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The story of Nigeria
Michael McKenny October 5-7, 2002 C.E.
The preface to this fourth edition speaks of the vast pace of recent research, makes the traditional acknowledgements and explains the omission of previous prefaces due to space limitation. Chapter One, "The Birth of Nigeria" (pp. 11-23), begins with Flora Shaw's coining of the name Nigeria in 1898 and the joining of the two British protectorates in 1914. It mentions the geography of the area, the antiquity and complexity of human habitation and the sources, palaeo-botanical, archaeological, written and oral. It quotes Jan Vansina on oral sources: "Written sources are better than oral ones," is the maxim of a non-historian. For the practitioner sources are sources. They can be good or bad, but there is nothing intrinsically less valuable in an oral source than in a written one. p. 16 There is a brief survey of prehistory: Aechulian finds on the Jos Plateau, the subsequent Sangoan culture, the spread of agriculture, the introduction of iron smelting, probably from Carthage, the impressive Nok culture and its possible artistic influence on the Yoruba, and the facilitation of trade by the introduction of the camel to North Africa at the beginning of the Common Era.
Chapter Two, "Sudanese States" (pp. 24-36), begins with the great
states that flourished as middlemen in trans-Saharan trade. This
trade also brought Islam and writing. There was the empire of Kanem
Bornu with its Sefawa dynasty reigning almost a thousand years,
albeit with intra-dynastic conflict and with retrenchments
occasioned by dominance even in Kanem itself of other families.
There is reference to the pilgrimage of Dunama Dibbalemi (c. 1250) There is a look at the rise of the Hausa states, at founding legends, including the Baghdad origin of legitimacy in six of the
seven legitimate states. The seventh's came from Bornu. Kano had
been ruled by priests of the god Tsumburburai, but this shrine was
destroyed as control was more firmly asserted by the "legitimate"
dynasty. Islam came to Kano and to Katsina from Kanem and/or Mali.
Muhammad Rumfa (c. 1466-1493) made Islam the state religion of Kano and for him al-Maghili, who lived for a while in Kano, wrote his
OBLIGATION OF PRINCES. There are Sixteenth Century records such as
the TARIKH al-FATTASH and KANO CHRONICLE and the travelogue of Leo Africanus. Songhai conquered Kano and Katsina. Bornu flourished and
the reign of Idris Alooma (c. 1569-1600), some of it recorded, was a
Chapter Three, "Kingdoms of the Forest" (pp. 37-47), begins with Benin and Yorubaland, with migration myths, linguistics and the
bronzes and terra cottas found at Ife. It refers to Oyo founded
sometime between 1390 and 1440. It describes the extensive, though
of varying intensity, Oyo control of Yorubaland, the complexity of Oyo's political organization, legendary rulers, including Sango, and
more historical ones. Events referred to by outside sources include
Chapter Four, "The Atlantic Slave Trade" (pp. 48-58), starts with the arrival to Benin of Joao Affonso d'Aveiro in 1486 and gives a flashback to Phoenician and Carthaginian voyages, to Henry the Navigator, Fernao Gomes and others. There is trade in peppers and an ambassador from Benin to Portugal in the late Fifteenth Century. There is the surprise of the English in 1553 at finding the King of Benin speaking Portuguese. However, mostly it is slavery that forms the topic of this chapter: the acceptance of the practise by both European buyers and African sellers, the estimate that fifteen million people from West Africa and Angola survived the Atlantic crossing and nine million did not, the uncivilized conditions also in the colonies, and the survival there of Yoruba culture, including religion.
Chapter Five, "The Niger Delta and its Hinterland" (pp. 59-68), looks at the transformation of the Delta fishing villages to slave trading ports. It mentions the growth of canoe houses, trading families able to transport slaves in canoes, "paddled by fifty men and with muskets and cannon tied fore and aft." (p. 61) It quotes some contemporary accounts of dealings. It mentions items traded for slaves: In exchange for the slaves the Europeans brought salt, used as ballast on the way out from Liverpool and Bristol, dried fish which came from Norway and new consumer goods such as cloth and tools. Probably most important of all, however, they brought firearms which enabled the Ijo states and their neighbours to dominate the trade. p. 60 There is reference to the influence of the Aro subgroup of the Igbo people on account of the oracle of Chukwu they tended. Aro mediators facilitated trade.
Chapter Six, "The Holy War of Usman dan Fodio (1804-1830)" (pp. 69-83), begins with a look at Bornu's continued position and increasing intellectual attainments, at the struggles amongst the Hausa states, at the championing of Islam by Muslim Fulani clans, at the decline of Islam with the breakup of the Songhai Empire and the Fulani revolts in the Eighteenth Century in their Senegal homeland.
Then comes a look at the background of the Muslim scholar, tutor to the prince of Gobir, and the opposition of Yunfa, when he became king, to his former tutor. In 1804, Usman dan Fodio, fifty years of age, launched his jihad against the pagan compromises and excessive taxes of his Muslim king. The actual history of the Jihad can be divided into three phases: establishment of the Fulani Empire; the attack on Bornu; and the southward expansion of the Fulani Empire. p. 76 The text refers to the end of the first phase with the death in battle of the king of Gobir in 1808, though resistance continued in Hausaland, and some Hausa remained unpacified in areas where they'd been driven. Initial successes against Borno were checked by the nomadic Kanembu. The Kanembu leader, al-Kanemi, replaced the titular kings of Borno and re-established much of the territory of the old kingdom of Kanem. In the south, political factionalism and intrigue permitted the penetration of the Fulani Empire into Nupe and Ilorin. Although later excesses and decline may be more remembered, there was vitality at the beginning, and the Fulani Caliphate is noteworthy for administering its extensive territories, for stimulating trade there and for the intellectual vigour now felt, a vigour that included the encouragement of women.
Chapter Seven, "Yoruba Wars" (pp. 84-97), begins with a mention of the extent and political instability of the Oyo Empire in the Eighteenth Century, the revolt of Ilorin and the Nineteenth Century wars. There is reference to the spiritual position of Ife, to the tyrannical nature of the rule of Eighteenth Century Alafins of Oyo, to the constraining power of the Oyo Mesi (Council of Notables), which could order a despotic ruler to commit suicide, and to the Ogboni, a secret society, whose approval was needed by the Oyo Mesi.
There is description of conflict with Dahomey, absorbed into a tributary status, of the power of the Basorun (Head of the Council of Notables) until the Alafin Abiodun seized control in 1774 and exterminated Basorun Gaha and Gaha's family and presided over an era remembered as a time of peace and prosperity.
It is said an order to attack an Ife town, contrary to his oath of
accession, caused the Alafin Awole to lose support. This led various
areas to assert independence and unleashed a period of conflict
lasting until 1893. In 1828 refugees from Oyo, etc. settled at
Ibadan, and a year or so later Abeokuta was founded. Oyo was finally
abandoned c. 1835 and around the same time Ife, too, was deserted. A
new Oyo was founded by the Alafin Atiba, who named the Ibadan ruler
Chapter Eight, "The Suppression of the Slave Trade" (pp. 98-105), begins with the mention of the 1807 abolition by Britain, with Granville-Sharp and the 1772 Somersett vs Knowles case, with M.P. William Wilberforce and the founding in 1787 of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, and with the advances in British industry and commerce readying the country for the abolition. Britain sought to suppress the trade in slaves, seeking agreement with other European governments, patrolling the West African coast and seizing slaving ships, and also eventually ships without slaves, but with slaving equipment. African leaders tried to carry on the trade, as well as to meet increased British interest in legitimate trade, especially in palm oil. They faced British encroachment on sovereignty.
Chapter Nine, "Explorers and Missionaries" (pp. 106-119), introduces
the European desire to get past African coastal middlemen and reach
into the interior. There was in 1788 the founding of the African
Association. It sought to find the Niger, and following a number of
unsuccessful expeditions Mungo Park succeeded, after considerable
difficulty. A subsequent major expedition was a disaster that cost
all forty-five European lives, including Park's. Many years later, This leads to the missionaries and their joint aims of substituting
legitimate trade for slaving and of civilizing, including through
religious conversion, the Africans. There was the impressive expedition in 1841, one hundred and forty-five Europeans in three
ships. Their attempt to demonstrate effective agriculture to
Africans was a failure, and more than a third of them died from
malaria. The susceptibility of Europeans to this disease brought to
the fore freed slaves from Sierra Leone, including the renowned
Samuel Ajayi Crowther, who returned to Nigeria with the new
religion. There were also freed Jamaican slaves, encouraging Christianity in Calabar and discouraging such traditional practises
as human sacrifice on the death of a chief. Missionaries from
Europe became more practical, following the successful Niger
Chapter Ten, "The Growth of Legitimate Trade" (pp. 120-138), looks at the increased activities of legitimate traders and at the role of influential British consuls, such as John Beecroft from 1849 until his death in 1854. He dealt with African leaders, deposing Kosoko of Lagos and William Dappa Pepple in Bonny. There is intricate internal politics in each case. Also, in 1852 a regular mail service between Britain and West Africa began, permitting smaller British traders to compete and demonstrate both the poor quality and the high prices of the goods from the big British houses. The big British houses and the African middlemen vigorously opposed new inland ventures and this impacted on the missions, viewed as intricately connected with inland traders. England was keen to protect her West African concerns against French and other interests. Consuls in Lagos (the first was Campbell 1853-1860) intervened in internal politics, predisposed to facilitate trade. For example, they opposed Egba blocking of Ibadan's attempts to reach the sea, and in 1865 England used West Indian troops against the Egba. Chapter Eleven, "Prelude to Alien Rule" (pp. 139-151), recounts the ever increasing involvement of British consuls in the affairs of Nigeria. There was Glover's opposition to Egba. There was the rise of Jaja in the Anna Pepple faction of Bonny and his founding of the breakaway kingdom of Opobo. There were the trading interests along the Benin River and British involvement in Itsekiri dynastic disputes to further such interests. There continued effects on trading posts and missions inland because of opposition from middlemen. Other Europeans sought to compete against Britain, but they failed largely because of the determination of Goldie Taubman, who drew on his personal fortune to undercut the French and as British representative at the Berlin conference secured British interests in Nigeria.
Chapter Twelve, "Company and Consuls" (pp. 152-170), begins with the issuing of the royal charter in 1886 to Goldie's Niger Company, and the company's monopolistic nature, in violation of the terms of the charter. Not only were middlemen and Liverpool merchants upset, but Germans and especially the French tried to intrude into company territory. There is the French desire for Borgu and Lugard's dash to Nikki, whose king had suzereignty over Borgu. There is dispute with Jaja of Opobo and his deportation to the West Indies. There is the Niger Coast Protectorate: It was governed by a Consul General responsible to the Foreign Office, under whom served a number of vice-consuls responsible for individual areas. Its administration included customs, postal, marine and medical departments as well as a small army of 200 men. pp. 161-162 This clashed with Nana of the Benin River and he was exiled to the Gold Coast. When the Royal Niger Company was attacked by those outside its territory, who were frustrated by its monopolistic practices, the Niger Coast Protectorate struck against the Brass at Nembe. There was the insistence of some Englishmen that they visit Benin at a sacred time, Benin prevention of this with British deaths, Britain's firm military response and the fall of Benin and the exile of its ruler, Oba Ovenramwen. There was the achievement of peace between Ibadan and the Ikiti-Parapo and Ibadan and Ilorin. There were treaties made by Governor Gilbert Carter with the Ijebu, Egba, Oyo's Alafin, and Ibadan.
Chapter Thirteen, "Emirs and Maxims" (pp. 171-187), begins with the revoking of the Niger Company's charter with compensation, and the three protectorates of the area officially referred to as Nigeria on January 1, 1900. It then looks at the Northern Protectorate and the later years of the Sokoto Caliphate. Perhaps the better to justify British intervention this had been depicted as a time of moral decadence and political decay there. Unbiased analysis indicates remaining spiritual, intellectual and administrative vigour, albeit there were places such as Kontagora providing grounds for the overly hasty generalizations. There is a bit of detail given in Lugard's extension of British rule, replacing the Caliphate, but maintaining local administration and freedom of religion. There was force displayed, but the overwhelming nature of British weaponry reduced the occasion for its use. There was the shelling of Bebiji, the move on Kano, the defeat of the Sokoto army, the defeat of the Sultan at Burmi, and the suppression of the Satiru Rebellion. Lugard is also praised for his keen administrative ability in sphere's other than the military.
Chapter Fourteen, "The Unification of Nigeria" (pp. 188-206), begins with the attack against the Aro, and the burning of the Arochukwu oracle in 1901. It mentions the increased pace of Westernization. There were enormous changes with the railway, with a vast free trade area and the elimination of tolls and other barriers to trade, with status from wealth rivalling hereditary status. And: In Nigeria traditional land laws were observed and Europeans were unable to purchase land. Since corporate ownership of land by lineages was fundamental to the traditional structure of most Nigerian societies, the observance of customary land law proved a bulwark against the disruptive elements of the new economic order. At the same time it prevented the economic exploitation of the land by individual Nigerians. p. 191
The chapter underlines the distinction between the government policy of indirect rule and, aside from fostering conditions for trade, interfering as little as possible in traditional ways, and the conscious and deliberate effort of the missionaries to transform society. The union of the country took place on January 1, 1914. Lugard, the first governor general, did not listen to suggestions for dividing Nigeria into five or six provinces, but kept the dual division of north and south protectorates with Lagos a British colony. The south was subdivided into six, and Lugard's thought of raising taxes through obas, as if these were identical to northern emirs, did not find favour in the Foreign Office. Nigerians remained loyal during the Great War and participated courageously in the conquest of German Cameroun and in the East Africa campaign.
Chapter Fifteen, "The Rise of Nigerian Nationalism" (pp. 207-223), begins with the first consciousness of trans-tribal awareness for Nigeria, even for Africa as a whole, and such individuals as J.P. Jackson and Herbert Macauley. There were the difficulties of colonial administration, especially in the poorly understood south-east, Lagos newspapers and the election there of three members of the Legislative Council. There is Governor David Cameron and his views on moderating the policy of indirect rule, especially in the north. There is Ladipo Solanke and the West African Students' Union and the formation in 1936 of the Nigerian Youth Movement. There is Nnamdi Azikwi and his newspaper, WEST AFRICAN PILOT. There is that splendid quote from Governor Bourdillon just after his term ended: 'If there is one lesson which the writer has learned thoroughly in the course of thirty-five years spent in trying to manage other people's affairs for them, it is that on the whole they prefer to manage them themselves.' p. 220
World War II by introducing many Nigerians to Westerners who were of more ordinary classes did much to stimulate an awareness of the possibility of self-rule.
Chapter Sixteen, "Three Constitutions" (pp. 224-236), begins with Governor Arthur Richards and the 1947 constitution, including the north, broadening non-official participation in the Legislative Council, and criticized for bringing regional and ethnic divisions into national politics. In 1948, a new governor, John Macpherson, launched extensive consultations on the form of a new constitution. This came into effect in 1952 and there were elections which demonstrated the tensions between regional and national viewpoints. There had also been labour unrest, the widespread dismay at the Enugu shootings, and the attempted assassination of the Chief Secretary. Regional and ethnic tensions intensified through the early 50s with strong sentiment in the north for separation from the south. There were constitutional conferences in London and Lagos and agreement on how to address regional concerns with a new 1954 constitution.
Chapter Seventeen, "Independence Achieved" (pp. 237-258), begins with calm, with an enthusiastic royal visit, with questions of conflict of interest, with constitutional review and preparations for independence. There is reference to economic expansion during and after World War II, to the importance of agriculture, to regional marketing boards, to the discovery of petrolium, to industry and the growth of cities. There is reference to the need for both skilled replacements for departing Westerners and for finding positions for those completing school. The two universalist religions, particularly Islam, expanded, but there was much traditional survival even within them. Independence came on October 1, 1960.
Chapter Eighteen, "A Decade
of Troubles" (pp. 259-277), begins with the advantages and high expectations on independence, and five
reasons for the coup in 1966: political corruption, wage
disparities, slavish pro-Western policies, political cynicism and
regionalism, exacerbated by the north having greater influence than
the west and east combined. There were strikes, and political
instability in the west. So, there was a coup in January 1966 headed
by officers of eastern origin.
Their solution of advocating a federal (Nigerian), rather than a regional, focus caused a northern With the loss of thousands of easterners in northern riots and with constitutional apprehension, the east seceded. Civil war ensued and it took two and a half years before the east was subdued. "Postscript 1970-1976" (pp. 278-283) gives a glimpse at increased petroleum production and resulting government revenue, at prosperity for some, inflation and hardship for others, at the indefinite postponement of return to civilian rule and at the coup in 1975. There are genealogical appendices, lists of governors and national ministers, and as a supplement to the notes and bibliography, a bibliographical essay on significant historigraphical contributions from 1965 to the date of this edition. This is a superb survey of a thoroughly fascinating topic, still very much worth the read.
"My name's McKenny, Mike McKenny, Warrant Officer, Solar Guard." |