In May-June 1945, the Trade Union Congress had primed workers for what was billed to be the first general strike in Nigerian History, agitating for a Cost of living allowance. At a meeting on June 2 1945, the TUC leadership developed cold feet, based on subtle threats/coercion from the Colonial Governor, Arthur Richards and sought to postpone the strike. Alade stood up, stared Bankole in the face, and unequivocally asked him to step down from the leadership of the congress, if he no longer had the moral courage to lead.
This was the catalyst for the just-released Michael Imoudu, to take over leadership of the strike 19 days later. At a meeting on 21 June 1945, T.A.Bankole and his executives were unequivocally asked to resign by the workers, led by Alade and Imoudu. The strike thus went ahead and lasted 40 days, bringing the oppressive Richards government virtually to its knees. Imoudu has always been the face of the 1945 General Strike, however without the powerful intervention of Alade, who rallied the workers into the defiant mood that gave the militant Imoudu a platform to take the lead, the outcome may have been different.