Following the founding of the first television station in Africa and Nigeria in 1959. Nigerian television was the first in Africa, and the Western Region Government, headed by Premier Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his Minister of Information, Chief Anthony Enahoro, achieved a sense of pride for the country.
He was an architect when Nigeria celebrated its second anniversary of independence, and on that day, he was placed under house arrest at the Leader of the Opposition’s official mansion, located at 7 Bell Avenue in Ikoyi, Lagos. After the Nigerian Federal Government declared a state of emergency on May 29, 1962, he was only allowed to leave his home in Ikenne and the surrounding area within one mile.
He was told to go to a secluded, marshy, and mosquito-infested fishing community on the Lagos Lagoon in Lekki on June 19, 1962, and he stayed there until he received orders to return to Ikenne in July. He was moved to Lagos on July 22 so that he might be available for a thorough investigation into the entirety of his eight-year leadership over Western Nigeria. He was placed under house arrest during that time and subsequently accused of conspiracy and treasonable offense. Mr. Justice G.S. Sowemimo sentenced him to ten years in prison. Chief Awolowo lost his first son, Gun, in a car accident while he was incarcerated. Later, on August 2, 1966, General Yakubu Gowon liberated him.
