On 28 March 1966, while the rest of Nigeria was still adjusting to the strange new reality of soldiers in charge, Chief Obafemi Awolowo sat in Calabar Prison and wrote what must rank as one of the most elegant job applications in Nigerian history. It was addressed to Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, the man who had just inherited a broken country, and it asked, with exquisite politeness, for a free pardon.
Awo’s 1966 Prison Letter: The Job Application Written in Chains by Lawson Akhigbe
