Is Eyo Ita also E.O. Eyo?
Abdulquadir Akintunde Adeseun, Ph.D.
Meke,
Also, one of the students' houses at Ogbomoso Grammar School is named after
professor Eyo Ita (Eyo Ita House).
At 05:11 PM 7/25/97 EST, you wrote:
> Point of correction!!!!!
>
>
>
>
> NO.
>
> Professor Eyo Ita was a statesman and an educator of repute.
> He was educated in Nigeria, United States and United
> Kingdom. He returned to Nigeria in 1932. After a brief
> sojourn in Ogbomosho he moved to Calabar, where he found
> West African People's Institute (WAPI). WAPI gave
> instructions in both academic and vocational subjects. He
> preached self reliance and independence for Nigeria.
>
> He became an active member of the NCNC when it was founded
> in 1944. In 1951 with the MacPherson Constitution, he was
> the leader of the party in the Eastern House of Assembly. He
> later became the first leader of Government Business in
> Eastern Nigeria. Following the crisis in the party in 1953
> he and a number of "sit-tight' members and ministers were
> expelled from the party. He founded the National
> Independence Party. This party later became the United
> National Independence Party (UNIP). Professor Eyo Ita
> returned to the NCNC in 1957.
>
> During the Biafra War and the crisis proceeding it he
> wholeheartedly identified himself with the "rebels". He
> stayed in Orlu during the Biafra war working with Biafra
> leadership. After the war he went back to his home in
> Calabar where he died in 1972.
>
> The University of Nigeria honored him with an honorary
> doctorate. One of the halls of residence at the University
> of Nigeria Nsukka is named after him.
>
> His son Professor Lawrence Eyo Ita teaches engineering in
> one of the universities here in the USA.
>
> On the other hand, Mr E.O. Eyo who was educated at
> Government College Umuahia served as Government Chief Whip
> in the Eastern House of Assembly prior to the African
> Continental Bank Crisis which led to the Foster-Sutton
> Tribunal into the affairs of the bank in 1956. (If you are
> honestly interested in knowing what, who, when and why Zik
> was involved in the ACB crisis, I recommend that you read -
> Sir James Robertson's, Transition in Africa; and KAB
> Jones/Quartey, The life of Zik) He was also Chairman of
> Eastern Nigeria Development Corporation (ENDC). The premier
> of Eastern Nigeria at the time, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe appeared
> to have reposed a lot of confidence in Mr Eyo.
>
> Mr Eyo was an ex-convict. He had served time for fraud when
> he was in the civil service. He could therefore not serve as
> a minister. Mr Eyo was not a political prisoner like Chief
> Anthony Enahoro, Nduka Eze, Ikenna Nzimiro or Smart Ebi.
>
> Because of his role in the ACB affair he was expelled from
> the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC). He
> joined the Action Group (AG), the opposition party in
> Eastern Nigeria.
>
> Mr Eyo Hailed from Ibesikpo near Uyo in Akwa Ibom State. He
> was for many years an opposition member of the then Eastern
> House of Assembly.
>
> Now that we know the difference between oke and odu.
>
> Meke.
>
>