"Let My People Go"

 

He Was 29 Years Old.

He Stood Up And Demanded Nigeria's Freedom.

And It Nearly Tore The Country Apart.

March 31, 1953. Lagos, Nigeria.

The Federal House of Representatives was in session.

A young man rose to his feet.

His name was Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro.

Born in Uromi, present-day Edo State on July 22, 1923. Educated at King's College Lagos. By age 21 — already the youngest newspaper editor in Nigerian history.  

Now at 29 — he was about to make the most important speech of his generation.

The Motion

Standing before the House, Enahoro moved:

"That the House accepts as primary political objective the attainment of self-government for Nigeria in 1956."  

Seven words that changed Nigerian history.

Self-government. By 1956.

Not someday. Not eventually. Not when the British felt ready.

1956. A specific date. A demand. A declaration.

Enahoro rejected the vague colonial timeline of "self-government as soon as practicable" and moved a motion for a specific non-negotiable date. 

The Southern members of the House erupted in support.

The AG stood with him.

The NCNC stood with him.

Then the North responded.

The Counter-Motion

The leader of the Northern People's Congress, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello — the Sardauna of Sokoto rose and proposed an amendment. He replaced "in the year 1956" with a single phrase: "as soon as practicable." 

Four words designed to kill a dream without saying no directly.

A Northern member then moved a motion for adjournment. The Southern members of the AG and NCNC viewed this as delay tactics — a technical way of rejecting self-government entirely. Every AG and NCNC member stood up and walked out.  

The House erupted in chaos.

Sardauna looked at the pandemonium around him and declared words that echo through Nigerian history:

"The mistake of 1914 has come to light."

Why Did The North Say No?

This is the question history must answer honestly.

The North's opposition was not simply stubbornness.

It was fear, rooted in a real educational and administrative gap.

As of 1953 — the entire Northern Region had only one university graduate.

His name was Dr. Russell Aliyu Barau Dikko.

Meanwhile the Western and Eastern regions had thousands of graduates in medicine, engineering, administration and the social sciences with about 90 per cent of public service manpower in the North composed of expatriates or Southern Nigerians.

The North feared that immediate independence would entrench Southern political and economic dominance, leaving the North marginalised in the new nation. 

That fear was real.

Whether it justified what happened next — history continues to debate.

Then Came The Lagos Mob.

As Northern delegates left the House after the walkout, they were confronted by hostile crowds on the streets of Lagos. The crowds jeered them. Insulted them. The Northern delegation was humiliated at every stop on their journey home.  

The North did not forget.

Back in Kaduna, in the Lugard Hall,  the Northern delegation issued an Eight Point Programme. They demanded secession. They wanted either a complete break from the South or a very loose union. 

Then, to make things worse, Chief S.L. Akintola led a Southern political tour into the North while Northerners were still nursing their anger from the Lagos humiliation.  

It was like pouring fuel on an open flame.

The Kano Riots — May 16 to 18, 1953

From May 16 to 18, 1953 — a three-day outbreak of ethnic violence tore through the ancient city of Kano. Northern residents attacked Southern immigrants in the Sabon Gari district. Southern traders — many of Igbo origin were targeted by mobs. 

British authorities called in the military to help quell the situation. The day after the riot, the British colonial government declared a state of emergency in Northern Nigeria. 

When the British probe concluded, the colonial statement read: "No amount of provocation, short-term or long-term, can in any way justify their behaviour. The seeds of the trouble which broke out in Kano on May 16, 1953 have their counterparts still in the ground." 

Still in the ground.

The British said it themselves in 1953.

Those seeds are still being watered in 2026.

What Followed, The Kano riots shook the British colonial administration into action.

The crisis led directly to the adoption of a federal system of government in 1954 — the Lyttleton Constitution which expanded regional autonomy and gave each region greater control over its internal affairs. 

Enahoro's original motion was amended, the target date of 1956 was changed to 1960 amid regional disagreements. Nigeria eventually gained independence on October 1, 1960.  

Four years later than Enahoro demanded.

But it came.

What Became Of Anthony Enahoro?

In 1955 — Enahoro was conferred the title of Adolor Uromi in recognition of his contributions to the independence movement. Adolor is an Edo word meaning "one who brings progress and development." 

He served as Minister of Home Affairs.

Later as Federal Commissioner for Information under Gowon.

He fought for Nigerian unity during the civil war.

He fought for democracy under Abacha.

He never stopped fighting.

Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro died on December 15, 2010.  

He was 87 years old.

He had given Nigeria its first demand for freedom at 29.

And spent the remaining 58 years of his life fighting for the country that freedom built.

Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro.

July 22, 1923 — December 15, 2010.

He stood up at 29 and said:

Nigeria deserves to be free. By 1956. Not someday. Now.

They nearly tore the country apart trying to stop him.

Nigeria got its freedom anyway.

And most Nigerians today do not know his name.

Nigeria Untold will not let that stand.

Did you know it was a 29-year-old from Uromi who first demanded Nigeria's independence? What does his story mean to you? Drop your thoughts below.

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Nigeria Untold