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SOLILOQUY: History 101: Don’t Say Aba, It Was Ikot Abasi Women Riot!

Published

11 months ago

August 25, 2023

Eric

By Michael Effiong

History is said to be the record of past events. It is actually the combination of two words-His (apologies to the women activists) and story. So technically, it is the story as told by someone.

Therefore, the person telling the story is of great significance and that is why when you flip through the Holy Bible’s New Testament, you will find Matthew, Mark, Luke and John recording and reporting almost the same events but their nuances are obvious .

What this means is that history can be distorted or more accurately embellished or twisted to fit the narrative of the writer.

This essentially was what famous writer, Chimanda Ngozi Adichie was canvassing in her TED Talk titled “The Danger of a single story”.

Adichie believes that stories matter, but that all too often in our lives we operate from the perspective of hearing and knowing a single story- about a person or situation.

She went further to state that the risk of the single story is that it can lead us to default assumption, conclusions and decisions that maybe incomplete and/or completely false.

For her, in any historical account, who told the story, how and when the story was told can taint, frame and affect the narrative.

It is within this context that one has to examine the false narrative by historians that there was an “Aba Women Riot”, when in fact the only recorded riot that led to deaths of women in 1929 happened in Ikot Ibasi, in present day Akwa Ibom State and therefore, that riot, should appropriately have been referred to as IKOT ABASI WOMEN RIOT!

This is how the incident is recorded if you consult Google: According to American Historical Association: “In Nigeria there occurred what colonial historians have called the Aba Women’s riots of 1929, but it should be termed the Aba Women’s rebellion. This was touched off by the imposition of direct taxation and the introduction of new local courts and especially of warrant chiefs.” [A. Adu Boahen, African Perspectives on Colonialism (Baltimore, 1987), p. 79.

“Here is one account of this rebellion by a person who called the episode a riot in her 1937 book, Native Administration in Nigeria (London, 1937). The author, Margery Perham, was regarded as a friend of Nigeria and the Igbos until the Biafran secession movement. The participants in this event were Igbo”.

Wikipedia: The Aba Women’s Riots of 1929 (Igbo: Ogu Umunwanyi; Ibibio: Ekong Iban) was a period of unrest in colonial Nigeria over November 1929. The protests broke out when thousands of Igbo women from the Bende District, Umuahia and other places in southeastern Nigeria traveled to the town of Oloko to protest against the Warrant Chiefs, whom they accused of restricting the role of women in the government. It was organised and led by the rural women of Owerri and Calabar provinces.

If you look carefully at the “authorities” quoted above, you will realise that none is from the very area or have any relationship with those who actually were involved in the situation and therefore, even if it was oral history that they used to develop their account, it could certainly not have been accurate.

For those who don’t know ,the riots built up from the January 1, 1914 when the first Nigerian colonial Governor, Lord Lugard instituted the system of Indirect Rule in Southern Nigeria. Under this plan, the British Administrators ruled through Warrant Chiefs, who worked with the colonial officers.

The Warrant Chiefs as is the case with some people in power became power drunk, they became oppressive, seized property, imposed draconian regulations and even imprisoned those who opposed as the years went by.

It was within this context that the British colonial administration decided to impose a special tax on Market women in 1929.

So, it was not long that the women decided to take matters in their hands and began to protest in many cities but there is no evidence that the women were shot at and killed like was done in Ikot Abasi. How did I know? Well the scars and evidence are right there in Ikot Abasi!

That is not all, to drive this point home, the Ikot Abasi protest was led by the paternal grandmother of the former minister and senator, Udoma Udo Udoma. She was even killed in the process.

Udoma in an interview said he never met the brave woman, but he heard enough stories about her to make him proud of his heritage.

According to him: “As you all know Madam Adiaha-Edem, the leader of the Ikot Abasi women protesters was my paternal grandmother. She was a very successful trader and community leader. As a big trader, she was a wholesale distributor of products such as bar soap, salt, detergents, stockfish, and kerosene. Her traded volumes were so large that, to guarantee her supply, she used to deposit large sums of money with such big trading outfits as G.B. Ollivant Limited and African Traders Corporation. She also had a big market stall and was a seamstress. A very enterprising woman indeed!”

“But not only was she successful, she was also independent minded. She did not mind going against local norms once she was convinced about something. That was how she converted to Christianity, a few years after my father was born.

She became such a strong Christian that she even tried to convert her husband, my grandfather. But my grandfather was adamant that as a leading and highly respected figure in the society, and as a custodian of the culture and traditions, he could not abandon the beliefs of his ancestors! This caused tremendous stress in their marriage and led, ultimately, to a divorce.

“She was a truly remarkable woman. Unfortunately, since she was killed in 1929, and I was born in 1954, I never met her. I don’t even know what she looked like because in 1929 our people had not yet developed the practice of taking studio photographs of themselves. However, as a young boy, I heard stories of what happened to my grandmother. I used to marvel at her bravery and courage and that of all the women who accompanied her in confronting the British colonial administration.”

“The immediate cause of the protest was the introduction of direct taxation, which the women understood was going to be extended to trading and other activities, principally carried on by women. Whilst the introduction of direct taxation in 1929 was resented by all, it was the women who were adamant that they were not going to pay any such taxes”.

“Many of the women were, like my grandmother, traders, and they travelled around and had extensive connections. The first protests erupted in Oloko in Owerri Province on November 23, 1929. It spread quickly to Aba and certain parts of Calabar province. But it was in Egwanga, now called Ikot Abasi, that the protests came to a head. In the afternoon of Sunday, December 15, 1929, the angry women stormed the buildings of the native court and part of the staff quarters.

“The next day, Monday, December 16, the women were invited to meet with the District Officer, A. R. Whitman. Even though some of the women were reluctant, my grandmother, as their leader, convinced them to go. She reckoned that change could only come after engagement and negotiation. She led the women leaders to meet with Whitman and presented him with a list of seven demands – the most prominent was a commitment from the government not to tax women.

“Just after the document had been typed, signed and distributed, more women arrived, and a crowd surged towards the office breaking through the stick fence. Even though the women were unarmed, Whitman lost his nerve and ordered the soldiers to open fire.

“A Captain Hill, who commanded the troops, was the first to fire. He brought out his pistol and shot my grandmother at point blank range. She died on the spot. The other soldiers fired their rifles straight at the women and twenty-five women were killed outright. More women were killed in the ensuing stampede. They were pursued all the way to the waterfront”. What a tragic day.

“There was palpable shock that unarmed women who were simply protesting against government policy could have been mowed down in this manner. My father, who was then just 12 years old, was invited to the scene by the British to identify the body of his dead mother. He was inconsolable and was traumatised by that incident. The whole community was in shock. How could this have happened to some of the leading women in the community who were simply exercising their rights of protests!

“The government immediately deployed more troops to Ikot Abasi and announced the setting up of a commission of inquiry headed by Donald Kingdom. As to be expected, in its report, the commission described it as a mob action directed at overthrowing the colonial administration and justified the action of the district officer.

“However, the women’s riot had a tremendous impact on the subsequent development of women in the region, and on the colonial administration itself. A number of administrative reforms were introduced in the years following the protests, including appointing some women as Warrant Chiefs”. We can therefore say, that this first real resistance movement by the brave Ikot Abasi women was not in vain.

This is the true story as told by someone who should know, who was technically, directly affected, and there is no way that I will doubt the account of Senator Udoma.

His account would have been formed by oral history passed down by family members especially his father, Justice Egbert Udo Udoma, KBE,.

Sir Udoma who lived to the ripe old age of 84 was a lawyer and justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court. He was Chief Justice of Uganda from 1963 to 1969. He spent 13 years as a judge on the Supreme Court of Nigeria and was chairman of the Constituent Assembly from 1977 to 1978. He was one of the founding fathers of Nigeria.

Udoma was not just a guiding light to many, but also an astute scholar, erudite jurist and great legal mind, and he was one of the “Few Good Men” that Nigeria has ever produced. He could certainly not have lied about going to identify his mother’s lifeless body and the incident of that day.

Though the true story of this sad historical incident has been aptly captured in a story, dance and drama by Joseph Edgar aka Duke of Shomolu in one of his works titled “‘Ufok Ibaan – the Ikot Abasi Women’s Uprising’, the truth is too bitter for many to swallow, and so it did not trend.

But one thing is sure though, soon, very soon, Ikot Abasi will get its rightful pride of place as the town in Nigeria where brave unarmed women were killed in 1929 and the misnomer of “Aba Women Riot” will be finally corrected and the tag “ Ikot Abasi Women Riot” raised for tourists to come, see and spread the word!

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Beware of ‘Full Blown Dictatorship, Dele Momodu Cautions Tinubu in New Letter

Published

10 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

Chairman, Ovation Media Group, Chief Dele Momodu, has again written an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, cautioning him against metamorphosis into full blown dictatorship.

As usual, Chief Momodu took the instrumentality of his social media handles to send his message to Tinubu, which is coming barely two after he wrote him the first letter bordering on the need to curtail his spendthrift attitude and embrace empowerment of Nigeria’s teeming youths.

In the letter titled Once Again, An Appeal to President Tinubu, Momodu outlined their days in the struggle for democracy against the military government, wondering why someone, like Tinubu, who had congregated and protested in the past, will turnaround today to say there will be no protest.

Momodu further blamed Tinubu for the present hardship in the country, accusing him of not knowing the difference between running Lagos as governor and running Nigeria as president.

“And let me be frank Sir. You caused it all. You did not realise that a country is much more complicated than a State,” he said, further accusing of having a stranglehold on Lagos for 24 years since he became governor in 1999.

Momodu advised that the proposed protest should be seen as a litmus test for the security agencies, especially as the Department of State Service (DSS), claimed they have unraveled the identities of those wishing to cause mayhem.

“But I’m reasonably assured that any potential threat can be contained and nipped in the bud, since our secret service claims to have discovered the sponsors of mayhem. Such people should be arrested speedily,” Momodu advised.

He finally advised Tinubu to seek friendly advice, and extricate himself from the ‘hawks’ surrounding him as they do not mean well for him.

It would be recalled that the country has been on edge since the masses vowed to embark on a 10-day protest over extreme hardship in the country, beginning from August 1, 2024.

Read Dele Momodu’s letter in full:

ONCE AGAIN, AN APPEAL TO PRESIDENT BOLA TINUBU…

Your Excellency,

For the second time within two weeks, I’m compelled to write you this epistle. As I write this, my mind goes back to my earliest recollection of you as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a young journalist, you were everyone’s delight. The June 12 Presidential election annulment brought out the best in you as a pro-democracy figure. You spent money and time fighting the military. Our exile years were lived in constant fear and trepidation.
Fast forward Sir. We returned to Nigeria in 1998

You contested the Lagos State Governorship election in 1999, and pronto, you won. Since then, you have been in absolute control of a state described as the California of Africa, and possibly the sixth richest economy in Africa. Lagos is a country on its own…. I’m just trying to let you know that you’ve been a President in Lagos for 24 years before becoming the President of Nigeria.

Unfortunately, things have not been easy for Nigerians (except members of the privilegentsia) since you realized your lifelong ambition. And let me be frank Sir. You caused it all. You did not realise that a country is much more complicated than a State.

I’m sad and embarrassed that a fighter for Democracy is now saying Nigerians will not be allowed to congregate and demonstrate on the streets, something you and I enjoyed during the military regimes, at home and abroad.

I will never support anarchy, after engaging in peace initiatives in Sierra Leone, Liberia and The Gambia. But I’m reasonably assured that any potential threat can be contained and nipped in the bud, since our secret service claims to have discovered the sponsors of mayhem. Such people should be arrested speedily.

Please Sir, go back to your original friends in civil liberties and seek their assistance. Then, use this opportunity to test the strength, security architecture and combat readiness of our security agencies. Ignore the advice of the hawks in your team. They have nothing to lose since they are mostly beneficiaries of what others died for. Resist the temptations of full blown dictatorship…
You’re in my prayers as you bear this cross…

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Rotary International District 9112 Launches Coastal Restoration Initiative, Plants 1000 Coconut Trees in Lagos

Published

20 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Eric

In a bid to promote its mission of improving the environment, Rotary International District 9112 on Sunday kicked off an environment-saving intervention tagged: Coastal Restoration Initiative at Westside Beach, Okun, Ajah, Lagos, where 1000 coconut trees were planted along the coastal shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

Speaking at the event, the Governor of Rotary International, District 9112 Rotarian Femi Adenekan, said the “initiative is conceived to save the environment as well as reduce the adverse effect of the climate change.”

According to him, “the environment is one of the main focus areas of Rotary International. We need to consciously come to the realization that we need to save our environment. We need to save ourselves. So that in the future, those that will come after us will have life.”

“People assume that the world belongs to them. They have forgotten that they are just tenants on the surface of the earth. If you try to change nature, nature will react, which is the reason we are having a lot of environmental damage in the world. Some of wrong human activities, such as throwing plastics and other items into water or where it ought not to be is causing us environmental challenges. If we don’t take care of our environment, the environment will react and take us out of the surface of the earth,” He said.

The chairman of the District 9112 Tree Planting Committee, Rtn. Gboyega Bada recommended the adoption of an “Every Rotarian Plant a Tree Every Year” policy and also indicated plans for Rotary International District 9112 to propose a Private Bill to the Lagos State House of Assembly to enable all Lagos Residents plant a tree every year for the next five years to address the challenges of climate change.

Rtn Bada stated that the vision of Rotary District 9112 on Tree Planting is to achieve a safer and cleaner environment by planting 10,000 seedlings of Coconut, Mango, Breadfruit, Avocado and other ralated crops that have economic, health and environmental benefits.

The event was well attended by Stakeholders in the Private and Public Sectors. Pan African Towers Ltd, Tolaram Group, Azeez Amida Foundation, Telenoetica Ltd, amongst others were well represented. Past District Governor Tunji Funsho led other Rotary Leaders to give their support. The DG’s wife Rtn Tayo Adenekan, the District Governor elect Rtn Lanre Adedoyin, General Manager of Lagos State Coconut Development Authority, Dapo Olakulehim and Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency, Club Presidents and Rotarians from the 73 Clubs graced the occasion.

Also speaking at the event, one of the Guest Speakers, the world acclaimed horticulturist, Mr. Andrew Vale of Tolaram Group and The Lagos Free Zone, highlighted the importance of trees, saying; “planting trees improves air quality, reduces air pollution, and illnesses from air pollution. More so, plants produce oxygen and provide shelter, medicine, and many more.”

In his own special remarks, Chairman, LUFASI Park and DG Coconut Naija, Dr. Desmond Majekodunmi, said; “the basic fact about the environment is that whatever you sow, you shall reap. The environment will always treat you, the way you treat it.”

It is of note that the vision of District 9112 on tree planting for this year is to achieve a safer and cleaner environment through the planting of 10,000 seedlings of coconut, mango, breadfruit, avocado and other related crops that have economic, health and environmental benefits.

The event was witnessed and supported by main stakeholders in the industry, agencies and partners which included, Mr Dapo Olakulehin, General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority (LASCODA), Mr Andrew Vale of Tolaram Group, Channel Scott from Pan African Towers, Azeez Amida Foundation, Telenoetica, The Legend Lifeskills Foundation, Etam Avitat, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) , presidents and members of various Rotary Clubs in District 9112 amongst others.

Rotary leaders who witnessed the event are PDG Tunji Funsho, PDG Kamoru Omotosho, PDG Omotunde Lawson among others.

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Protest: Oluwo Advises Tinubu to Dialogue with Opposition Leaders, CSOs, Labour Leaders, Students, Others

Published

1 day ago

July 25, 2024

Eric

The Paramount Ruler of Iwoland,His Imperial Majesty, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to invite stakeholders for dialogue ahead of August 1st, 2024 planned protest.

Oluwo stated consultation is necessary to avert violent confrontation by inviting the stakeholders for national discourse.

He feared protest might be hijacked by hoodlums to steal and destroy public properties built by our collective patrimony. Oluwo said dialogue becomes reasonable when it’s embraced before protest. He called on Nigerians to learn from Endsars protest that got many properties built with public funds destroyed.

Oba Akanbi asked President Tinubu to extend the invitation to major political opposition parties leaders mostly the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, labour union leaders, students’ unions, civil society organizations (CSO), notable traditional rulers and other stakeholders to discuss the state of the nation and collate more ideas to address the economic hardship.

Oluwo expressed strong conviction in patriotic opposition political parties leaders to honour such national conversation.

Oluwo affirmed the economic hardship and inflation are global, conveying the need to hold national talks with stakeholders to discuss solutions to the country’s challenges.

A statement released by Oluwo through his press secretary, Alli Ibraheem, reads “At this crucial moment of global economic challenge, Nigeria inclusive, I call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to convey a national dialogue most especially with the dog handlers comprising the opposition parties leaders, civil society organizations, labour leaders, students, traditional rulers and religious leaders”

“In a democratic setting,a peaceful protest is guaranteed provided some are not waiting somewhere to hijack it. Protest will not be advisable at this critical moment of tense global economic hardship”

“I’ve strong hope in the opposition leaders to honour national dialogue and contribute intellectual ideas to national development. No patriotic opposition leaders will want Nigeria to be destroyed”

“Even if a protest is held, we will resort to a round table discussion after the road show. Rather than allowing hoodlums to hijack and destroy the nation we are trying to construct, why not embrace dialogue? When we sit together and talk to each other, more virile approaches and solutions may be suggested for application. It will also provide an avenue for the government to reveal their plans in checkmating food crisis and manage the economy to our collective advantage ”

“Different bodies should have representative(s) at such gathering. Those willong to protest should appoint leaders. It shouldn’t be like endars protesters without leader. No harm will be done to them. As a traditional ruler and leader, I’m watching to ensure masses interests are protected and always ready to speak truth to power. Sincere protesters can reach out to notable traditional rulers”

“The inflation is killing. It’s a global phenomenon. I visited Saudi Arabia recently. Prices of goods have gone up acrosa the world. Even the rich are finding it difficult. Addressing the challenge should involve everyone to come together and discusss way forward”