May 25, 2026
Six days after the October 1, 1960 independence of Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa stood before the United Nations, UN. The historical mission of Nigeria he said, is to develop Africa, the continent which gave birth to humanity and modern civilization. The date was October 7, 1960 in the hallowed chambers of the UN in New York.
Tafawa-Balewa laid out the four cardinal principles of the emergent African giant. First, its desire to be on friendly terms with all countries. In other words, that Nigeria would not inherit the real or imaginary enemies of its former colonial masters. Secondly, that it has no expansionist intentions. So, Nigeria, unlike expansionist countries like Britain, United States, Spain, Belgium and Portugal, would not go about trampling on other countries or stealing territories. Thirdly, that Nigeria does not intend to align itself with any power bloc. So, its mission includes independence, respect and equality of all peoples. This was a reflection of the core principles of the Asian-African Conference, historically called the Bandung Conference which held five years earlier in Indonesia.
This commitment to human progress and development was to lead Nigeria into playing a major role in the evolution of the Non Aligned Movement, NAM when it was established on September 1, 1961. At a point the NAM had 121 developing countries as members. Fourthly, that Nigeria was committed to working with other African States for the progress of the continent and, to: “ assist in bringing all African territories to a state of responsible independence.” The next major international outing of Nigeria was at its maiden attendance of the International Labour Organisation, ILO Conference in June, 1961.
