Studies in Southern Nigerian History

A Festschrift for Joseph Christopher Okwudili Anene 1918-68

Boniface I. Obichere

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2005
• ISBN:
  9781135781071
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

First Published in 1982. Nigerians on the whole have a strong sense of history and a rich heritage of historical traditions. This collection of essays is a contribution to the total effort of the study of the history of Southern Nigeria.

1
Introduction

Boniface I.Obichere

 

 

The study of African history in general and of the history of Nigeria in particular has come of age. Many Nigerian historians are at present engaged in the study of various aspects of the history of their country. Political, economic, social, colonial, and intellectual history are now receiving the attention of researchers and students. Both micro and macro history deserve further study, analysis, and interpretation. Professional historians in Nigerian universities are in the vanguard of the present phase of meaningful activity in the study of Nigerian history. Teachers of history in schools and colleges and amateur historians in towns and villages are also contributing their share to the study of the history of Nigeria. Nigerians on the whole have a strong sense of history and a rich heritage of historical traditions. This collection of essays is a contribution to the total effort of the study of the history of Southern Nigeria.

The study of political history remains a continuing challenge. The first attraction in this sphere of activity is the study of the large kingdoms and states as well as the study of the large non-centralized ethnic groups. The history and ethnography of Benin, Oyo, Sokoto, Kanem-Bornu, Nupe, Tiv, Igbo, and Efik have received much attention from Nigerian and foreign scholars. However, the history and ethnography of small-scale societies deserve to receive the searchlight of objective scholarship. These societies are less glamorous than their centralized neighbours, however, this does not mean that the study of their history will be less rewarding than the study of the splendour of the Bronze Age of Benin history. In Southern Nigeria, for example, small-scale societies such as the Anang, Ekoi, Gwari, Afemai, Igala, Ogoni, Ijaw, Itsekiri, and Urobo need to be studied in greater detail. On the other hand, the rather marginal societies of the Yako, Ugep, North-east Yorubaland, and the Niger Delta should not be ignored.

The time has come for Nigerian historians to devote their energies to the study of societies other than their own. The universities in Nigeria have tended to encourage parochialism in historical research. One only hopes that this was a phase in the development of the overall research plan of these universities. The diversity of political organization and government in the various types of states should provide rich material for comparative analysis. The large number of monographs that have been produced by Nigerian historians on the political history of Southern Nigeria have collectively made a substantial contribution to our knowledge of the history of this area. However, we need more work, more monographs, and more comparative studies. Historians, teachers of history, and students of history should not rest on their oars but should accelerate the pace of historical research and writing in the decades ahead.

The study of the economic history of Nigeria is not as developed as the study of Nigerian political history. The works of Dr Anthony G.Hopkins, Mr Richard Ekundare, Dr Walter I.Ofonagoro, Dr Enoch A.Anyanwu, Dr Austin M.Ahanotu, Dr Felicia I.Ekejiuba, Dr Cletus E.Emezi, Prof. A.E.Afigbo, Prof. Robert Gavin, Prof. Bolanle Awe, Prof. K.O.Dike and Dr David Northrop may be cited as examples of major and detailed studies of the economic history of Southern Nigeria.

The pre-colonial economic history of Nigeria has hardly been scratched on the surface despite the great possibilities and problems posed by such a study. The mode of production, the systems of trade, the role of markets, and the system of exchange deserve thorough study. There are the areas of crop development, the history of subsistence agriculture, land ownership, slavery and the slave trade which have not yet been fully studied. Internal and domestic slavery should be studied with the same intensity and rigour as the trans-Saharan and the trans-Atlantic slave trades. The economic developments that occurred as a result of the arrival of Europeans in 1471 should receive as much attention as possible. The development of cash crops, mining, the origins of the division of labour in our societies, and specialization of economic activity are attractive subjects for further investigation. In this context, the differences between the seasonal division of labour and the sexual division of labour should be investigated. The growth of professions (smiths, weavers, craftsmen, potters, tanners, dyers, and barbers) in pre-colonial times needs to be studied in the various societies of Nigeria. Agricultural patterns and development in the forest belt, the savannah, and in arid lands call for detailed investigation and analysis. A thorough understanding of these subjects may prove to be a valuable asset in the present search for the diversification and expansion of Nigerian agriculture. The study of pre-colonial institutions is a challenge which must be taken up by Nigerian scholars.

The economic history of Nigeria under colonialism is a subject of considerable significance. The wealth of data for the study of this period should make it an attractive field. In the analysis of this data hackneyed generalizations and imperialistic stereotypes should be neglected. New sets of questions should be posed which will lead to meaningful analysis of the data available for the study of the colonial period. The development of economic dependence as a result of colonial legislation and the needs of the metropolitan industrial complex should engage the attention of researchers in order to discover ways and means of breaking that dependence in the contemporary context.

The growth of the infrastructure of the colonial economy involved the building of ports, railways, roads, and new towns. British companies monopolized the export-import trade. Indigenous merchants were driven out of business with the aid of imperialistic legislation. Certain laws and ordinances made it impossible for Nigerians to compete with the expatriate firms. Despite the imperialistic barriers, Nigerian entrepreneurs and pioneers stuck to their guns and participated in the colonial economy. British and European firms such as John Holt Ltd, the United Africa Company, Patterson-Zochonis, United Trading Company, the Compagnie Française d'Afrique Occidentale (CFAO), and the Société Commerciale de L'Ouest Africaine (SCOA) controlled the franchises and appointed agents according to their whims and caprices. East Indians were encouraged to take a leading role in the retail and wholesale trade. Greeks, Lebanese, and Syrians were all given better opportunities for participation in the colonial economy than Nigerians. The development of companies such as Mandilas and Karaberis, K.C.Chellaram, and Bhojsons should be studied in the context of the colonial economy.

The growth of the money economy and the introduction of the various currencies from cowries and manillas to European coins and notes in different parts of Nigeria deserve investigation. Shipping, and especially the role of the Elder Dempster Lines, Adolf Woermann Lines (Hamburg), and the French lines, formed an integral part of the colonial economy. Tariffs and customs duties in Nigeria from the nineteenth century to the present have not been systematically studied and analysed. The economy of Nigeria since independence should not escape the scrutiny of scholars. What advantages, if any, have resulted from the economic development plans that have been put together in Nigeria since the 1950s? What has been the impact of foreign, economic, and technical assistance?

The rapid development of the oil industry appears to the common man as an overnight miracle. Researchers should delve into the origins of the oil industry in Nigeria, beginning with the colonial government proposals and geological reports since 1900. The accelerated search and exploration for oil in Southern Nigeria in the years before the Second World War deserve to be documented. The activities of the Shell Oil Company in Eastern Nigeria up to 1939 deserve careful analysis and study. Palm oil and crude oil have played significant roles in Nigeria's economic development. Nigerian economists should, therefore, subject these industries to the searchlight of their craft and expertise.

The study of social history has just begun to receive attention in Nigeria. Professor I.A.Akinjogbin has initiated and pioneered a volume on this aspect of Nigerian history and his effort will no doubt generate even more interest in this area. This volume contains several essays which are devoted to the various dimensions and aspects of Nigerian social history. The study of society and manners should go hand-in-hand with the study of the politics and politicians. The growth, the philosophy, and the psychology of Nigerian education are also an integral part of Nigerian social history. All levels of education from the kindergarten to the university deserve detailed study not only for historical satisfaction but also to provide a guide for future action in educational planning. Professor A.Babs Fafunwa has made a good beginning in this field and the work of Dr B.O. Ukeje is a contribution. Why has there been a very low regard for technical education? Why have vocational and technical schools traditionally attracted very few if any of the brightest students?

The press is a central topic in the discussion of social history. The daily, weekly, and monthly newspapers and magazines of Nigeria are invaluable sources of evidence for the study of social history. Journalists and their perceptions of the society in which they lived and worked deserve rigorous study.

Law, lawyers, and the Nigerian society are also interesting subjects for study. Legislation as an aspect of social engineering in Nigeria has not been given the attention it deserves by Nigerian scholars. The police and law enforcement institutions and the judiciary are an integral part of society. Professor T.N. Tamuno's pioneering work on the role of the police force in Nigerian society deserves mention here. However, more work is needed in this area of the study of law and order. The civil and criminal codes of law need to be examined and their relevance to Nigerian society needs to be questioned objectively. Crime and punishment and the limits of criminal sanction should be examined and assessed dispassionately.

The social institutions of Nigeria deserve our continuing attention. The family as the building block of society deserves more scholarly attention than has been given to it by foreign anthropologists and ethnographers. The institutions of marriage, the extended family, and the variations of these in different parts of Nigeria deserve a prominent place in the study of Nigerian social history.

One aspect of Nigerian society which has attracted the attention of several scholars in the recent past is the new middle class elite. Professor Hugh Smythe and Dr Mabel Smythe raised this discussion to a new level in 1960 with the publication of their book, The New Nigerian Elite. Recently, Professor E.A. Ayandele reopened the question of the study of the Nigerian elite by his controversial and stimulating book, The Educated Elite in the Nigerian Society (Ibadan, 1974). Some of the generalizations made by Professor Ayandele should excite some Nigerian social scientists and galvanize them into intellectual activities concerned with the study of the Nigerian elite.

The role of education and money in upward mobility deserve further scrutiny. The new morality and the apparent ruthlessness of the elite are social phenomena that should receive the attention of social scientists. The urban areas in Nigeria have generated not only a new breed of Nigerians but also a new type of social life. With the rise of discotheques, night clubs, and the drug culture has come a new brand of popular music which is indigenously Nigerian. Who are these musicians? Who composes the lyrics of their songs for them? It is common knowledge that most of the leading popular musicians compose their eulogies of the moneyed class and the elite extemporaneously as they are charged up by the deafening electronic sounds of their band and the dynamics of the group and audience to which they are playing.

The whole question of sport as social history has yet to receive the attention of Nigerian researchers and students. Nigeria has produced many world class sportsmen in the area of athletics, boxing, football, and even horse-racing. We need substantial biographies of our sports heroes such as Hogan ‘Kid’ Bassey, Dick Tiger (Dick Ihetu), and Nojim Maiyegun and numerous others. The important role played by the creation of the Grier Cup and the Hussey Shield competitions in 1933 in secondary school sports deserves detailed study. Nigeria's participation in the Olympic Games began in Helsinki in 1952. What has been the development in Nigeria's Olympic teams since then? Who have been the athletes and what has been the measure of success that has attended their efforts? The study of sports as social history will yield comparative data for the study of the relationships between Nigeria and the various neighbouring West African states that have engaged in sports competition with Nigeria.

The history of ideas and their development has always been a fascinating aspect of the study of any society on earth. The intellectual history of Nigeria, therefore, should not be neglected. Nigerian philosophers, writers, journalists, and politicians have provided us with the raw materials for the study of Nigerian intellectual history. Professor Donatus Nwoga has written an incisive essay on some aspects of the development of ideas from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Professor Ayandele's recent book on ‘Holy’ Johnson could be cited as an example of what is possible. It should be mentioned here that Dr Fred I.A. Omu of the University of Lagos has spent considerable time and effort on the study of the Nigerian press and the intellectual history generated by Nigerian journalism. Nigeria has produced men who have written down their ideas. Some Nigerian authors have written several books from which an analysis of their thoughts and ideas could be undertaken. They have, as it were, thrown down the gauntlet for Nigerian scholars and intellectuals.

The religious history of Nigeria is an exciting field of endeavour. Several excellent books have been written by Nigerians on some aspects of religious history. However, more work needs to be done with reference to Animism, Christianity, and Islam in Nigerian societies. The study of Animism should not be confined to ritual and magic as the anthropologists have done in the past. This study should now focus on the cosmology, the annual calendar, the festivals, and the philosophy of the religious beliefs of the people. The study of the occult should examine the varieties of fraternities and secret societies and their role in social control in the societies they serve. The need for more research in religious history was recently emphasized by Professors J.F.A.Ajayi and E.A. Ayandele in a significant article published in the Journal of African Studies in 1974.

The chapters in this volume have been grouped under the convenient headings of political, economic, and social studies. There is no effort here at a systematic, chronological history of Southern Nigeria. Our intention is to demonstrate the vast possibilities that exist for those interested in the study of the history of Southern Nigeria in particular or the history of Nigeria as a whole. The most commonly published and discussed aspects of the political history of Southern Nigeria have been left out. There are no studies in this volume of the very well known kingdoms. The essays in economic history are eye-openers to university students and other researchers interested in this field of endeavour. The essays grouped under social studies illustrate the variety of subjects that await detailed study by Nigerians and others interested in the history of Nigeria.

It is hoped that this volume will underscore the need for vigorous and rigorous intellectual efforts in the future in all the areas and aspects of the history of Nigeria. The realization of this hope will be enhanced by the publication of Groundwork of Nigerian History which is now in preparation and to which several scholars have contributed significant chapters.

2
Joseph Christopher Okwudili Anene: 1918–68

E.A.Ayandele

Joseph Christopher Okwudili Anene devoted more than a third of his life to sustained and continuous historical scholarship, successively as postgraduate researcher, lecturer, author and Professor and Head of the Department of History of two Nigerian universities. His hard-way ascent of the academic ladder is, perhaps, the best testimony of the man as a scholar—ever unsparing himself in his unstinted devotion to learning, ever responding to challenges of the kaleidoscopically changing milieux of the colonial and post-colonial eras in which he was called to cut his niche as a doyen of Nigerian history.

Joseph Anene was born in Onitsha on 15 September 1918, a native of Abude village in Nando in Anambra State, some sixteen miles from Onitsha. His father was one of the earliest fruits of the evangelistic effort of the Holy Ghost Fathers, becoming informally but effectively literate to the point of being employed in the Marine branch of the Nigerian Police Force; his unlettered mother, who is still alive, was the first of five wives and is a devout Catholic. It was in the commercial town of Onitsha, for decades the intellectual vanguard of Igboland, that Anene received his formal education: primary in Holy Trinity School and post-primary in Christ the King's College (then a four-year secondary school), and in St Charles Training College, of which he was a foundation member. By 1937 he had qualified as a Grade II Teacher and six years later as a Grade I Teacher in mathematics and history, this apart from excelling in the London Matriculation examination. He was never an un dergraduate, a point worth bearing in mind when comparing him with K.O.Dike and S.O.Biobaku, with whom he shares the honour of being one of the first generation professional historians in Nigeria. As an external candidate he passed the examination for the Intermediate BA of London University in 1946 and three years later passed the BA Honours in history. He achieved these successes by assiduous studies and by indulging in punitive habits like putting his legs in cold water to fend off sleep. Rather than rest on his oars as a graduate in a society in which graduates were few and far between, Joseph Anene shook off the dust of Nigeria and went to Britain for postgraduate studies.

The next four years saw him in Cork and London Universities, completing his MA dissertation in 1952, after which he spent another year doing professional postgraduate training in education. In 1954 he joined the staff of the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan Branch (nucleus of the University of Ife) as Lecturer in History where he was the only Nigerian academic on the staff. He remained there until 1956 when he transferred to the Department of History at University College, Ibadan.

Any analysis of Anene should begin with his teaching career. From 1938 until his death thirty years later, he never contemplated a different career. A born teacher, he was exceptionally kind, infinitely patient, painstaking, and dedicated. He was affectionate, humorous, and magnificently warm-hearted. It was his belief that no greater service could be given in a society like Nigeria's than participation in the moulding of the minds of young men and women, the future leaders of New...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Full Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Contributors
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Joseph Christopher Okwudili Anene: 1918–68
• Political Studies
• Economic Studies
• Social Studies
• Selected Bibliography
• Index