The June 1964 general strike, led by the Joint Action Committee under Michael Imoudu and Wahab Goodluck, paralysed the country for 13 days. Workers won the Morgan Commission wage award. The subsequent Western Region election (Oct 1965) collapsed into 'Operation Wetie' — petrol-burning of NNDP houses — and provided the trigger for the January 1966 coup.
1st Republic1964· Civilian· Chapter IV · Record
General Strike of 1964; Western Region Crisis
13-day general strike (Sept 1964) over wages. 'Operation Wetie' in the Western Region after the contested October 1965 election.
Sources
- · Morgan Commission on Wages (1964)
- · Toyin Falola, History of Nigeria (2008)
What it cost — political & economic reality
The political and economic reality
Nigeria in 1964: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period.
Prime Minister · First Republic
Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
1960–1966· NPC
National reality
Independence on 1 October 1960. Regional rivalries (NPC, NCNC, AG) dominated politics. Awolowo treason trial (1962–63). Western Region crisis (1962–65) and the disputed 1964 federal election destabilised the Republic.
Crises of the period
- Action Group crisis (1962)
- Western Region election violence (1965)
- January 15, 1966 coup — Balewa, Ahmadu Bello and Akintola killed
GDP (World Bank)
≈ $4.2 bn (1960, World Bank)
Cabinet (selected portfolios)
- Finance
Festus Okotie-Eboh
- Justice (AGF)
Dr. Taslim Olawale Elias
- Defence
Sir Muhammadu Ribadu
- Foreign Affairs
Jaja Wachuku
- Education
Aja Nwachukwu
Source: Federal Gazette 1960–66; Falola & Heaton (2008)
Methodology
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Redline
Wikipedia is never a source.