The West African Pilot was a newspaper launched in Nigeria by Nnamdi Azikiwe ("Zik") in 1937, dedicated to fighting for independence from British colonial rule.
Through fictional stories and football centered symbolism, the newspaper was even said to have, "created the possibility of a new form of imagined community", setting the stage for how a modern society should be.
The most prominent newspaper that lost circulation, as a result, was the Nigerian Daily Times originally owned by the Mirror Group of London.
[6] On 8 July 1945, the government banned the West African Pilot and the Daily Comet for misrepresenting facts about the general strike.
Azikiwe was criticized by a section of the Yorubas for using his newspaper to suppress opposition to his views since anyone who spoke out risked being labelled an "Uncle Tom" or "imperialist stooge", and having his reputation destroyed.
The dominant party to which Azikiwe belonged was the National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC), a grassroots movement of students, traders, and workers.
The West African Pilot did not pull punches in discrediting this rump group that was preaching exclusion, rather than join the fight for independence as one indivisible country called Nigeria.
The group, which benefited from the "cross-carpeting" to launch to power, eventually set up a rival newspaper called the Daily Service.
[citation needed] On 16 November 1960, Azikiwe became the Governor General of the newly independent Nigeria, while Abubakar Tafawa Balewa was Prime Minister.