Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe, commonly referred to as Zik of Africa, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic (1963–1966). He is widely regarded as the father of Nigerian nationalism as well as one of the major driving forces behind the country's independence in 1960.
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was a Nigerian politician who served as the first and only prime minister of Nigeria upon independence. A conservative Anglophile, he favoured maintaining close ties with the British. During his first few years in office as prime minister, Nigeria was a constitutional monarchy with Elizabeth II reigning as Queen of Nigeria, until Nigeria became a republic in 1963. He was both a defender of Northern special interests and an advocate of Nigerian reform and unity.
Prince AkwekeAbyssinia Nwafor Orizu (GCON)(; 17 July 1914 – 1999) was a Nigerian Politician, who served as President of the Nigerian Senate from 1963 to early 1966, during the Nigerian First Republic. Orizu was also Acting President of Nigeria from late 1965 until the military coup of January 1966. He was a member of the Nnewi Royal family. His nephew Igwe Kenneth Onyeneke Orizu III is the current Igwe (King) of Nnewi Kingdom. Nwafor Orizu College of Education in Nsugbe, Anambra State, is named after him.
The Lancaster House Conferences in London in 1957 and 1958 were meetings where the federal constitution for an independent Nigeria was prepared. The meetings were presided over by the British Colonial Secretary, and Nigerian delegates were selected to represent each region and to reflect various shades of opinion. The delegation was led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa of the Northern People's Congress (NPC), and included party leaders Obafemi Awolowo of the Action Group, Nnamdi Azikiwe of the NCNC, Eyo Ita of the NIP and Ahmadu Bello of the NPC – as well as the premiers of the Western, Eastern, and Northern regions. The Chiefs of the Northern Region, Sir Muhammadu Sanusi, Emir of Kano and Alhaji Usman Nagogo, Emir of Katsina' Chiefs of the Western Region, Sir Adesoji Aderemi and Oba Aladesanmi; and Chiefs of the Eastern Region HRH Eze Johnson Osuji Njemanze MBE CON, Paramount Ruler of Owerri, Chief Nyong Essien of Uyo and Chief S. E. Onukogu
Jaja Anucha Ndubuisi Wachuku was a Pan-Africanist and a Nigerian statesman, lawyer, politician, diplomat and humanitarian. He was the first Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives; as well as the first Nigerian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Also, Wachuku was the first Nigerian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Notably, Wachuku was a Royal Prince of Ngwaland, "descendant of 20 generations of African chiefs in the Igbo country of Eastern Nigeria".
Chief Samuel Ládòkè Akíntọ́lá otherwise known as S.L.A. was a Nigerian politician, aristocrat, orator, and lawyer. He served as Oloye Aare Ona Kakanfo XIII of Yorubaland and served as premier of Western Nigeria from independence in 1960 till his assassination in 1966.
The First Republic was the republican government of Nigeria between 1963 and 1966 governed by the first republican constitution. The country's government was based on a federal form of the Westminster system. The period between 1 October 1960, when the country gained its independence and 15 January 1966, when the first military coup d’état took place, is also generally referred to as the First Republic. The first Republic of Nigeria was ruled by different leaders representing their regions as premiers in a federation during this period.
Raymond Amanze Njoku was a Nigerian politician and former minister for Transport. The son of an Igbo Chief, he was born in Owerri and raised in a Roman Catholic household. He attended Our Lady's School at Emekuku, for primary education. Later on, at St Charles, college, Onitsha, where he was studying, he applied and won a scholarship that earned him an admission into a teachers training school. After brief stints at tutorship in various schools including St Gregory's College, Lagos and St Charles, Onitsha, he decided to change course and study law. After completing his Law studies at Cambridge: LLB Hons Peterhouse College Cambridge, England; he was called to the bar at Inner Temple.
Chief Festus Okotie-Eboh was a Nigerian politician who was the finance minister of Nigeria from 1957 to 1966 during the administration of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
Mallam Aminu Kano was a Nigerian radical opposition political leader, teacher, poet, playwright, and trade unionist from Kano. He played an active role during the transition from British colonial rule to independence, the First Republic, Military rule, and the Second Republic. Representing the Kano East constituency, he served as the Deputy Government Chief Whip in the Federal House of Representatives. During Yakubu Gowon's administration, he served as the Federal Commissioner for Communications and the Federal Commissioner for Health. He was a vocal critic of British colonialism and its indirect rule policy in northern Nigeria. A self-described democratic humanist and reformer, Aminu combined his knowledge of Western and Islamic education to champion the liberation of the talakawa (commoners).
David Oluwafemi Adewunmi Abdulateef Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian politician, author and lawyer.
On 15 January 1966, rebellious soldiers carrying out a military putsch led by Kaduna Nzeogwu and 4 others, killed 22 people including the prime minister of Nigeria, many senior politicians, senior Army officers and their wives, and sentinels on protective duty. The coup plotters attacked the cities of Kaduna, Ibadan, and Lagos while also blockading the Niger and Benue River within a two-day timespan, before being subdued. The General Officer Commanding the Nigerian Army, Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, was falsely accused of having been compelled to take control of the government of a country in upheaval, inadvertently putting Nigeria's nascent democracy on hold His ascendancy to power was deemed a conspiracy by the coup plotters, who were partly Igbo and Majors from Yoruba and Hausa sub regions, to pave the way for General Aguiyi-Ironsi to be head of state of Nigeria. Consequently, the retaliatory events by Northern members of the Nigerian Army that led to deaths of many Igbo soldiers and civilians put the nation on a path that eventually led to a civil war.
Muhammadu Inuwa Wada was a parliamentarian and minister of Works and Survey under the administration of Tafawa Balewa. He was a veteran parliamentarian towards the end of the Nigerian first republic and was given the Defense portfolio in 1965 after the death of Muhammadu Ribadu. He was first elected in 1951 as a member of the Northern House of Assembly, he was subsequently nominated to the Federal House of Representatives and was a member and later minister from 1951 to 1966. Inuwa Wada was known by many as a quiet figure in contrast to the hectic demands of his ministerial portfolio in the Works department which was going through a period of increased focus on major developmental projects as part of a six-year plan during the early 1960s.
Events in the year 1960 in Nigeria.
The Cabinet of Shehu Shagari formed the government of Nigeria during the presidency of Shehu Shagari between 1979 and 1983, after the return to civilian rule with the Second Nigerian Republic. Among the cabinet Ministers are Adamu Ciroma, Bello Maitama Yusuf, Mamman Ali Makele etc. It was terminated by a military coup.
Abubakar Ibiyinka Olorun-Nimbe (1908–1975) was a Nigerian medical doctor and politician who was the first Mayor of Lagos. He represented Lagos in the Legislative Council.
Major Donatus Okafor was a Nigerian army officer, Commander of the Federal Guards Brigade, and one of the principal plotters of the January 15, 1966 coup, an event that derailed Nigeria's nascent democracy and introduced military rule to Nigeria.
Zanna Bukar Dipcharima (1917–1969) was a Nigerian politician who was active during the Nigerian First Republic, he was a member of the House of Representatives and later appointed a Minister in the administration of Tafawa Balewa. He was a former Minister of Commerce and Industry and also of Transport.
Mallam Sa'adu Zungur was a Nigerian revolutionary, poet, jurist and nationalist who played an important role in Nigeria's independence movement particularly in Northern Nigeria. He is generally regarded as the father of 'radical politics' in Northern Nigeria. Zungur's political writings criticising the colonial government of Northern Nigeria, especially the emirate system, helped in laying the foundation for the principle of self-determination in Nigeria. His literary and political endeavors influenced a number of the leaders of the independence movement in Northern Nigeria, notably Aminu Kano and Isa Wali.
Tafawa Balewa's tomb is the burial place of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the only Prime Minister of Nigeria, in Bauchi, Bauchi State, Nigeria.
