National Independence Party (Nigeria)
| Eyo Ita | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Government Business, Eastern Region of Nigeria | |
|
In office 1951–1953 |
|
| Succeeded by | Nnamdi Azikiwe |
| Minister for Natural Resources | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1903 Creek Town |
| Died | 1972 |
| Political party | N.C.N.C |
| Profession | Educationist Politician |
Eyo Ita (1903 – 1972) was a Nigerian politician from Creek Town, who was the leader of the Eastern Government of Nigerian in 1951. He was one of the earliest Nigerian students who studied in the United States instead of the frequent route of studying in United Kingdom. He was a deputy national president of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Ita attended the Presbyterian Hope Waddell Training School in Calabar before pursuing his tertiary education at London University and Columbia University in New York. He stayed in the U.S. for 8 years.
While in Calabar, he was exposed to the teachings of James Aggrey, who pursued academic opportunities for African students in Historical Black Colleges and Universities in America. Calabar became a training ground for some nationalist politicians due to the early site of secondary schools in the city and the influence of people like James Agrrey.
Ita was a leading Nigerian nationalist during British colonial rule. Upon his return from the United States, he formed the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM) in 1934 and galvanized the Nigerian youths for nationalism. The cannons of the Youth Charter adopted in 1937 centered on nationalism, inter-tribal harmoney and a greater tomorrow. The Youth Movement became to catalyst for championing for Nigerian Independent. The return of Azikiwe from the United States in 1937 added more prominent Nigerians into the movement.
In the 1930s, Ita was a member of two movements in West Africa, the Youth movement and the Education movement. He was a member of the former with the establishment of the Nigerian Youth League in Calabar and he also campaigned vigorously for education as a tool of freeing the African mind and soul and liberating it from forces of political repression. He formed the Nigerian Youth Movement in 1934 which rapidly expanded with the addition of Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1938. He later became the proprietor of the West African People's Institute in Calabar. He joined the National Council of Nigerian and the Cameroons (NCNC)in the 1940s and was elected Vice President after the death of Herbert Macaulay, which saw Nnamdi Azikiwe emerging as the new leader of the party. Eyo Ita left NCNC to form the National Independence Party (NIP) which became one of the five Nigerian polictical parties that sent representatives to the July 27, 1953 London Conference on Nigerian Constitution.
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