Did You Know?

Hi friends, it's your friend again. I welcome you all to my blog. I know you're excited about reading a fresh edition of "Did You Know?" Your regular history content here on Steem4Nigeria.

Last week, we looked at the establishment of the first political party and election in Nigeria. Some basic facts were established.
Today, I've brought you a fresh edition of "Did You Know?" Which I'm sure will be reminded of and be enlightened about our past history as a people.

Did you know that the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) was founded as an ethnic movement before it was adopted as a political party in the 1930s?

Yes, the NYM was founded with the name the Lagos Youth Movement (LYM). It was founded in 1934 by Ernest Ikoli, H.O. Davies, Chief Bode Thomas, S.L. Akintola and others.

At first, the movement's aim was to speak about the low standard of the Yaba college, stating that the school wasn't affiliated to any of the universities in Britain. Besides, some core causes weren't studied in the school, making it obvious of the low standard of the institution.

The movement was also aimed at protesting against the marginalisation and the racial discrimination of Nigerians in the civil service. This is because Nigerians, as it were, weren't appointed into any senior position in the civil service apart from being hired as security, cleaners etc.

To the originators of the movement, Nigerians deserved the best, hence the need for them to come together to speak against such ill-treatment and discrimination by the colonial government.

However, the movement later metamorphosed into a political party wearing a new look and its name changed from the Lagos Youth Movement (LYM) to the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1936 after its establishment in 1934. By this time, it was focused on the political development of the country just beyond ethnic affiliation.

Facts

• The movement laid the foundation for the nationalist movements which eventually led to federal status granted Nigeria and independence in 1960.

• It was the first ever ethnic organisation in Nigeria.

• It brought some relief to Nigerians in the civil

• It also succeeded in standing out as a national party from 1936 till its decline in 1941.

Thank you for reading, I remain your historian friend @eveetim. Feel free to make your contributions in the comment, I'll love to hear from you.

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