Siollun, Max. What Britain Did to Nigeria: A Brief History of Conquest and Rule. London, C. Hurst & Co. (Publishers) Ltd., 2021.
This series is sort of a public learning engagement. In fact, I think I am far too ignorant about Nigeria’s history. I am reading about Nigeria to enable me to ask the right or appropriate questions. Yes. I want to be able to ask more appropriate questions by the end of this series. We find more effective solutions by asking the right questions.
Follow-up on the series: Reading Nigeria 4
Dear Fellow,
I am far more curious about the subject of today’s discussion on this series than I have in all the previous despatches. In today’s despatch of the series, we will be looking at the women who got a special mention in the book, what they did, why they did what they did, and what impact it has on the nation.
Ready? Let’s roll!
In the narrative so far, men had all the space. The mention of a woman was scarce; only Miss Flora Shaw and Mary Slessor. Thankfully, Siollun dedicated a chapter to women in this long piece of writing.
‘Taxation was one of biggest sources of discord between the natives and British colonial authorities’ (pg. 242)
While the men battled with weapons and in courts, the women (wives and concubines of the natives) were not merely “passive witnesses”. The women of the south-east and south-west Nigeria reacted to the conduct of the colonial powers when it affected them directly; when it seemed as though the men have been far too suppressed to speak up even for themselves.
These tags bring up memories: “The Women’s War” and “The Egba Women’s Tax Revolt”.
There are similar features in both events in the course of Nigeria’s history:
The circumstances in which the women led anti-tax revolt arose in the south-east and south-west were remarkably similar. In both instances, clumsily implemented colonial tax policies triggered opposition from women. The protest groups in the two regions were also very similar. Both comprised an inter-generational and diverse group of women who tapped into pre-existing female kinship groups such as women’s trading associations as rallying points for solidarity and to transmit their grievances as a group. Both protest movements also had a strong and charismatic leadership—the Oloko trio in the south-east and Ransome-Kuti in the south-west—and were marked by civil disobedience campaigns (pg. 247).
You only need to read the full accounts as provided in the book to appreciate the ingenuity of those women in opposing unjust systems which suppressed them. Summarily, the women were against a system of taxation which does not acknowledge the fact that a woman in that era had no recognition on payroll and, like her fellow natives, see no dividends for the tax forced out of their meagre earnings.
A brief highlight of the demonstrations.
The Women’s War
Started off in December 1929. It had the support of ‘three thousand women’ in one instance. The women became violent when it seemed a factory plant was sheltering a Briton who hid there after knocking down ‘at least two women’ during one of the matches on 11 December 1929 with his vehicle. By January 1930, ‘ . . . at least 55 women had been killed and another 50 wounded.’ It afforded some benefits in the end: ‘The protests also acted as a stimulus for women’s education in south-eastern Nigeria. The corruption and abuse of power by warrant chiefs sensitised women to the value of literacy and Western education.’
The Egba Women’s Tax Revolt
Started off as an organisation bearing the name “Abeokuta Ladies Club” in 1945, appointing Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti as its first president on 15 March. It was renamed “Abeokuta Women’s Union (AWU)” in 1946. ‘From 29 to 30 November 1947, ten thousand women staged a 24-hours sit-down protest.’ The same number of women did a similar demonstration for 48 hours, from 8 to 10 December, when their comrades were arrested; they remained there demanding the release of their comrades. ‘The AWU claimed that flat-rate taxes of two shillings and sixpence on women were burdensome since women had to pay them whether or not they had an income, and they also objected to the tactless manner in which tax collectors went about their duties.’ Dividends of the protests: ‘Just like the south-eastern women twenty years before them, the Egba women extracted meaningful concessions from the colonial authorities, including the abolition of the flat-rate tax and representation for women in Abeokuta’s governing council.’
My questions:
Do you hear about these women in school?
Do you think their struggle is duly honoured and recognised today?
What can women of today learn from these great women in history?
See you next Monday, God willing.
Your LetterMan,
Tongjal, W. N.