Full text of Chief Obafemi Awolowo: speech to Oyo State House of Assembly in Ibadan on Wednesday, 16th January, 1980. This is the speech in which Chief Awolowo listed his main achievements as Premier of Western Region of Nigeria from January, 1952, to December, 1959.
Some people have disrespectfully and insultingly described the Western Region as ‘the wild wild West’. No people with predominant wild inclinations such as are implicit in the description can record in a short period of EIGHT YEARS the supremely impressive, epoch-making, and pace-setting innovations and achievements which have been itemised above. The truth about the people of the Western Region is that they are sufficiently enlightened and bold to refuse to be led by the nose by any person or group however sophisticated such person or group may appear. They are slow to anger; robust in contentions; alert to their rights, and will fearlessly resist and combat evil whenever and wherever they discern it, with all their might and resources. To the people of the Western Region A LEADER IS MADE, NOT BORN. He is expected to justify his leadership by his personal attributes, and by his works for the good of the people. Whereas in some other parts of the country A LEADER IS BORN; and it is the followership that are expected to justify their worthiness to follow by the extremity of their obedience and subservience.
When the decision was taken in 1952 to introduce free universal education and free health services for children up to the age of 18, in the Western Region, it became necessary, in order to finance the schemes, immediately to impose an Education and Health Levy of TEN SHILLINGS per male adult taxpayers in Ijebu Province only.
The collection of the levy commenced two years before the introduction of the schemes. This time-lag led, to a lot of misrepresentations, which were heightened by the novelty of the schemes and the incredulity of the people towards them.
There was widespread resistance to the schemes, partly spontaneous and mainly instigated by the Opposition. But the Action Group Government had no iota of doubt in its mind that the schemes would fructify and mature in due time to the delight and gratitude of the vast majority of our people.
In concluding my speech on the motion for Education and Health Levy in the Western House of Assembly on 23rd January, 1953, I said something which now appears prophetic but which in actual fact exemplifies the clear vision and profound faith of the Action Group Government about the eventual and abiding success of the two epoch-making schemes. This is what I said:
‘Finally, Mr President, we of the Action Group will press forward and I make this solemn promise with a due sense of responsibility and resolution, we of the Action Group will press forward in the execution of the laudable projects which this House has unanimously approved and accepted, believing as we do, being Christians and good Mohammedans on this side, believing as we do that God Almighty, who sees our hearts and knows we are doing all these things to better the lot of our people, is on our side, and confident also that our beloved and trusting masses, when they begin to enjoy the delectable fruits of the education and health levy which they are now being called upon to pay, will now and in future years remember us with gratitude and adoration as their faithful and devoted servants, and as their only true friends and benefactors.’
But incredulity and hostility towards the free education scheme were not confined to the Opposition and a good number of our people. All the senior Opposition and a good number of our people. All the senior Government Officials – both Black and White – and all the Nigerian intellectuals outside the fold of the Action Group were solidly opposed to the scheme. The then Director of Education in the Western Region declared that he did not believe that the Region was ripe for extension of primary education, let alone for free universal primary education. He thought it was a futile venture to embark on the latter. The Financial Secretary, for his part, thought that the whole business amounted to no more than an academic exercise; as, according to him, we needed to impose at least £5 not 10/- per capita to implement the free education scheme alone.
(Nigerian Tribune)