The Second World War "projected Nigeria out of a colonial
backwater into a modern world. Nigeria became suddenly important
as a strategic link in the Allied Defence, the staging post for
troops and supplies and the main producer of primary products
that were essential for the conduct of war. Moreover, Nigeria's
size and population transformed her into a provider of
indispensable troops for the campaign in the Indian sub-
continent." But the war created great economic strains,
manifested particularly in the decline in real wages and the
drop in living standards. Rapid urbanisation that occurred in
its wake led to the growth in the number of wage and salary
earners and to its corollary, the spread of unionisation.
Political consciousness was aroused among Nigerians because of
widespread mass demonstrations, marches, walk-outs, et cetera.
Workers' demand for Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) led to the
promulgation, in 1942, of the Order General Defence Regulation
which declared strikes and lockouts as illegal. A n