At the Center of the Storm

Abstract

Perhaps more than any other Nigerian politician, Mbadiwe had grandiose hopes and dreams for newly independent Nigeria, and, of course, he saw himself as a major instrument in their realization. However, these dreams were to be seriously challenged by intense and often violent competition for state power on the part of regional and ethnic elites resulting in weakness and instability in the federal government and its demise via a military coup on January 15, 1966. Throughout this period, and against all odds, Mbadiwe consistently and vociferously fought for a strong and effective Nigerian federal government; he used his large reputation and his substantive positions as personal advisor to the president, leader of the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) Parliamentary Party, the minister of aviation, and the minister of trade toward this elusive end.