4
Total tracked
1
Kept
1
Partial / mixed
2
Broken
Kept
Partial / mixed
Broken
In progress
Broken
The promise
To manage the North–West–East regional balance and keep the federation intact.
Assessment
The government imposed a state of emergency on the Western Region in 1962 amid a split in the Action Group, jailed opposition leader Obafemi Awolowo for treason, and presided over disputed censuses and the 1964 federal election crisis, in which a major alliance boycotted the vote. Regional conflict was worse at the end of the term than the beginning.
Kept
The promise
To make independent Nigeria a significant, independent actor in African and world affairs.
Assessment
Balewa was a founding figure of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, contributed troops and mediation to the Congo crisis, protested the Sharpeville massacre and backed South Africa's exclusion from the Commonwealth. Nigeria's diplomatic standing rose markedly under his premiership, even as it leaned notably pro-Western.
Partial
The promise
The First National Development Plan (1962–68) set out to expand infrastructure, industry and agriculture with a mix of domestic and foreign finance.
Assessment
Some plan projects advanced, but execution was hampered by the regional crises, dependence on foreign capital and aid, and the political paralysis of 1964–65. The plan was overtaken entirely by the 1966 coups and the drift toward civil war.