The official policy that Britain would transfer power to Nigerians was well known to Nigerians in 1948, and partly accounted for the intensification of inter-ethnic rivalry and competition among them. Britain did not want to hand over power to Aziklwe, and searched for moderates, or conservative elements who would not jeopardize British interests in postcolonial Nigeria. The slide to inter-ethnic dissension in 1948 was therefore not merely due to competition among the Nigerian elite to step into the shoes of the departing colonial overlords, but even more importantly, to the effects of behind-thescenes manipulation, an orchestrated policy to divide in order to rule and dictate the pace and nature of transfer of power to Nigerians. It was also a reflection of Nigerians' ignorance of fundamental policy changes in London arising from the NCNC London delegation of 1947, disagreements over which heightened inter-ethnic tension in Nigeria. Sir Arthur Creech Jones, the new Secretary of State for Colonies, was sympathetic to the NCNC in 1947