When
Tai Solarin said in his memoirs that a child’s first teacher ought to be a pretty lady, the iconoclastic educator must have had Onigegewura in mind. Of
all the teachers who taught me in primary school, Miss Sola Adefarakan made the
greatest impression on my young mind. It was in her class that I read my first
full-length Yoruba novel, Ajítòní, as
well as my first English prose, The Man
Without A Face. It was also in her class that I learnt
about Aba Women Riot of 1929.
Miss
Adefarakan was as brilliant as she was beautiful. She not only taught us about
the valiant women of Aba who stood up for their rights, she also made us to dramatise
the historic event. It was a very sad day for me when Funke Adesiyan told me
Miss Adefarakan was no more. I remembered her as I began to write this story.
This
piece is dedicated to the beautiful memory of Miss Sola Adefarakan. I am
eternally indebted to you, Ma. Teachers
live forever.
Miss
Adefarakan did not tell us the names of the Aba Women. Their names were not recorded
in books of history that were recommended for us in those days. They were
simply described as Aba Women. But
surely they must have had names. We were also not taught that the matter was
more than riot. Who were these brave women who refused to bow before perceived
injustice? What could have ignited the fire of revolution in these village women?
A revolution that shook the British Empire to its feet. To find out answers to
these questions, let us follow Onigegewura to Oloko village where it all
started on that fateful day in November 1929.
Yes,
you read that right. Aba Women Riot did not start in Aba. It also did not end in Aba. It actually started
in Oloko village. You don’t know where Oloko village is? It is one of the four
villages that constitute Ikwuano Local Government in the present day Abia
State. Of course you know that ikwu in
Igbo means ‘relations’ and ano means
four. Ikwuano therefore means ‘four relations’. The local government is usually
described as the food basket of Abia State because of its agricultural
endowments.
It
was in this agrarian community that history was made almost 90 years ago when the rural women did what was unheard of. They challenged the constituted
authority of the British colonial masters. And it started with one woman. Yes,
one woman!
When
Nwanyewura woke up that November morning, the last thing on her mind was to
become a heroine who would be celebrated by generations yet unborn. Nwanyewura
was a popular figure in Oloko. She was a traditional nurse who performed
circumcisions for new-borns and older children. Her husband, Mazi Ojim, was
also a prominent citizen of the village.
She
was in her compound squeezing palm oil from kernels when Mark Emeruwa entered.
Emeruwa was a schoolteacher who had been out of work for some time. He had
recently been engaged by the Warrant Chief Okeugo of Oloko to conduct a census
of all the men, women and domestic animals in Oloko. The news had started as a
rumour. Women were going to be taxed. As a prelude to taxation, it was decided
that a census needed to be conducted.
The
reactions of the village women were unanimous. “How could women who have no
means themselves to buy food or clothing afford to pay tax?” was the question on
every woman’s lips.
It
was against this background that Emeruwa sauntered into the compound of Mazi
Ojim on that November morning. “I am here to count. Now count the sheep and
goats for me and give me the tally!” He commanded Nwanyewura who had by now
paused to attend to the unwanted visitor. So it was true. Women were going to
be counted for the purpose of taxation.
“Was
your mother counted?” Nwanyewura asked sternly. The mention of his mother must
have provoked him. In a twinkle of an eye, Emeruwa struck her across the face
and seized her throat. Nwanyewura did not hesitate. She retaliated by grabbing
the throat of the representative of His Majesty, the King of England.
“Awulamu!” She screamed in alarm.
People
in the compound heard her cry of alarm and rushed to rescue the mother of the
house from the grips of Emeruwa. They finally succeeded in separating the
warring duo. Emeruwa fled. This was not what he expected. He had assumed that
as a representative of the almighty Warrant Chief all the women were going to
comply with his directives without complaining. He rushed to report to his
employer.
In a
matter of minutes, the news had spread round Oloko village. Women began to
troop into Oloko from neighbouring villages. Could it be true? Women were going to be taxed? What is
the business of women with taxation? Has it not been said that udele si na owehu ihe jikolu ya na onye okpu isi? [The vulture has no business with the barber.] Nwanyewura
was asked to repeat her story over and over again. At the end of each narration, the women
hissed and clapped their hands in demonstration of unbelief.
A
war council was quickly formed. Three women were appointed as leaders of the
group. They were Ikonnia, Nwannedie and Nwugo. Their mandate was to confirm Nwanyewura’s
story as well as the truth about the proposed taxation of women.
The
women had hardly reached their respective homes when they were informed that
Chief Okeugo, the Warrant Chief of Oloko, had summoned Nwanyewura to his court. For the third time, Nwanyewura became the
centre of attention. At the court, the Warrant Chief told her the consequences
of her action as being a rebellion against His Majesty’s government, a
treasonable felony.
The
Oloko women who were waiting to hear the verdict needed no further evidence of
British imperialism. The women had no problem with taxation of men. But to tax
women? That was the height of it all. The news spread like wild fire. Oloko
women were joined by their sisters from neighbouring villages. They were armed
with palm fronds and leafy branches in each hand. They trooped to the streets
chanting songs of sorrow and woes. Unknown to even the participants, what
history would later term as Aba Women Riot had started.
Bishop Ajayi Crowther |
Their
first point of call was the residence of Mark Emeruwa at Niger Delta Pastorate
Mission. The mission had been founded many years earlier by Bishop Ajayi
Crowther. “Come out, Emeruwa! Come out!” The women shouted. Emeruwa heard but
he refused to come out. The women proceeded to sit on him. When you sit on a
man, it means that the person is prevented from carrying out his normal routine
without answering to your demands. After all, a nyuko mamiri onu, o gba ofufu [When people urinate on the same spot, it foams.]
Some
of the women decided to also pay a visit to Chief Okeugo. The Warrant Chief had
heard what happened to his agent. Before the arrival of the women, he had
barricaded himself in. The chanting women arrived to meet the doors of the
house locked. “Okeugo! Come out! Come and explain why you have ordered that
women must pay tax.”
Like
Emeruwa, Okeugo refused to come out of his fortress to address the women of
Oloko. The women had all the time in the world. They proceeded to sit on him as
well. Okeugo knew that the women would soon be tired. He knew they would leave
before midnight. Unknown to him, the women were determined not to leave. For
two nights and days, they kept vigil at his residence. They sang, they danced
and they shouted.
Okeugo, Onye Oloko Aye
Nne agaghi inu gi Aye
Nna agaghi inu gi Aye
Okengbe Iloro Uwa Oloko Oloko Aye
[Okeugo,
a big eagle of a woman
Oke,
an Oloko person, Aye
Mother
will not give birth to you, Aye
Father
will not give birth to you, Aye
Since
you reincarnated in the world
Oloko
Oloko Aye]
Okeugo
and his family could not come out. They could only peep behind closed windows
and doors at their erstwhile obedient and loyal subjects. The once powerful
warrant chief knew that his family would soon starve to death if there was no
help. He decided to do something to ensure that he did not die of starvation. Ugwu muta mgbaji ukwu, Agadi nwanyi amuta agakata ezue ike. [When the hill learns to cause waist pain, the old lady learns to rest intermittently]. A message was smuggled out in the middle of the night. On the third day, men of
Native Police arrived at his residence to chase away the women. The women
retreated but they did not surrender.
Immediately
the women dispersed, Chief Okeugo did not wait a moment longer. He knew that
the women who sat on him for two days were ready to sit on him for two years.
He fled his house and went to take refuge in the native court. He felt a bit
safer in the premises of the court.
The
District Officer at the time was Captain J. N. Hill. He was away when the
crisis broke out. It was the acting DO, Captain John Cook, who mandated the
Warrant Chiefs to count and tax the women. Captain Hill resumed on December 2
to meet the rampaging women of Oloko. The first thing that struck him was the sheer
number of the women. They were more than 10,000 strong. The women were also
well informed despite the fact they were not formally educated. The women knew
their rights and were able to articulate their demands. One, they wanted Okeugo
to be put on trial, and two, women must not be taxed.
They
demanded Okeugo’s cap of office – his symbol of authority. The DO had no choice
but to throw Okeugo's red cap to the women. According to him: “it met the same fate
as a fox’s carcass thrown to a pack of hounds.” The women however were not
satisfied. They wanted Okeugo to be put on trial.
Unknown
to them, Captain Cook had smuggled Okeugo out of Oloko under the cover of
darkness. The embattled Warrant Chief had been taken to Bende where he was kept
in a government building. Captain Hill realized that nothing short of trial was
going to pacify the women, he decided to put Okeugo on trial, and in public
too. At the end of the trial, Okeugo was found guilty. He was de-capped and
stripped of his status as a chief. He was also sentenced to two years
imprisonment.
The
women of Oloko had won! They had succeeded in removing a warrant chief! The
success of Oloko women became the ripple in the pond. It galvanized women from
all over the East and South. As the women went back to villages, they informed
others of the heroics of Nwanyewura and the brave women of Oloko. Back at their
bases, the women began to demand the removal of their own warrant chiefs!
The women
of Aba heard the news of Okeugo’s fall from power and his imprisonment. They
heard how the women of Oloko refused to be intimidated by the powers of the
white-man and his agents of oppression. Oloko and Nwanyewura became the new symbol
of the power of womanhood. If Oloko women could stand up to be counted when it
mattered, Aba women must not be left behind.
On
December 6, 1929, the District Officer of Aba woke up to receive information
that women were moving in the direction to Aba and on to Owerrinta. According
to Shasore, “They were dressed with leaves on their heads, carried branches and
clubs, and marched through Umuahia.” The women protesters were not just Aba
women. They had come from all over Igbo land.
What
the DO expected was not what he met. He was expecting to see a motley crowd of
protesters. He was shocked to see more than 10,000 women who were well
organised under the leadership of Ikonnia, Nwannedie and Nwugo, the three women
who had earlier been appointed leaders.
The
women who confronted him were bold and fearless. According to Richard Bourne, the women "were angry that direct taxation might be extended from men to women and were protesting at a collapse in the price of their palm produce when import costs were rising."
The protesting women marched on to the prison
and released the inmates. They then moved on to the courthouse. The embers of
fire lighted in Oloko village had become a huge conflagration.
It
was in the midst of the protest that a European medical doctor knocked down two
of the protesting women with his car. It was like adding fuel to a burning
fire. The women became incensed. The mob
advanced towards the car. The doctor and his companion fled. They ran inside
the building of Niger Company which also housed the Barclays Bank. The women
followed them. They ransacked the bank in seconds.
Sir Graeme Thomson |
From
the bank to the post office, from post office to the train station, there was
no stopping the women. All buildings which represented symbols of authority
were under attack. The Resident was powerless in the face of the women who were
determined to remove every vestige of oppression from Igbo land.
It
was no longer a riot. It had become a revolutionary movement. The colonial
government was alarmed. A platoon of Nigerian soldiers was sent to Aba to quell
the uprising on December 12, six days after the Aba Women Riot had started. A contingent
of police was also sent in to maintain order. That was not all. The Lt.
Governor Cyril Wilson Alexander also came to take control of the situation.
The
women had however discovered their power. From Aba, the protests spread to
Owerrinta and from there to Imo River, Mbawsi, Omoba and Azumini. By December
12, it was no longer Aba Women’s riot. It had become Ogu Umuwanyi, Women’s War. The Ibibio women who had been waiting in
the wings joined the revolution. At Azumini, the women proceeded to the courthouse
and set fire to all the buildings in the compound. And that was when the revolt
became bloody.
By
the time the riot spread to Calabar Province, the government had realized the
enormity of what it was up against it. It was clear that if something drastic
was not done the women would overrun the government. A platoon of soldiers was
therefore waiting for the women by the time they gathered at Uyo. A line was
drawn in the sand with a warning that the line must not be crossed by the
protesting women. Well, an ordinary line was not enough to deter the determined women. On
December 14, the line was crossed. The police responded by opening fire. Three women, Mary Udo
Ekpo, Adiaha Umo, and Unwa Udom were killed instantly. They became the first
victims of the Women’s War.
Eric Moore |
The
government had drawn the first blood. If the government had however thought that the
killing of three unarmed women would put an end to the war, it was sadly
mistaken. The women grew in number and in determination. At Utu-Etim-Ekpo,
there was another confrontation between armed government forces and the unarmed
village women.
The
commander of government troops was Captain James. He claimed that he was
constrained to order his men to fire because “the force of the troops was small
and in a hand to hand struggle with these mad women it was possible that some
sort reverse would have been sustained and the whole country would have up.” Captain James ordered his men to fire.
Eighteen women were killed.
It
was however at Opobo that the greatest casualty was recorded. In one day,
thirty-one women and one man were killed. Alimi Aromasodun from Lagos was the male victim. It was the last straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back.
The Women's War had come to a tragic end. It had lasted for 29 days. It was the first major challenge to the British authority in the west coast of Africa. And it all started with one woman!
The initial government response was to "frame the uprising as a mere alcohol-inspired riot of women secretly egged on by the menfolk to loot government buildings." This is perhaps the reason the phrase Aba Women Riot became the conventional way of describing the revolution.
However, following
the uproar generated by the media, government was forced to set up a commission
of inquiry. It was a two-man commission. It sat for ten days. Its findings were
neither here nor there. Nigerians from all walks of life were not satisfied.
They began to clamour for another commission. The Governor, Sir Graeme Thomson, was left with no
choice. He bowed to the will of the people and set up a second commission of
inquiry.
Nwanyewura |
The
new commission was made up of Mr. Justice D. Kingdon, Sir Kitoyi Ajasa, William
Hunt, Graham Paul, Eric Moore and Ronald Osborne. Unlike the first commission
which sat for only 10 days, the second commission sat from March 10 to July 30
and it heard close to 500 witnesses. At the end of the day, the Commission
found that taxation and some errors of policy and administration were
responsible for the revolt spearheaded by the women.
What
of Nwanyewura, the one woman who started it all? She was arrested in February
1930 and was arraigned with Mark Emeruwa, the man whose action triggered the
crisis. They were both found guilty for their role in the disturbances that rocked
the region. They were sentenced to three months imprisonment.
You
want to know what happened to the police and officers who killed 55 Nigerians? Well,
No one was punished for the tragedy in which 55 Nigerians lost their lives. The
commission blamed the women for the situation that the British officers were
forced to remedy.
May
the souls of the 54 unarmed women and one man who were killed in December of
1929, and that of my brilliant teacher Miss Sola Adefarakan continue to rest in
peace.
Thank
you for your time.
-Olanrewaju Onigegewura©
History Does Not Forget
The right of Olanrewaju Onigegewura© to be identified as the author of stories published on this blog has been asserted by him in accordance with the copyright laws.
Sir, i must confess at this point you are one of a
ReplyDeleteYou make story-telling so real
I never knew it was this big, serious and bloody. Thanks for bringing this story to the fore once again.
ReplyDeleteThe women were courageous and determined and that gave them the success though tainted with blood of the defenceless 55 Nigerians. That's sad.
This is excellent. Thanks once again. I always read your stories with relish.
Fascinating
ReplyDeleteBeautiful vivigorating. Thank you for this epic piece and indeed may be would of the departed rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteIntereting
ReplyDeleteReal story.God bless you sir
ReplyDeleteAs expected this is fascinating. More of this soonest to keep readers salivating.
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for the detail analysis of this historical facts that was not well taught in high school history class
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the wonderful work
ReplyDeleteWow! History told with simplicity!! God bless you Sir.
ReplyDeleteWow... very interesting ooooo...
ReplyDeleteWeldone sir..
Great piece,but the punctuations of the Igbo language you paraphrased need some editing.
ReplyDeleteWe can draw inference from this narration as it relates to the lopsidedness of our country's political structure by our colonial masters.Until the foundation is revisited,progress may remain a pipedream.
I am impressed!
ReplyDeleteWhat self-sacrifice and courage displayed by these women, even though they arguably lacked the most civilized weapon to combat oppression--education! This shows that fighting for freedom isn't hereditary nor totally instructive, but a thing the human mind willingly subjects itself to doing. 'The most portent weapon in the hands of the oppressor', argued Steve Bantu Biko, 'is the mind of the oppressed', and they proved that beyond limits to their oppressors. Their legacies remain hidden at the most conscious parts of our minds...
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time I will be reading this. It is informative and educative. Onigegewura is a blessing to us.
ReplyDeleteBeautifully told!
ReplyDelete