What led to the 1953 riot in Kano? In March 1953, Chief Anthony Enahoro, a member of Action Group (AG) in the House of Representatives, made a motion asking for Nigeria to get its own government in 1956.
Sir Ahmadu Bello, the leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), made a counter motion. He proposed a change that would grant self-government “as soon as practicable.”
Both the Northern and Southern leaders’ relationships were strained as a result of these disagreements over the motion.
Since the members of the NPC dominated the House of Representatives, the proposed amendment was likely to be in their favor. The NCNC and A.G. members of the House of Representatives therefore left the room in anticipation.
Before leaving Lagos for the North, members of the NPC were heckled and booed after the House meeting was called off.
To avenge the humiliation they suffered in Lagos following the March 31, 1953, adjournment of the self-government motion, Northern leaders made a retaliatory move in Kano.
The Action Group (AG) tour of the Northern Region, led by Chief S.L. Akintola, was the target of the retaliatory action. The Northerners claimed that it was an incursion into the territory of another man. A riot that became known as the 1953 Kano riot or the 1953 Kano riot occurred while Akintola and his group were in Kano.
Samuel Ladoke.
Samuel Ladoke Akintola’s Kano Riot of 1953 resulted in a number of fatalities and scores of injuries. Following the crisis, the members of the NPC sent the colonial government an “eight-point program” stating that they would not return to the House in Lagos until their demands were met.
Political Implications or Effects of the Kano Riot in 1953 The riot deteriorated the Northern and Southern leadership relationships.
The riot also demonstrated that Nigeria could only be held together by a federal government that allows for regional development at their own pace.
It resulted in the 1953 and 1954 Constitutional Conferences.
It resulted in a brief working partnership between A.G. and the NCNC.
