Nigerian Youth Movement - Growing Militancy

Growing Militancy

When Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") launched his West African Pilot in 1937, dedicated to fighting for independence from British colonial rule, the newspaper was an immediate success. Zik, an Ibo, found a ready-audience in the non-Yoruba people of Nigeria, including many in Lagos. He introduced militant racial consciousness to the NYM, and expanded its membership with large numbers of people who had previously been excluded. H.O. Davies returned to Nigeria in 1938 from a spell at the London School of Economics (LSE), becoming a leading figure in the movement until he resigned in 1951. At the LSE, Davies had roomed with Jomo Kenyatta and had absorbed the socialist views of Harold Laski.

In October 1938 the NYM fought and won elections for the Lagos Town Council, ending the dominance of Herbert Macaulay and the National Democratic Party. The newly self-confident members of the Nigerian Youth Movement objected to the system of indirect rule through traditional tribal leaders. The Youth Charter published in 1938 said: "We are opposed to the term "Indirect Rule" literally as well as in principle. Honest trusteeship implies direct British Rule with a view to ultimate self-government...". The Charter set out goals of unifying the tribes of Nigeria to work towards a common ideal, and educating public opinion to develop the national consciousness needed to reach this ideal. The goal was spelled out as complete autonomy within the British Empire on a basis of equal partnership with the other member states.