It was shock enough to learn of the conspiracy to overthrow the government of Nigeria by violence, for Nigeria has been one of the most stable of Africa's new nations. But it seemed almost incredible that the ringleader could have been the bespectacled chief prisoner in the dock of a Lagos courtroom last weekÂthe respected Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Educated by Protestant missionaries and still a nonsmoking teetotaler, Awolowo worked his way to a London University law degree, served five years as the solid, efficient Prime Minister of his native Western Region and headed Nigeria's opposition party, the Action Group....