Nigeria, 105Years Ago…1
Former Governor of Cross River State, Mr Donald Duke, has a great deal of archival materials and enjoys discussing historical issues. Last week, he sent me a treasured publication that speaks to our country’s past and may help explain some of the challenges we grapple with today. ‘The Nigeria Handbook 1919 (Issued with the approval of the Nigerian Government)’. Compiled by A.C. Burns of the Central Secretary’s Office, Lagos, the publication contains ‘Statistical and General Information respecting the Colony and Protectorate’ in the years preceding 1919. It was printed by the Government Printer in Lagos. “Please read page 128 to 134 on education and health but generally, an interesting read,” Duke had written in the message he sent me.
The moment I received the 304-page handbook, I knew straightaway that I would go beyond the area highlighted by Duke. And having read the entire publication, I am aware that there are aspects that could exhume ancient prejudices and animosities. But that is not my interest. I am more concerned by what we can learn about Nigeria of the past. Without history, according to the opening statement of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Social Science website, “a society shares no common memory of where it has been, what its core values are, or what decisions of the past account for present circumstances.” remarked in a follow-up message, “We were And without such historical knowledge and just a business entity to the British.” That’s inquiry, “we cannot achieve the informed, generous. At least business entities have legal discriminating citizenship essential to effective standing. Nigeria was just their possession! participation in the democratic processes of The handbook had this to say on the governance.” country’s history prior to colonialism: “The
Divided into 21 chapters with nine history of Nigeria as a whole, prior to the appendices and 11 supplementary documents, advent of the British, has not been written, the conclusion I drew after completing the and it is sufficient here to observe that there publication is that for the British to extract existed several powerful kingdoms in the maximum benefit from their colonial north, which, owing to the Mohammedan exploitation, they adopted a divide and influences, had attained to a certain degree of conquer approach between Northern and civilization, while in the south, few of even Southern Nigeria. Since no conscious efforts such kingdoms as existed had advanced much at nation building were made by post-colonial beyond a primitive barbarism.” From here, leaders in the country, it is also no surprise the handbook provides interesting insights that we continue to be dogged by mutual about the history of Lagos, as well as that of ethno-religious suspicions that hinder the The Protectorate of Rivers, the Niger Coast peace and progress of Nigeria. But I should and Benin, the formation of the Nigerian not get ahead of myself. My first curiosity Regimen for the First World War, completion was the identity of A.C. Burns, listed as the of the railway etc. compiler. My online search yielded this: “Sir Let’s take the account of events preceding Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns (9 November the amalgamation of Northern and Southern 1887 – 29 September 1980) was a British civil Nigeria which occurred five years before the servant who rose through the ranks to become publication: “While the southern portion of governor of several colonies… He served in the Nigeria was being brought under the control Leeward Islands from 1905 to 1912 and then of the British Government, the country to became Supervisor of Customs in Nigeria. In the north was being developed by the Royal 1914, he enlisted in the West Africa Frontier Niger Company which had been granted its Force. He served in the Cameroons Campaign charter in 1886. Treaties were made with the and became Adjutant of the Nigeria Land native chiefs, and trading and administrative Contingent. Burns was Private Secretary to stations established. In 1897, Nupe and Ilorin Sir Frederick (later Lord) Lugard and then were subdued, and the same year the legal Huge Clifford during their times as governors status of slavery was declared abolished of Nigeria.” throughout the territories of the company.
The handbook opens in Chapter One with A conflict between the British and French the ‘Geographical and Historical’. The first troops seemed imminent, but an arrangement paragraph characterizing our country jolted me was at last come to and the boundary settled. from the start: “The Colony and Protectorate On 1st January 1900, the transfer of the Niger of Nigeria is the largest of the British West Company territory to the Crown took place; African possessions, its approximate area these territories becoming the Protectorate of being 335,700 square miles, or nearly three Northern Nigeria, with Colonel Lugard as times that of the United Kingdom.” As Duke the first High Commissioner. The Emirates
THISDAY Newspapers Limited. of Kontagora, Yola, Bauchi, Borno, Kano and Sokoto were subdued in turn, and a rising at Satiru in 1906 was suppressed. Numerous minor expeditions against truculent pagan tribes were also undertaken.”
The narrative in Chapter Three, ‘Population, Religion and Languages’, is enough to ignite another firestorm between the internet warriors of Yoruba and Igbo, “the two chief tribes in the Colony and Southern Provinces.” Since it is not my intention to stir inter-ethnic Wahala, I leave others to do that when they read the handbook. Meanwhile, the total population of Nigeria in 1919 was put at 16,393,000 with 166,000 within the colony (Lagos), 7,690,000 in Southern Provinces and 8,537,000 in Northern Provinces. Incidentally, the population of the United Kingdom that same year (1919) was 19,559,000. This means their population at the time exceeded that of Nigeria by more than 20 percent! We have since reversed those statistics. While the estimated population of UK today is 67,691,439, that of Nigeria is 229,152,217--more than tripled theirs despite the wide disparity in our economic conditions. I know some would rather live in denial about our largely unproductive population but it’s a reality we must, at some point, come to terms with.
In Chapter Four, ‘Constitution’, there is a piece of information that I found quite surprising. After highlighting the process that led to the 1914 amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria, the handbook then states, “The present headquarters and place of residence of the (Colonial) Governor is Lagos, which is also the headquarters of the Colony and of the Southern Provinces. The headquarters of the Northern Provinces is Kaduna which has also been selected as the future Capital of Nigeria.”
This is the first literature to reveal that Kaduna was ever penciled down by the British as a future capital city for the country. I have also further researched this and cannot find such information anywhere. Yet, this is authoritative despite the disclaimer in one of the opening pages: “This Handbook is not an official publication but is issued with the approval of the Nigerian Government.” Compiled by Lugard’s private secretary and printed by the Government Printer (and with approval), I wonder what could be more official. It is of course no surprise that the economy was designed for the benefit of the British to the detriment of Nigeria. Sample: “There have been five meetings of the Nigerian Council, in December 1914,1915,1916,1917 and 1918 respectively. At the second meeting, a resolution was passed pledging the Government of Nigeria to take over, after the war, six million pounds of the Imperial War Loan, which would be added to the public debt of Nigeria.”
By most historical accounts, the colonial administration faced fewer challenges in the North because of the well-established traditional ruler system. They were less successful in the southern part of the country which is evident in the handbook. “In some parts of Nigeria where native chiefs have shown a capacity to rule, and especially in the Northern Provinces, the Government exercises only an indirect control, the Resident assuming the role of an adviser. In other parts, however, where there is no strong native authority capable of governing, the rule of the political officers is a more direct one, but even in such districts a native judiciary with powers limited in proportions to its ability and integrity is made use of with results that are increasingly satisfactory.”
Chapter Five details ‘Trade and Customs’ and provides a comprehensive picture of the economy of the country at the time. “The trade of Nigeria in 1918 was nearly five times as great as it was in 1900 and it is still increasing. As the country is opened up and the means of transport improve, the raw material which is now inaccessible will be exported still in large quantities, the wealth and standard of living of the people will improve, and a larger amount of imports will be required to meet the increased demand…” Figures were provided in this highly revealing section that speaks to a relatively strong economy and balanced budgets at the time. In 1900, for instance, the amount for total imports was £1,735,244 while that for total exports was £1,886,883 with total trade amounting to £3,622,127. In 1913, total imports raked in £6,331751 while £7,097646 was realized for total exports. The amount for total trade was £13,429397. In 2018, £7,423158 was realized from total imports with £9,511970 made from total exports. That year, £16,935,128 was made from total trade.
Nigerians have long lamented how Malaysia grew its wealth on the strength of palm seedlings from Nigeria. Details from the handbook say a lot: “The most important of these exports are palm oil and palm kernels which in 1918 were valued at £5,937526 which is over 63% of the total value of all produce exported during the year.” So, almost two-thirds of Nigeria’s export proceeds in 1918 came from palm oil and palm kernels. Today, we import these same commodities. Chapter Six, on banking, currency, weights and measures, is also very detailed. But readers can take this: “The natives are very suspicious of and are unwilling to be paid in coins of Queen Victoria’s reign and half-crowns of any date. Native currency in the forms of cowries, manillas, and brass rods is still used in some parts, but further importation is prohibited, and the abolition of such native currency is being gradually effected. Barter still prevails in the more backward districts.”
Readers will enjoy the chapters on ‘Climate and Rainfall’, ‘Shipping, Ports, and Internal Communications’ and ‘Law, Courts, Criminal Statistics, Police and Prisons’. But Chapter Eight, ‘Mines, Manufactures and Fisheries’, is another reminder of squandered riches. “The mineral wealth of the Northern Provinces of Nigeria is now an accepted fact, and tin mining industry has become of great importance. There is evidence that the existence of tin on the Bauchi plateau was known to the natives long before the advent of the British and they had smelted it on a small scale for many years. As long as 1885, this was known to the Europeans, but owing to the unsettled condition of the country no attempt at prospecting could be made…”
NOTE: Continued online