Nigeria got its independence on October 1, 1960. The new constitution set up a system where we elect a prime minister and have a ceremonial head of state.
The NCNC, led by Azikiwe (since Macaulay died in 1946), joined forces with Balewa’s NPC because neither party won a majority in the 1959 elections.
Balewa kept being the prime minister, a role he had held since 1957, while Azikiwe took the mostly symbolic role of Senate president.
After a UN referendum, the northern part of the Trust Territory of the Cameroons joined the Northern region in June 1961. In October, the Southern Cameroons united with Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
Nigeria became a republic on October 1, 1963. Azikiwe became president, but Balewa still had more power as prime minister.
Nigeria’s regional tensions, fueled by ethnic rivalry, unequal education, and economic disparity, resurfaced after a brief phase during the controversial 1962-63 census.
To prevent ethnic conflict, they split the Western region and made the Mid-West in August ‘63.
Even though the country was divided, it was still split into three big regions, each controlled by a different ethnic group: Yoruba in the west, Igbo in the east, and Hausa-Fulani in the north.
There was constant conflict because the leaders were only looking out for themselves.
The government in the west totally fell apart in 1962, and the country almost fell apart when people boycotted the federal election in December 1964.
January 1966 was a game-changer. The west was in chaos after a phony election, and some army officers decided to overthrow the government. They even killed Prime Minister Balewa and two regional premiers.
Maj. Gen. Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi set up a military administration, but his idea to get rid of the regions and impose a unitary government caused riots against the Igbo people in the north.
The military’s intervention made things go downhill. The army split along ethnic lines, officers fought over power, and the coup leaders were accused of favoring the Igbo.
In July 1966, some northern officers did a countercoup, Aguiyi-Ironsi got assassinated, and Lieut. Col. (later Gen.) Yakubu Gowon came to power.
The situation got even worse with fights between different communities and talk of breaking away.
Odumegwu Ojukwu. In 1966, Lieut Colonel Odumegwu Ojukw led Biafra’s secession from Nigeria.
They declared independence in 1967 and surrendered in 1970, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
Gowon tried to hold a conference to sort out Nigeria’s future, but gave up after a bunch of ethnic killings in October.
The country’s last hope was in January 1967, when the Eastern delegation, led by Lieut. Ojukwu agreed to meet the others in Aburi, Ghana, but things went downhill when they couldn’t agree on interpreting the accord.