Governor Bernard Bourdillon's positive disposition towards the educated elite's demand for the liberalization and democratization of the political space further encouraged Nigerians to be more assertive and better organized. For instance, while granting wage increases to striking workers in 1942, with promises of future adjustments to reflect the cost of living index (Mordi, 2002), Sir Bernard had unfolded a liberal political agenda for the elite. He recommended to the Secretary of State for Colonies that the extremely 'crude' and 'frequently ill-informed' views expressed by young Nigerian politicians in the columns of the local press be accommodated. He had compared such views to the 'numerous instances of crude thinking, gross ignorance and self-interest' often found in 'the pages of Hansard'. He thus cautioned against any tendency to underestimate the influence of Nigerian journalists, the interest they represented and the sincerity of their motives, or to classify them as mischiefmakers. In his view