NGScorecard

As the first Prime Minister from 1 October 1960, Balewa's government undertook to make the newly independent federation work under the Westminster-style constitution, which became a full republic in 1963 with Nnamdi Azikiwe as ceremonial president.

The First Republic lasted just over five years before collapsing. Regional rivalry, a rigged 1965 Western Region election and a paralysed centre ended in the 15 January 1966 coup in which Balewa himself was killed. Nigeria did not return to elected civilian rule until 1979.

To manage the North–West–East regional balance and keep the federation intact.

The government imposed a state of emergency on the Western Region in 1962 amid a split in the Action Group, jailed opposition leader Obafemi Awolowo for treason, and presided over disputed censuses and the 1964 federal election crisis, in which a major alliance boycotted the vote. Regional conflict was worse at the end of the term than the beginning.

To make independent Nigeria a significant, independent actor in African and world affairs.

Balewa was a founding figure of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, contributed troops and mediation to the Congo crisis, protested the Sharpeville massacre and backed South Africa's exclusion from the Commonwealth. Nigeria's diplomatic standing rose markedly under his premiership, even as it leaned notably pro-Western.

The First National Development Plan (1962–68) set out to expand infrastructure, industry and agriculture with a mix of domestic and foreign finance.

Some plan projects advanced, but execution was hampered by the regional crises, dependence on foreign capital and aid, and the political paralysis of 1964–65. The plan was overtaken entirely by the 1966 coups and the drift toward civil war.