WOMEN’S REVOLTS IN IGBOLAND

(ABA & ISUIKWUATO)

1929 – 1939

BY

IKECHUKWU JUDE MBA

+2348037963257

iykmba@yahoo.com

OCTOBER, 2006

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ABSTRACT

Women Revolts in Igboland were some of the most significant events that occurred in Nigerian history during the Colonial era. Like other major events of their magnitude, the revolts have continued to attract scholarly inquiry and discourse, unparralled in Igbo history until the Nigerian civil war.

Most of the primary sources used in the studying the Revolts were compiled by the Colonial officers who were largely concerned with finding their causes to establish a more functional and practical way of implementing the policy of indirect rule in the South-Eastern Nigeria. The orientation of the colonial officers which in the first instance was meant to justify colonialism, affected the reports they compiled in varying ways e.g. the Women Revolts were known in official circles as the “Women Riots”, to create the impression that the were disturbances caused by inarticulate, irrational and disorderly women who woke up on the “wrong sides of their beds”.

Modern historiography has shown that the women were well organized and had leaders who clearly articulated their grievances during what they saw as “OGU UMUNWANYI” (women’s war).that is why their movement is captioned in this paper as Revolts instead of riots. This work concentrates on the Aba Women Revolts of 1929 and the Isuikwuato women Revolts of 1938/39

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page Abstract Table of contents List of Abbreviations

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Women in traditional Igbo society

Social roles

Political roles

Economic roles

CHAPTER TWOColonial actions that provoked the women

Political actions

Economic actions

CHAPTER THREEWomen Revolts during the colonial rule

Aba Women’s revolt 1929

Isuikwuato Women’s revolt 1938/39

CHAPTER FOURImpact of the revoltsCHAPTER FIVEConclusions

BIBLOGRAPHY

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

D.O - District Officer

NAE - National Archives Enugu

Okidist - Okigwe district

OP - Onitsha province

PROV - Province

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

WOMEN IN TRADITIONAL IGBO SOCIETY

The aim of this chapter as an introduction to this work is to show that in traditional Igbo society women were visible active participants. Their roles in traditional Igbo-culture were as valued as those of the men. Depending on the season, Igbo women could be found working in the fields, craft making or battering in the market place. They also had a large role in the government. Igbo women were revered as wives and mothers.

SOCIAL ROLES

A traditional Igbo marriage is arranged by the parents of the bride and groom. However, if either of them objected to the marriage, it would not hold. In fact Igbo women could object to the marriage publicly as late as the marriage ceremony: “Before the marriage feast began, the Bride was called and given a gourd Containing palm wine. She drank from it and then gave the rest to the groom. This symbolized that the girl had agreed to the Marriage that she was not being forced into” 1

Once married, an Igbo woman was expected to bear children, maintain the household, grow crops, buy and sell at the village market and do some of craft work. Although an Igbo woman worked hard to support her husband, he provided for her in return. The husband’s main duty to the wife is to provide the conditions for her to maintain a thriving and expanding household. He must provide the domestic settings in which his wife works and furnish her with a reliable supply of major staple foods from his farms. He must allot a household garden to each wife and provide

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palm fruits from his threes for the domestic use and for trade. “The husband is also expected to allocate his cotton crop for his wife’s trade to give periodic trade advances in money to finance her activities”. 2 However, if the husband was not living up to his responsibilities, was abusing or neglecting her. An Igbo wife could easily obtain a divorce. After the divorce, a woman was able to remarry if she chose. A widow in Igbo society was well protected as long as she did not remarry. Her late husband’s family was expected to help take care of her and her children. She also had the option to return to her motherland. If she did, her sons can go back to their father’s home to claim their property once they are grown. In traditional Igbo society, motherhood was greatly respected. Women were respectfully called “Trees that bear fruits”3 because the tribe knows that without women to bear children, there would be no future for the clan. New mothers were greatly pampered, receiving a month totally devoid of work after the birth of their child. The ideal number of children was seven, because seven meant completeness or perfection in the tribal culture. If a woman had more children she was considered exceptional. If she had ten children, a celebratory ritual was held in her honor. After the ceremony, called “Igbu ewu ukwu”, the woman was considered one of the blessed “queen of mothers” and gained great respect status in the tribe. The importance of the women’s role appears in the Igbo saying: “A man has both joy and sadness in his life and when the bad times come; his mother is always there to care for him”. From that comes the saying “mother is supreme”.

POLITICAL ROLES

In the Igbo system of government, there were councils for men and women. Each council was in charge of decisions considering its respective member’s gender. The political culture of the Igbo’s could be theoretically described as dual-sex. Under this structure, women had their own governing councils for addressing their specific concerns and needs as women. The councils protected women’s social and

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economic interests and guided the community’s development. The dual symmetrical structure required and depended on the active participation of the women in the community life. Their views were deemed critical not because they were women, but because of the special insight they brought to issue by virtue of their spiritual, market and trading duties and their maternal roles. The women’s council also known as “otu” or “ogbo” with a leader nominated by merit, her roles included leading clan ceremonies, disciplining the women, representing the female population at the village meetings and advising the women of the tribe. The leader and some women advisers ruled the women group. When larger community meetings were held for important decisions, all the women of the group were expected to be present. Once there every woman had one vote on the issue in question and the majority won. If a woman broke one of the laws of the council, the other women ostracized her until she repented. When a man violated the rules of the women’s council, the women sometimes used ritual known as “sitting on a man” to force the individual to comply; sitting on a man meant “making life miserable”. This often included destroying his property, calling him names and singing songs that questioned his manhood. Although the man being “sat on” could defend himself, he was not allowed to retaliate physically. The women relented only when the man apologized and righted his wrong. The women council was in charge of the market squares act as arbiter over marital disputes, quarrels among women. They have cult of their own by virtue of which they may compel debtors to pay their debts and slanderers to pay fine.4In pre-colonial Igbo society, women were part of the government there was no need to carry out demonstrations. ECONOMIC ROLE

The economic system of the pre-colonial Igbo society revolves mainly on agriculture. It is the most important single occupation of the Igbo. Both Igbo men and women were farmers. Women had a large role in agricultural aspect of the Igbo life.

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They grew such crops as maize, beans, cocoyam, peanut, tomatoes pepper, okra and other green leafed vegetables. They raised livestock as well. Women were not allowed to grow yam but they helped their husband weed and harvest their yam farms. Although women could not plant yam, Leith Ross stated that: “……… in reality (this) means that the women were responsible for the growing the larger part of the food stuff and feeding the family for the greater part of the year when yams grown by the men were no longer available”5 After harvest and before the next planting season, women spent a period of about four months practicing various crafts. Women made items such as pottery, basket, mats, jewelry and cloths. Most of the crafts created by the women were used by their families. However she was able to sell her surplus goods at the market and keep the profits. In Igbo culture the market place was considered the women’s realm. There they haggled and bartered for goods for themselves and their families. A few Igbo women even made great profits for themselves through these trades, receiving high status and much respect because of it. With so much responsibility, the traditional Igbo woman’s life must have been very stressful at times. Earning their own money and being valued for playing intrinsic roles in the lives of their families and the village, gave the women greater freedom and control over their lives. Sadly all these were to change for the worse when the British came to colonize them.

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ENDNOTES

1. Solomon C. Nnoromele, “Life Among the Igbo Women of Nigeria” Passim, cited in www.Google.com/Pre-colonial roles of Igbo women

2. Victor Uchendu, “The Igbo of South East Nigeria”, cited in www.Google.com/pre-colonial roles of Igbo women

3. Solomon C. Nnoromele, op. cit.4. Harold D. Nelson, ET. Al. Area Handbook of Nigeria (New

York Times, June 20,1973) p. 1695. Leith S. Ross, African women: A Study of the Igbo of

Nigeria, (New York: F. Proweger Publishers,1965) p. 97

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CHAPTER TWO

COLONIAL ACTIONS THAT PROVOKED THE WOMEN

The colonial administration seemed to have eroded women’s political institutions and authority. They had introduced economic measures that interfered with the women’s economic independence. This chapter highlights the actions of the colonial government that provoked the women and led to their subsequent reactions in the form of organized collective protests, demonstrations and so on in various parts of Igbo land. These actions are classified into political and economic actions.

POLITICAL ACTIONS

The colonial administration established Native Courts in Igbo land and other parts of the protectorate of southern-Nigeria with the Native Court proclamation. The government established a native court for each clan. These native courts settled disputes, they were more than judiciary institutions and they carried out executive and legislative functions. It was made up of Warrant Chiefs; these were chiefs appointed by the colonial government. The Warrant chiefs were barely literate. They receive instructions from the District officers through the Court Clerks. Court Clerks were the only literate members of the Native courts. The court clerk with smattering knowledge of the English language was more powerful than the Warrant chief. He issued summon of arrest without reference to the warrant chief. He was also in charge of prisoners and conveyed instructions from the district officer to the warrant chief .1 Native courts also used court messengers who acted as police tom the court. There were also permanent chairmen, Appeals moved from the Native courts to the District officer who reviewed all cases tried by the Native courts. Appeals went from the District officer’s court to the resident officer and from there to the Supreme Court .2 These native courts were corrupt, justice was sold to the rich

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thereby deviating from free and fair traditional system of justice. An elder in Okigwe observed that “……..immediately the white man came justice vanished”.3 The Warrant chief system was established in Igbo land because there were no really apparent political authorities as existed in the Northern and Western Nigeria with the Emirs and the Obas respectively. Warrant chiefs were people appointed by the colonial administrators in places where there were no chiefs; some of them were ex-slaves while some were influential in the society.To distinguish them from common impostors and blackmailers of which there were many in those period and to legalize the power they exercised over their fellow country men, each of the chiefs were issued with a warrant. This explains why they were called “Warrant chiefs”. All the powers and authority they enjoyed derived from their possession of the warrant. They were members of the Native courts; they took part in making laws, implementing them and settling of disputes. This marked the period of direct administration in Igbo land during the colonial period. Warrant chiefs were condemned because of their corrupt life style. They grew rich through many ways for example they sold justice in the courts, abused their rights of levying and forced labor. In the early 1960’s, a former warrant chief form Okigwe was asked how the warrant chiefs grew rich, He replied: “ma ukpara erigh ibe ya o naghi ebu” (An insect must feed on other insects to grow fat).Absence of effective supervision of the warrant chiefs and Native court officials led to many abuses of power by them. This caused resentment among the people partly because of the way the exploited people and mainly because they came to supersede the traditional assemblies.

ECONOMIC ACTIONS

Taxation was introduced in south eastern Nigeria in 1928 as a result of considerable expansion of government’s expenditure for economic and social development. It was meant to meet the

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financial needs of the colonial administrations. There were two main reasons for the extension of taxation to south-eastern Nigeria. Since the rest of Nigeria pay tax, equity and fair-play demanded that the people of south-east could no longer be exempted. There was also the need to free the people from the imposition of forced labor by the same administration. Prior to the introduction of direct taxation, the colonial administration in the Eastern province relied on forced labor for all forms of development like roads, buildings, railway construction etc. Direct taxation was imposed on all adult male in the form of poll tax of 2½ percent of not only their annual income. These taxes were assessed by surveyors of taxes and have come to be known as assessed taxes. The total assessed tax to be paid per person did not exceed 2½ percent of his income. This was the tax concept Lugard brought into Nigeria. The tax was imposed for each year of assessment that ran from April in one calendar year to April in the next. Incomes of husband wife or wives were assessed and calculated as the man’s gross annual income. The administration of taxes devolved mainly on the Warrant chiefs under the supervision of the district officers (D.O). However, the D.O did not have the power and authority to revise the tax rules or alter the system; rather he can only recommend a reduction in the current rates.5 The income of the average tax payer in the south-east was derived from farming, the produce of economic trees such as oil palm, palm wine, kola nut, labor and trading. The greater part of a man’s income was derived from the products of his farm in the form of yam, cassava, palm produce and other minor farm produce; most of which were grown by the women for family consumption.The people hated taxation because it sounded like a tribute to a conquering power; it made holes in their pockets. Taxation was untraditional to the Igbo man. In traditional Igbo society, people were prepared to contribute for sacrifices, communally chosen and approved projects such as local improvement union halls, schools and so on. There was a great difference between this and the money extracted without real consultation for unknown objectives.

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The world depression of the 1920’s affected the price of palm produce in the colonial Igbo land during this period, palm produce was the main income earner for the people .6 For a people who depended largely on their sale of produce to raise money and it was difficult to pay their taxes to the colonial government. The burden of taxation was so much on them. The colonial government established produce inspection board to inspect the quality of produce to be exported. The role of this board was to make sure that all produce to be exported are of good quality. People’s goods were rejected at times for poor quality. This caused delay in the sale of goods and thereby caused great hardship for the people. Women were not happy with the falling prices of produce and the introduction of produce inspection board which made them to lose part of their palm oil and palm kernel. In the traditional Igbo society, petty trading was the affair of women. During colonial rule, European merchants started participating in the retail trade in Igbo land. Women were apprehensive of the fact that they were being sidelined by the European merchants in their only source of livelihood. In a bid to raise more revenue, the colonial government increased import duties. This increase led to rise in prices paid for imported goods which had become daily necessities in the people’s lives. They found it difficult to cope with the rising prices of imported goods.7 The people wanted an end to the entire colonial rule. The resented all the institutions established by the colonial administrations because it sidelined the traditional Igbo way of life. For example, in 1925 a band of women dancers staged a protest against colonial rule in many parts of Igbo land. The movement which started from Okigwe soon spread to other parts of Igbo land.8 The women dancers delivered their message through songs and dances. The women demanded a return to the customs and traditions of the past. They opposed government control of prices and markets. They also called for the boycotting of the native courts and the replacement of the English currency with the local cowries.9 the action of the women in 1925 was the first visible opposition to colonial rule in Igbo land by the women.

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ENDNOTES

1. Michael Crowther, West Africa under Colonial Rule, (Benin city: Hutchinson of London in association with Ethiope Publishing (corporation, 1968) p. 228

2. A. E. Afigbo, Ropes of Sand: Studies in Igbo History and Culture (University Press, 1981) pp. 235-243

3. Quoted in A. E. Afigbo, The Warrant Chief, Indirect rule in Southern Nigeria 1891-1829 (London, 1972) pp. 282-3.

4. A. E. Afigbo, op. cit. p. 2505. Fredrick Lugard, Revision of Instruction to Political Officers

on Subjects chiefly Political and Administrative, (London, 1919) memo. No. 5

6. A. E. Afigbo, “The Eastern Province under Colonial Rule” in Obaro Ikime, ed., Groundwork of Nigerian History, (Heinemann, 1980) pp. 420-421.

7. A. E. Afigbo,op. cit. pp. 421-4228. Elizabeth Isichei, A History of the Igbo People, (London:

The Macmillian press, 1976) p. 151.9. NAE: op. 391/1925, D. O. Awgu to Resident Onitsha

Province, 12 March 1926, D. O. Bende to Owerri Resident,9 Dec., 1925, D. O. Onitsha to Resident Onitsha Province,9 March 1926,D. O. Enugu to Resident Onitsha Province;4 Dec. 1925

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CHAPTER THREE

WOMEN’S REVOLTS DURING COLONIAL RULE

The anti-tax movement of 1929 and 1938 were reactions and responses of a traditionally democratic people to the repression of their right to self-determination by a foreign power and its local agents. The revolts were the only way they felt they could express pent up grievances against the imposition of colonial rule on them and to stop the unjust practices against their men folk and their children. The women found it difficult to understand why foreigners should come to their own country to impose their own rule on them.1 The background to the women’s revolts in 1929 and 1938/39 was due to long standing grievances against the imposition of alien rule to them and its aftermath. Some of these grievances had been highlighted in the previous chapters.

THE ABA WOMEN REVOLTS 1929 The immediate cause of the revolt was the rumor that women were to be taxed. It started in Olokoro near aba with a scuffle between a woman Nwanyereuwa and an enumerator, Mark Emereuwa who was asked by Warrant chief Okugo to help in obtaining an accurate census of his people as mandated by the District officer. In Olokoro and other parts of Igbo land, census was associated with taxation. The colonial administration had taken a similar census in 1926 without revealing the fact that it would be used in imposing tax on men in 1928. Women were afraid of being taxed especially during the period of hyper inflation in the late 1920’s.² On the morning of November 18th, Emereuwa went to late Oji’s compound and asked his widow Nwanyereuwa to count her goats, sheep and people. Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, “How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them”. She angrily replied “was your late mother counted?

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Basically meaning “don’t you know that women don’t pay tax in traditional Igbo society”³ The two exchanged angry words and Nwanyereuwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with the other women who were incidentally having a meeting to discuss the issue of women taxation. The women believing they would be taxed based on Nwanyereuwa’s account went into action and invited women from other areas by sending leaves of palm oil tree (a symbol of invitation) to them. Within a few days, about 10,000 women assembled protesting at the office of Warrant chief Okugo and demanded for his resignation and trial.4 Widespread women’s revolts followed from Olokoro to Umuahia and Aba. In Aba, the women moved into the streets dressed like people going to war and singing anti-government songs telling the British to go. They destroyed government buildings, native courts, looted mercantile houses, attacked some notorious warrant chiefs but did not kill them.5 The widespread women’s movement caused a deep concern to the colonial government. Troops and police were drafted to the affected areas to restore peace and put down the general unrest. Troops fired at the women in eight different places. The official casualty list was 55 women were killed, 32 of them at Opobo, and 50 wounded, 31 at Opobo.6 The colonial government set up a commission of inquiry in January 1930. This commission was to take in totality the things that took place during the revolt, make inquiries, resolutions and report to the government. Based on their findings, the government employed Anthropologists to advice it on the traditional system of government of the people.7 The 1929 women revolts was to be a source of inspiration for subsequent revolts in 1938.

THE ISUIKWUATO WOMEN REVOLT 1938/39 The Isuikwuato movement was the last organized attempt to oppose the entrenchment of British colonial administration in Igbo land by the women. A number of things led to the 1938/39 Isuikwuato women’s revolt which in some cases was similar to those causes that sparked off the 1929 revolt by the women. Just

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like the 1929 revolt, the 1938 revolt was also caused by rumors about taxation. The rumors that caused the Isuikwuato women’s revolt were not that the colonial administration was planning to impose taxation on the women.They were the rumors that payment of tax had been suspended for the 1939 financial year. The rumor emanated from Chief Ebi Iroegbu of Ahaba Imenyi and Oji Eberebo. They informed the entire Isuikwuato that “there will be no taxation in 1939”.8 There was also the rumor that tax had been reduced to one shilling, the people insisted on paying the reduced rate. The Resident denied this and informed the women that the tax has not been reduced. Also the rumor that England was handing Nigeria over to the Germans. People refused to pay their taxes because they feared that the Germans would impose their own tax when they eventually arrive to take over the administration of the country. Apart from rumors about the suspension of payment of taxes, there were other grievances for example; there was lack of concrete evidence of how the tax money was being used. Nothing was done for them, no comfort; no roads were built in the area. There were accusations of corruption and extortion against the tax collectors. The widespread opposition to tax payment was aggravated by corruption. The women even accused the District officer of collaborating with the tax collectors with the hope of sharing the proceeds.9 The removal of troops from Okigwe to Enugu, apart from lending credence to the rumor that the Germans had taken over the administration of Nigeria, tended to confirm their belief that the British troops were making way for the Germans. The women’s main grievance was that by the withdrawal of the troops, they had lost an important market for their produce.The imposition of tax on the men also got the women worried because such imposition affects them too. From April to the New Yam Festival (August-September) a man was fed by his wife after he must have eaten, sold and planted his entire yam. During this period the burden of feeding the family fell on the women. Also in assessing the man’s tax, both the man and his wife’s income were calculated as the gross annual income of the man.10

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On December 6 1938, all these grievances against colonial rule in Isuikwuato clan ended up in the women demonstrating and protesting against the payment of taxes by their men folk. It started when a large number of women gathered in Okigwe to protest. They were armed with sticks. They had gone to Eluama in Isuikwuato where they destroyed the livestock of those who paid tax. Gradually, the movement began to spread to other areas. The police reported that a crowd of about 300 to 800 women lined the Okigwe road on the arrival of the Resident who had gone to Okigwe to pacify the women. The women numbering around 800 carried sticks, dancing and waving sticks. They danced and incited the crowd by dancing and singing: “Police you are armed with guns but cannot fire and carry sticks and dare not break our heads”11The Resident officer appealed to them to disperse and pay their tax, but they women ignored him and vowed to die rather than pay tax. They were dispersed by the police; about 200 to 250 women were wounded in the process.By 14th December, the movement had spread to other parts of the Okigwe division. As soon as the women began their demonstration all vestiges of authority throughout the area collapsed. The government saw the women movement as an attempt to intimidate the administration and regarded it as a piece of sheer blackmail. Some women were charged for conduct likely to cause a breach of peace and were found guilty. Each was sentenced to one year imprisonment with hard labor.12 Once the movement collapsed in the early 1939, tax collection proceeded without hitches. The significance of these revolts is that while the men who were directly affected by the imposition of taxation were sitting on the fence, the women were openly challenging the White man’s rule without fear.

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END NOTES

1. O. Apkan and Violetta I. Epko, The Women’s War of 1929: A Popular Uprising in South Eastern Nigeria, (Calabar: Government Printer, 1988), p.3

2. J. N. Orji, “The Aba Women’s Revolts” in J. N. Orji, ed., Ngwa History, (New York: P. Long, 1997) , pp.97-103

3. Nina Mba, Nigeria Women Mobilized: Women’s political activity in the Southern Nigeria, 1900-1995, (Berkeley: Institute of International studies, University of California, 1982), p.75.

4. C. K. Meek, Ethnographical Report on the Peoples of the Nssuka Division of Onitsha Province, (Lagos, 1930) p. 136-139.

5. Aba Commission of inquiry. Notes of Evidence taken by the Commission of inquiry appointed to inquire into the Disturbances in the Calabar and Owerri Provinces, December, 1929 (Lagos, 1929), pp. 24-30.

6. Elisberth Isichei, A History of the Igbo People, (London: The Macmillian Press, 1976) p. 155.

7. G. I. C. Eluwa, et al; A History of Nigeria, (Onitsha: African-Fep Publishers, 1988), p. 212.

8. National Archives Enugu, Hereinafter NAE, Okidist 9/1/150, Ow 3931/Vol. 11 p. 289.

9. NAE Okidist, Ibid. p. 29110. Fredrick Lugard, Revision of Instruction to Political Officers

on subjects chiefly Political and Administrative, (London: 1919) No. 5.

11. NAE, Okidist, Op. Cit. p. 26512. NAE, Okidist, Op. Cit, p. 281

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CHAPTER FOUR

IMPACT OF THE REVOLTS

This chapter highlights the impact of the Revolts, the reforms the colonial administration implemented as a result of the women revolts. The colonial administration tried to respond wisely to the feelings of the people. This led to the system been re-organized to make it more democratic, workable and beneficial. Commissions of Inquiry were appointed to look into the causes of the various revolts and make recommendations. The colonial administration adopted reforms based on the findings and recommendations of this commissions.¹ In the 1929 revolt the colonial administration acceded to the women’s demand for the abolition of the Warrant Chief system. In many places, women helped the government to identify the “Ezeala” or sacred authority holders of their communities. Some of the “Ezeala” were appointed to replace the Warrant Chiefs in Native Courts of the 1930’s called “Massed Benches”². With the abolition of the warrant chieftainship system, the system of indirect rule was established in Igbo land. Native administration was established. The colonial government introduced a new system of local administration to replace the Native Courts. Its basic characteristic was that, it was an attempt to restore the political system of traditional Igbo society.³ The new administrative system in the Eastern province between 1930 and 1938 was guided by five main principles. First was the principle of broad based democracy. The attempt at reorganization was to ensure that all major segments in each unit in the clan were represented by its traditional leaders. This led to creation of clan and village councils in which every lineage head was expected to attend. The officially recognized authority was in most cases the clan assembly or council. The Warrant chieftainship was brought an end, while the court members came to be known as “members of the tribunal”.

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The second principle was that of maintaining ethnic integrity. At the end of the revolts, the colonial administration came to the realization that there were significant differences in institutions and political practices between the different sub-cultural units in the Eastern Province. In order to maintain political unity and common purpose, it was considered necessary not to repeat the mistake of grouping ethnic groups which had significant differences of culture and tradition under one local authority. Thirdly, an attempt was made to educate the Igbo and their neighbors on the need to separate the executive from the judiciary. In the pre-1930 period, the executive, legislative and judicial powers were vested in the same body, the Native courts. The fourth principle was that of ensuring that the Native Administration and Native Court staffers, the clerks, the messengers and so on were recruited among the people.Finally the administration was determined to get the Native Administration to recognize that their main duty was to maintain law and order and to promote development. To this end, members were compelled to take interest in tax collection.4

END OF DIRECT RULE The Women Revolts ended the era of direct rule in Igbo land. The colonial government after invading Igbo land established their administration in the forms of the Warrant chief and the Native courts system. The Warrant chiefs, court clerks etc were rubber stamp for the Colonial government. The government imposed their decisions on the people through the Warrant chiefs as alien. The Native courts were used as organs of direct administration but after the Women revolts, the Colonial government in a bid to understand the traditional life of the people, set up a commission of inquiry to determine the causes of the Revolts and commissioned Anthropologists like M. green and Leith-Ross to study Igbo culture. After the recommendations from these bodies, the Colonial government identified with the traditional authority holders.5

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This marked the beginning of Indirect Rule in Igbo land. The relationship between the government and the people was indirect through the chiefs in the village or town. But the people had a direct relationship with the chiefs. To the people, the chiefs were the government in their midst, they had no contact with the colonial government directly. A chief who in deference to the people’s wishes refused to meet unpopular government requests for forced labor and direct taxation lost stature and prestige at the headquarters, while a loyal chief to the government would be unpopular in his village.6

SOME CONSEQUENCES OF THE WOMEN’S REVOLTS The history of Nigeria’s march to independence would be incomplete without the mention of the Women’s Revolt who between 1929 and 1939 blazed the trail of nationalism. These women challenged the Colonial government when the men could not muster enough courage to challenge the colonial government. The women’s audacity and impudence paved the way for the Nigerian men to continue the struggle from where they (women) stopped. Igbo studies experienced a remarkable renaissance as a result of the Women’s revolt. The Colonial administration which was taken by surprise by the revolts, realized that it knew little about the Igbo whom it ruled for almost three decades. The administration took various measures that helped in promoting Igbo studies. It for example asked district Officers to submit “intelligence reports” on the history and culture of Igbo societies. The administration set up a commission of inquiry in 1930 to determine the causes of the revolts and also commissioned anthropologist like Leith Ross and M. Green to study Igbo culture, paying particular attention to the varying roles of women in their societies. These and other works which constitute sources for studying Igbo history and culture have enabled modern researchers and feminists to embark on more detailed and scholarly analyses of the Women’s revolts, the Women’s revolts, no doubt provided an incredible stimulus to Igbo studies comparable to the Nigerian civil war.

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ENDNOTES

1. G. I. C. Eluwa, ET. Al., A History of Nigeria, (London: The Macmillan Press, 1976) p. 212.

2. Leith-Ross Sylvia, African women, (London: Routh Edge & Kegan Paul ltd., 1965) p.165.

3. Elizabeth Isichei, A history of the Igbo people, (London: The Macmillan press, 1976) p. 156.

4. A. E. Afigbo, “The Eastern provinces under Colonial rule” in Obaro ikime, ed., Groundwork of Nigerian History, (Ibadan, Heinemann, 1980) pp. 420-421.

5. J. N. Orji, “The Aba Women’s Revolts’ in J. N. Orji, ed., Ngwa History, (New York: P. Long, 1979)pp. 97-103.

6. A. E. Afigbo, Op. Cit.; p. 4007. J. N. Orji, Op. Cit., npp. 97-103.

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CHAPTER FIVE

CONCLUSIONS

The amazing capacity of these illiterate women for organized and concerted action made the colonial administration believe that they were being incited by their men. The truth was that the women did not receive support from their husbands. Men’s resistance to colonial rule was passive. It took the form of hiding away during tax collector’s visits to the village, giving false information or not providing any at all, refusing to surrender wanted persons, tax evaders and tax defaulters and refusing to participate in forced labor activities. This work has shown that it was women who came out boldly to challenge the white man rather than their men folk. They were at the vanguard of the revolts because of their unflinching belief in women invulnerability. This explains their boldness to confront the white man frontally. The women believed that they were immune from the white man’s brutality while engaged in collective demonstrations. This belief engendered the spirit of defiance against any threat from the colonial government. A Eziama Native court area in Nneato; Women confronted the District officer shouting “we will eat you like vultures”¹Some actions of the Colonial government threatened and provoked the women. The colonial government eroded women’s economic independence when they introduced direct taxation, interfered with the production, distribution and pricing of palm oil, palm kernel and other farm produce. The Revolts came to the World as a big surprise because the common belief then that tropical Africa was not yet ripe to manifest the principle of self-determination. By the 1920’s and 30’s colonialism in Nigeria was still at its infancy and Nigeria had produced very few educated men and women. Cobban asserted “national self-determination was out of the question in Africa”². The colonialists believed that the day was far distant when Africa

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would be capable of organizing independent states. That was the view of Arthur n. Cooks ³. As illiterates the women were not unaware of the burdens of injustice and repression. The 1925 Women Dancers called for a return to the traditional political way of life. In the 1930’s, they were more explicit in their demand that “all the white men should go to their country so that their land might remain as it was many years ago before the advent of the white man’s rule.4 By demanding this, they were expressing the desire to rule themselves as they were doing before the colonial era.The burden of taxation fell heavily on them although they were not taxed. Assisting their men to pay their taxes placed extra economic burden them. Family responsibilities increased any time their husbands were jailed for none payment of taxes. Women in the South-East demonstrated that they had a remarkable capacity for organization and united action. They were united in their fight against colonial rule irrespective of their tribes. In this respect, the women’s expression of nationalism was no different from such expression in Europe, Asia and America. Finally, the women’s Revolts in Igbo land served as a dramatic notice to the World that tropical Africa was equally conscious of their inalienable right to self-determination and independence. The history of Nigeria’s match to independence will be incomplete without any mention of the women of South-eastern Nigeria who blazed the trail when their men were sitting on the fence watching and contemplating what would be the fate of their wives. These women paved the way for the new men and women who carried the struggle further until Nigeria became independent in 1960.

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ENDNOTES

1. N.A.E.: Okidist. 9/1/156, Ow. 3931 Vol.112. Alfred Cobban, National Self- Determination, (Chicago:

University of Chicago Press , 1944), p. 1343. Arthur N. Cook, British Enterprise in Nigeria. (Philadephia,

1943), p.272.4. James S. Coleman, Nigeria: Background to Nationalism,

(Berkeley: University of California Press, 1958), p. 174

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

ARCHIVAL SOURCES

National Archives Enugu(hereinafter NAE) Minloc 17/1/44. Ogoja Prov. Annual report for 1939.

NAE. Okidist. 9/1/150. Ow 3931/Vol. II

NAE. Okidist. 9/1/56. Ow 3931/Vol.11

NAE. Op.391/1925.D.O. Agwu to Resident Onitsha Province. 12 March 1926 D.o. Bende to Owerri resident .1 Dec. 1925. D. O. Onitsha to Resident Onitsha Province 9 march 1926. D.O. Enugu to Resident Onitsha Province. 4 December 1925.

GOVERNMENT REPORTS

Aba Commission of Inquiry. Notes of evidence taken by the commission of Inquiry appointed to inquire into the Disturbances in the Calabar and Owerri provinces. December 1929. Lagos, 1929.

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