Ps 121: 1). After sixty years, bloodletting has become embedded in our culture of existence. So, how do we celebrate?

6: There is enough blame to go around. We can blame the British, blame the politicians, blame the military but none of these changes anything. It is the fate of nations to go through the furnace and crucible of suffering. Under the banner of religion, Europe fought the 30 years war (1618-1648), the world lost millions of men and women in two wars propelled by human greed (1914-1918, 1939-1945). Fleeing from the Kuomintang army, Mao led his people on the famous long march stretching thousands of miles (1934-1935). Mr. Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom is a metaphor for the struggles against white domination. Journeys to greatness require more than just good people, more than just good will, more than just hope. Those journeys have to be led by men and women with vision and tested character prepared to mobilise their people towards the attainment of a goal.

7: It is easy to say that we have been one unlucky country. The evidence is glaring. One of our Presidents marveled at how a country that had taken so much beating was still standing. In spite of huge resources after 60 years, we cannot feed our people, we cannot keep our people safe, we are still in darkness, we cannot communicate with one another by roads or railways. What we inherited, we have either stolen, broken or thrown away. The nation is a wasteland littered with white elephant projects, conceived and abandoned but all paid for. In Nigeria, governance is a criminal enterprise, not a call to service.

8: No nation has ever taken a short cut to success, not because we have not tried, but because no such road exists. The military, perhaps even worse than the colonial state destroyed the very foundations of our Democracy, Bureaucracy and public service by introducing a culture of arbitrariness and violence as a means to power. A combination of these laid the foundation for corruption as the worst manifestation of a culture of total lack of accountability. To be sure, when General Abdusalami A. Abubakar broke with the military tradition of clutching to power in 1999, he laid a foundation for the return to Democracy and a retreat of the military. We thank God that after over 20 years, we have conducted five back to back elections even in the most controversial of circumstances. After 16 years of being ruled by one political party, the nation decided it was fed up with arrogance and blatant thieving and looting that had become the political culture. Its citizens made a radical and unprecedented turn.

9: In 2014, the unexpected happened: a sitting President conceded defeat against the run of play and even well before the tally of all the votes had come in. The nation, well across ethnic, religions, regional and class lines believed it had turned the corner. The new President had campaigned on a rich menu of promises, ending corruption, ending Boko Haram, ending poverty, uniting the country among others. He ushered in his administration by promising to uphold the Constitution and said he would “belong to everyone and to no one”. We all looked up in hope to a man who had campaigned on the key philosophy of Integrity and Character.

10: Today, the tide has turned. The President has turned his back on almost all the key promises he made to the people of Nigeria during his campaign. Our country now looks like a boiling pot that everyone wants to escape from. Nepotism has become the new ideology of this government. In following this ideology, it is estimated that the President has handed over 85% of the key positions to northern Muslims and has ensured that men of his faith hold tight to the reins of power in the most critical areas of our national life; the National Assembly and the Security Agencies!

11: In chapter 2 of our Constitution, under Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, the Constitution states very clearly and unambiguously in Section 13 that: “It shall be the duty and responsibility of all organs of government, and of all authorities and persons, exercising legislative, executive or judicial powers, to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of this Chapter of this Constitution.”
Section 14(1) states very clearly that: “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice.” Article (b) follows by stating that: “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government”, and subsection 3, states that: “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies.”

12: By adopting Nepotism as a primary ideology, clearly unable to secure our country and people, President Muhammadu Buhari is in flagrant violation of the Constitution which he swore to uphold. Today, our sense of national unity is severely under threat and test. Our common citizenship has been fractured and diminished. The principles of equity, fairness and egalitarianism on which our Constitution hangs have been assaulted and diminished.

13: Nigerian citizens feel collectively violated. There is clearly a conflict in narratives and understanding between the principles and ideologies contained in the Manifesto of the Party on which he campaigned and the brutal realities of today. It would seem that it was in anticipation of this dissonance that the President built such a firewall of protection around himself by the partisan selection of Security Chiefs based on religious and ethnic affiliation. It could be the reason for the adoption of the same principles in the National Assembly today. The President has been quite diligent and focused in the pursuit of an Agenda that is clearly alien to the aspirations and hopes of our people across religious lines. Nigeria was nothing like this before he came. How long will this lie last before it melts in our faces? We are living a lie and we know it.

14: The motto of our dear nation reads: Unity and Faith, Peace and Progress. Today, where is Nigeria’s Unity? Today, who has Faith in Nigeria? Today, where is the Peace? Today, where is the Progress? The whole world stood with Nigeria sixty years ago expecting us to lead Africa and beyond. TIME Magazine on December 5th, 1960 made our Prime Minister its Man of Year. No black person had been conferred with this honour. Where are we today with that trust?

15: At the end of his speech 60 years ago, our beloved Prime Minister thanked the missionaries for the great work they had done in Nigeria. We as a Church are still on out duty post, following the legacy of those who have gone before us. The Catholic Bishops spent the last forty days praying every day for an end to the killings. As we celebrate our independence today, I call on the President to please urgently make a turn and heed the voices of Nigeria’s friends and the rest of the world.

16: We all face a dilemma: it is our national day but how can we sing a song when our country has become a Babylon? Where are the Chibok daughters? Where is Leah Sharibu? Who are the sponsored murderers who have overrun our land? Our land is now a pool of blood. Mr. President, please reset the clock before it is too late. I pray for you that God will touch your heart so that you embrace the ideals of those who came before you. This is not the Nigeria they dreamt of. This is not the Nigeria you went to war for. With hope in God, but sorrow in my heart, I say to Nigerians, let us stand together. Let us renew our faith. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed (Rom. 13:11). God bless our beloved fatherland.

Nigeria became a sovereign nation on October 1, 1960.

On October 1, 1960, Nigeria gained its independence from Britain following years of struggle for sovereignty by leaders from various ethnic groups in the country.

Then, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa became the first post-independence leader as the Prime Minister who came into being under the banner of Northern People’s Congress in alliance with the National Council of Nigerian Citizens.

Speaking on the independence day, Mr Balewa said it took the nation lots of battle to gain its sovereignty and as such leaders must be willing to “play an active part in maintaining the peace of the world and in preserving civilisation.”

“Each step of our constitutional advance has been purposefully and peacefully planned with full and open consultation, not only between representatives of all the various interests in Nigeria but in harmonious cooperation with the administering power which has today relinquished its authority”.

See full excerpt below:

Today is Independence Day. The first of October 1960 is a date to which for two years every Nigerian has been eagerly looking forward. At last, our great day has arrived, and Nigeria is now indeed an independent sovereign nation.

Words cannot adequately express my joy and pride at being the Nigerian citizen privileged to accept from Her Royal Highness these Constitutional Instruments which are the symbols of Nigeria’s Independence. It is a unique privilege which I shall remember forever, and it gives me strength and courage as I dedicate my life to the service of our country.

This is a wonderful day, and it is all the more wonderful because we have awaited it with increasing impatience, compelled to watch one country after another overtaking us on the road when we had so nearly reached our goal. But now we have acquired our rightful status, and I feel sure that history will show that the building of our nation proceeded at the wisest pace: it has been thorough, and Nigeria now stands well-built upon firm foundations.

Today’s ceremony marks the culmination of a process, which began 15 years ago and has now reached a happy and successful conclusion. It is with justifiable pride that we claim the achievement of our Independence to be unparallelled in the annals of history. Each step of our constitutional advance has been purposefully and peacefully planned with full and open consultation, not only between representatives of all the various interests in Nigeria but in harmonious cooperation with the administering power which has today relinquished its authority.

At the time when our constitutional development entered upon its final phase, the emphasis was largely upon self-government. We, the elected representatives of the people of Nigeria, concentrated on proving that we were fully capable of managing our own affairs both internally and as a nation.

However, we were not to be allowed the selfish luxury of focusing our interest in our own homes. In these days of rapid communications, we cannot live in isolation, apart from the rest of the world, even if we wished to do so. All too soon it has become evident that for us Independence implies a great deal more than self-government. This great country, which has now emerged without bitterness or bloodshed, finds that she must at once be ready to deal with grave international issues.

This fact has of recent months been unhappily emphasised by the startling events which have occurred in this continent. I shall not labour the point but it would be unrealistic not to draw attention first to the awe-inspiring task confronting us at the very start of our nationhood. When this day in October 1960 was chosen for our Independence it seemed that we were destined to move with quiet dignity to place on the world stage.

Recent events have changed the scene beyond recognition, so that we find ourselves today being tested to the utmost We are called upon immediately to show that our claims to the responsible government are well-founded, and having been accepted as an independent state we must at once play an active part in maintaining the peace of the world and in preserving civilisation. I promise you, we shall not fail for want of determination.

And we come to this task better-equipped than many. For this, I pay tribute to the manner in which successive British governments have gradually transferred the burden of responsibility to our shoulders. The assistance and unfailing encouragement which we have received from each Secretary of State for the Colonies and their intense personal interest in our development has immeasurably lightened that burden.

All our friends in the Colonial Office must today be proud of their handiwork and in the knowledge that they have helped to lay the foundations of a lasting friendship between our two nations. I have indeed every confidence that, based on the happy experience of a successful partnership, our future relations with the United Kingdom will be more cordial than ever, bound together, as we shall be in the Commonwealth, by a common allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, whom today we proudly acclaim as Queen of Nigeria and Head of the Commonwealth.

Time will not permit the individual mention of all those friends, many of them Nigerians, whose selfless labours have contributed to our Independence. Some have not lived to see the fulfilment of their hopes on them be peace, “but nevertheless they are remembered here, and the names of buildings and streets and roads and bridges throughout the country recall to our minds their achievements, some of them on a national scale. Others confined, perhaps, to a small area in one Division, are more humble but of equal value in the sum-total.

Today, we have with us representatives of those who have made Nigeria: Representatives of the Regional Governments, of former Central Governments, of the Missionary Societies, and of the Banking and Commercial enterprises, and members, both past and present, of the Public Service. We welcome you, and we rejoice that you have been able to come and share in our celebrations.

We wish that it could have been possible for all of those whom you represent to be here today: Many, I know, will be disappointed to be absent, but if they are listening to me now, I say to them, “Thank you on behalf of my Thank you for your devoted service, which helped build Nigeria into a nation. Today we are reaping the harvest which you sowed, and the quality of the harvest is equalled only by our gratitude to you. May God bless you all.

This is an occasion when our hearts are filled with conflicting emotions: we are, indeed, proud to have achieved our independence, and proud that our efforts should have contributed to this happy event. But do not mistake our pride for arrogance. It is tempered by feelings of sincere gratitude to all who have shared in the task of developing Nigeria politically, socially and economically.

We are grateful to the British officers whom we have known, first as masters, and then as leaders, and finally as partners, but always as friends. And there have been countless missionaries who have laboured unceasingly in the cause of education and to whom we owe many of our medical services. We are grateful also to those who have brought modern methods of banking and of commerce, and new industries. I wish to pay tribute to all of these people and to declare our everlasting admiration of their devotion to duty.

And, finally, I must express our gratitude to Her Royal Highness the Princess Alexandra of Kent for personally bringing to us these symbols of our freedom, and especially for delivering the gracious message from Her Majesty The Queen. And so, with the words “God save our Queen”, I open a new chapter in the history of Nigeria, and of the Commonwealth, and indeed of the world.