The Aba Women’s Riot – The Women Who Refused to be Silent!
An unforgettable moment in history was the rise of women who came together and dared to march in aggressive revolt against the British colonial administration’s policies in the southeast of Nigeria. These women made history as they rouse fearlessly in protest against the oppressive taxation policies implemented by the colonial government on their properties. It was not just a rebellion or riot as some may call it, it is the ever first admirable historical display of the feminist movement in Nigeria.
These women did not only speak for women but raised their voices for those men who were silenced by fear and poverty induced by the unmerited tax system. This protest did not only highlight the significant position of women as powerful contributors in domestic affairs but also as leading strategists in times of munity.
In 1929 a group of local market women in Owerri, the southern-east of Nigeria mustered up in rebellion against the colonial government. The riot was flamed by the imposition of an exploitive taxation policy on women, who were initially exempted from paying tax in the Igbo communities.
This riot is centered on the story of a widowed woman, Nwanyereuwa, in a town called Oloko. On the morning of November 18, 1929, Nwanyereuwa was processing palm fruit at the front of her house when she was encountered by an unexpected visitor, Mark Emereuwa. Mark was the representative of Okuga, a warrant chief who sent him on an errand to consult the census for the tax. He instructed her to count her family members and her livestock. knowledgeably that this means being taxed based on the number of the outcome, Nwanyereuwa became exasperated and replied saying, “did you count your widowed mother?”. This entails that women were originally exempted from paying taxes in the community. A lot was said that day and curses were exchanged, it ended with Nwanyereuwa discharging her palm oil on him.
Still bubbled with anger, she proceeded to the village square where she found other women who were out rightly criticizing the tax imposition and proceeded to narrate her incident. On learning about Nwanyereuwa’s experience, the women were encouraged to invite more women who shared similar experiences and anger for the ridiculous policy.
There were approximately ten thousand women who gathered on that day to stand against and stage a protest on the dismissal and trial of the warrant chiefs. This woman carried palm fonds as a symbol of emergency, and people were forbidden to harm those who held the fonds.
It was only a short moment till all the women were gathered in the compound of Okuga, “sitting on him” making his life miserable by ridiculing him with chants of war songs, and dancing around him till their demands were met.
With the protest spreading to Umuahia where government factories and offices were located, the British district feared the situation might become unmanaged. He acceded to the demands and Okuga was imprisoned for two years. Subsequently, the British district officer used the women leaders to contain the conflict, and it ended gradually.
However, the riot took a more violent turn in Aba which spread to parts of Abak, and Owerri. This began in Owerrinta after a warrant chief, Njoku Alaribe knocked down a pregnant woman during a disagreement, which led to a miscarriage.
The news of the assault reached many women who were appalled at the brutal action of the chief. On December 9, 1929, the women gathered to protest against the chief, saying he committed an act abdominal by costumes. As they marched into the compound of Njoku, they were met by two armed police officials, two women were killed and their leader was captured and detained in a prison in Aba.
On December 11, 1929, Unsatisfied with the outcome and angered by their loss, the women carried their protest to Aba. They raided and destroyed the Barclays Bank and invaded the prison in the rescue of their leader. European factories and court buildings were destroyed and government buildings were burned down at Utu Etim-Ekpo.
The root cause of the war is traced to the appointment of warrant chiefs by the colonial government, Lord Lugard through the system of indirect rule to oversee the administration of the communities. The system of indirect rule was aimed at governing the activities of each community through their local leaders, “warrant chiefs”.
However, within a few years, these appointed warrant chiefs became cruelly aggressive in the management of the communities. They resulted in oppressive rule by seizing properties, imprisoning anyone who blatantly criticized their authority and imposing authoritarian local regulations. Despite the anger directed towards the draconian rule of the warrant chiefs, many Nigerians knew the direct sources of their powers, the colonial administration.
These women were drowned in fear that the fiendish taxes imposed will navigate many market women out of business and drastically ruin the supply of food, as they are responsible for food supply in Owerri, Calabar and other cities. This fear, and anger led to the riot.
Notwithstanding the recorded death of about fifty women, the demonstration has an impact on the British administration system, the voices of the women who fought for their comfort and that of the women to come were heard. They did not only fight for change but also against any form of women’s oppression at all fonts. Such motivating, powerful and fearless in society today are at the forefront of the movement for change.
By Nmesoma Okwudili
Sources
https://www.open.edu/openlearncreate/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=160512§ion=2.7
https://guardian.ng/life/nwanyereuwa-the-woman-behind-the-tactical-aba-womens-protest/
https://editor.guardian.ng/life/nwanyereuwa-the-woman-behind-the-tactical-aba-womens-protest/