History and The Niger Delta: OiL Politics and Culture Festschrift in H o n o u r of Professor Samuel Ovuete Aghalino Editors Chukwuma C.C. Osakwe L. E. OdehUNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY © Chukwuma CC Osakwe, Lemucl E Odeh. All rights reserved. No pari o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval System, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission o f the Publisher. The Editors and Publisher are not responsible for the content o f third party internet sites. Publishers: Nigerian Defence Academy Publishers ISBN: Hardcopy: 978 - 978 - 982 - 592 - 9 E-copy: 978 - 978 - 982 - 593 - 6 Printed and Bound in Nigeria Using environmentally sustainable paper materials By Pyla-Mak Publishers Ltd. Kaduna, Nigeria. Tel: 08023633763 ii UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY CONTENTS Acknowledgements iii Foreword I iv Foreword II vi Contributor’s xv SECTION A: ■\ NAMISM OF NIGER DELTA HISTORY, OIL, ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT 1 1. Professor Samuel Ovuete Aghalino: An Encounter with the Gown and the Town Orji Boniface Ifeanyi and Oren Ajiri Joseph 3 2. Oil Politics in the Niger Delta since the 19th Century Chris B.N. Ogbogbo and Fidelis Enang Egbe 9 3. From (Palm) Oil to (Crude) Oil: The Changing Phases of the Niger-Delta Oil Economy Aboyeji Adeniyi Justus 25 4. Political Developments of Western Niger Delta: A Historical Survey From the Earliest time tili 1960 Awofisayo Oladipupo Albert,Fakayode Michael Folusho and Onaolapo Foluso Anna 49 5. The International Relations of the Niger Delta City States, AD 1500-1900. Keke Reginald Chikere 65 6. Crude Oil Exploration and its Ecological Impact on the Indigenous Economy of the Eastem Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. Odeigah Theresa Nfam 87 7. An Exegesis of Agriculture, Oil And Corruption in Nigeria: A Parable of the Golden Goose and a New Bride Osho, Osaretin Akinola 101 8. Pre-Colonial Economic Relations between the Isoko and Her Neighbours: A Lesson for Contemporary Niger Delta. Uwomano Benjamin Okpevra 117 ix UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY 9. Development of Underdevelopment of the Rieh Oil Niger Delta Region in Nigeria. A Paradox of Parody Chinnah, Promise Chinwe 133 10. Oil and Environment Sambo Joses Garuba 153 11. The Environment and Oil Activities in Nigeria: An Impact Assessment of Oil Exploration and Exploitation on Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region, 1956-2016 Eduvwie Avi Nyerohwo and Ozinna Tochukwu Ntukogu 167 12. The Niger Delta and Nigerian Economy: Transition From Agrarian to Oil Economy: Some Matters Arising Aboyeji, Oyeniyi Solomon 185 SECTION B: NIGER DELTA ECOFEMINISM 197 13. Oil and Gender Vulnerability in Niger Delta during Conflict in the Nigerian Fourth Republic Orji Ifeanyi Boniface and Asenebi Henry D. 199 14. Remembering Edimini Kambasa: The First Queen from the Niger-Delta Zara Emmanuel Kwaghe and Amin Zaigi Ngharen 213 15. Women And Conflict In The Niger Delta Bridget Oghale Omoruyi and Mary Uhunoma Isibor 227 16. Women in the Face(s) of Niger Delta Conflicts: A Human Security Analysis, 1999-2009 Haruna Tsingari Warasini 241 SECTION C: PETRO-VIOLENCE: STATES, FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS AND MULTINATIONALS INTERVENTIONS IN THE NIGER DELTA 257 17. Assessment on Niger Delta Conflict: Rethinking the Situation, Drivers and Solutions Adewale Adepoju and Ogunsakin Oluwasegun Dare 259 x UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY 18. Issues and Discourse Surrounding Institutional Frameworks for Environmental Remediation in the Niger Delta Area: 1992-2020 Olubiyo Kolade Gabriel and Mahmud Mohammed Momoh 275 19. From Resource Curse to Blessing: Options for Sustaining Peace in Post-Amnesty Niger Delta James Okolie-Osemene 295 20. An Appraisal of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s Responses to Agitations, Conflicts and Crises in the Niger Delta Region from 1960 to 2016. Julius O. Unumen and E. C. Emordi 311 21. Petro-Violence and The Nexus Between Poverty and Environmental Pollution In The Niger Delta NseobongNkanga 327 22. Niger Delta Community and The Bürden Of Oil Industry: A Case Study Of Oloibiri Ekine Euphemia and Yiolokun Isaac Babatunde 341 23. Another Failed Promise or another Food for the Boys?: Oil Spillage, Impacts and (Un)Cleaning-Up Responses in Ogoni Land, Niger Delta B. O. Ibrahim 355 24. Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Resource Transparency and Niger Delta Crisis (2004-2019) Yemisi Olawale I. 369 25. Rethinking Developmenia! Challenges in the Operations of Multinational Oil Corporations in Nigeria’s Delta Region Alex Amaechi Ugwuja and Nwachukwu Obiakor 389 26. Gas Flaring and the Prospect of Chinese International Oil Companies (IOC) in the Niger Delta Region Odeh. L. E., and Oyekanola. A. K. 405 XI UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY SECTION D: YOUTH RESTIVENESS, MILITANCY ANDPOPULAR CULTURE IN NIGER DELTA 421 27. Tackling Youth Restiveness in the Niger Delta Region through Holistic and Sustainable Empowerment Models Angela Ajodo-Adebanjoko 423 28. Piracy as a Land Based Crime: An Assessment of Piracy In the Niger Delta region of the Gulf of Guinea Udeagbala Lawrence Okechukwu and Ubong Ituen Ituen 439 29. The Implication of Pidgin English in Teaching and Leaming in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria Uchechukwu Orji and Ifunanya Ichie 559 30. Oil Business, Youth Restiveness and Militancy in the Niger Delta Region of Nigeria Shuaibu Ibrahim and Bern Japhet Audu 463 31. Niger Delta Poetry: Trauma, Blues and Bibliotherapy Emmanuel Babatunde Omobowale and Stephen Ese Kekeghe 481 32. Cultism beyond Campuses: A Historical Analysis of Street Cultism in Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State Boge, Faruq Idowu and Nnaemeka Uwakwe Itiri 505 33. The Heroes of the Niger Delta in Postcolonial Populär Culture Stephen Ogheneruro Okpadah 523 34. Socio-Political Activism and Nationhood in the Poetry of Odia Ofeimun Peter E. Omoko ' 535 35. Education and Youth Empowerment in Nigeria: An Appraisal Ngozika Anthonia Obi-Ani and Mathias Chukwudi Isiani 553 36. Towards a Theatre of the Niger Delta Stephen Ogheneruro Okpadah 569 SECTION E: POLITICS OF RESOURCE CONTROL AND PEACE BUILDING INITIATIVES IN THE NIGER DELTA 5 81 37. The Demand for Resource Control by Nigeria’s Niger-Delta: Dimensioning the Hysteria Kenneth T. Azaigba 583 xii UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY 38. MOSOP and Rights Claims: Reflections on the Relative Deprivation Theory of Social Movements David Lishilinimle Imbua 595 39. Amnesty Programme and Militancy Resurgence in the Niger Delta: A Reassessment of Roadmap to Peace Building Ogunniyi Olayemi Jacob and Akpu James Onochie 613 40. Oil Politics and the Reinvention of Minority Identity in Post-Independence Nigeria’s Niger Delta Fred Ekpe F. Ayokhai 631 41. Screening the Risk Factors in Development Intervention and Peacebuilding Initiatives in the Niger Delta Region Mathias Jarikre 647 42. Oil Politics and Agitation for Resource Control in the Niger Delta, Nigeria: An Appraisal (1960-2015) Aregbesola Opeyemi Glory and Odeh Lemuel Ekedegwa 661 43. Land Tenureship and Oil Ownership in Nigeria: Legal Ambiguity and Economic Injustice in the Niger Delta Williams Ehizuwa Orukpe 679 44. International Reactions to the Niger Delta Agitations in Nigeria Ineke, Ugbede Joseph 699 45. Orogun Oil Producing Community in the Niger Delta: The Price of Oil Stakeholders Neglect Omonigho, Arnos Owem 715 46. Niger Delta: A Historical Appraisal of Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force in the Struggle for Resource Control. Akinwale Fehintola Tunbosun 735 47. Resource Control or Nation’s Control: Niger Delta Avengers and the Renewed Militancy in Nigeria during , the Buhari Administration Ajibola A. Abdulrahman, and Shola John Olarenwaju 757 xiii UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY 48. National Insecurity and Leadership Change: A Study of the Niger Delta Militants in Nigeria, 2009-2016 Afolabi, A. S., Thompson, O.O. and Alakija, I. O 775 SECTION F* INTER/INTRA-GROUP RELATIONS 789 49. Alami Sise: Interrogating Espionage System and Intelligence Gathering In Precolonial Ibadan War 1877-1893 Chukwuma C.C. Osakwe and Olawale Abayomi Adeniji 791 50. The ‘Global Land Grab’: Why Africa is (and May Remain) a Critical Target Akachi Odoemene 811 51. Dynamics of Communal Conflicts between Itu and Odukpani over Mbiabo Area Afaha Philip 827 52. Exploring the Dynamics of Ilorin War Weapons in the Nineteenth Century Alabi Oladimeji Mohammed 839 53. Colonialism and Taxation in Ewugi District of Agaie-Lapai Division Terhemba Wuam 859 54. Gains and Discontents of Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939-1960 Ayodele Samuel Abolorunde 881 55. Colonial Regime as Underdevelopment of Indigenous Beverage Industries in Nigeria Nwosu Ezekwesiri Okebugwu, Musa Helen and Nwaoha Chimaroke Chizoba 895 56. Impact of Colonialism on the Activities of Traditional Bone Setters in Ilorin Emirate, 1900 - 1960 Onagun Rasheed 907 57. Nigerian Workers’ Resistance to Neoliberalism, 1980-2015 Emmanuel Nwafor Mordi 923 xiv UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Gains & Discontents of Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 -1960 54 GAINS AND DISCONTENTS OF IMPORT CONTROL IN COLONIAL NIGERIA, 1939-1960 Ayodele Samuel Abolorunde, PhD Introduction From 1900 when colonialism began, up the end of the First World War in 1918, colonial structures in Nigeria were largely responsible for the formulation and implementation of import control policies through the directives of the metropolitan govemment. The need to protect the British economic interests compelled them to erect rigid import policy, especially the importation of Services of non-British firms into the Nigerian market during the war.'Reduction of the importation of these foreign firms during the First World War however, attracted the criticisms of the keen observers of the British economic policy which supported the principle of free trade as these commentators pilloried Britain.for its contradictory economic disposition in Nigeria vis-ä-vis its global economic strategy of free trade.* 2 The end of the First World War which ushered in the inter-war years necessitated the need for the change of rigid import structures in Nigeria through the empowerment importing firms of non-British origin to the detriment of African and Nigerian importers. 3The dominance of the foreign importing firms of the Nigerian market during the inter-war years further put the Nigerian importers in a disadvantaged position within the colonial economy.4 Firms such as John Holt and United African Company (U.A.C) through the economic predilection of the British towards them, dominated what was imported into the Nigerian market. 5The outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 further necessitated the involvement of the metropolitan bureaucracies in the implementation of import control in Nigeria. With the end of the war in 1945, the Ulukoju, A. Slamming the ‘Open Door’: British Protectionist Fiscal Policy in Inter-War Nigeria The Nigerian Journal o f Economic History Number 1, 1998pp.2-3 2Meredith, D. The British Govemment and Colonial Economic Policy, 1919-1939 Economic History Review, Second Series, Vol. 28 No 2, 1975, p.486 ,3Boahen, A.A. 1987. African Perspectives on Colonialism Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press, p.61 ^Falola, T., Mahadi, A. Uhomoibhi, M. And Anyanwu, W. 1991. History o f Nigeria: Nigeria in the Twentieth Century Lagos: Lean Africa P.L.C, p.39 BNjoku, N. 1987. ‘Trade with the metropolis: An Unequal Exchange’ inToyinFalola ed Britain and Nigeria: Exploitation or Development? London: Zed Books Limited, p.126 881 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY fluctuating trend of import control continued as London was keen on protecting her economic interests in Nigeria due to the pressure of decolonization. As the pressure of decolonization mounted, direct involvement of London in the formulation and implementation of import control policies in Nigeria dwindled as the British erected new structures that sustained import control through regionalism in Nigeria. The British used decolonization as a strategy of assuaging the global feelings against colonialism while at the same time protected their economic interests that were Strategie in Nigeria in an era of regionalism before the country’s independence in 1960. It is plausible to state that the fluctuating trend of import control policies in Nigeria was shaped by the unpredictability of the global economy. The British however understood the complex nature of these happenings as they responded to them through the erection of shifting import bureaucracies that were dictated by developments within and outside Nigeria. The imposition of import control policy by the colonial govemment in 1939 when the Second World War broke out carried with it some gains and discontents in Nigeria. It had some gains because the pre-war comprehensive dominance of foreign importing firms against Africans was obliterated completely as Obligation of import regulations rested on the shoulder of colonial bureaucracy in Nigeria. Technically, the shouldering of this Obligation by the colonial regime provided an appropriate platform for comprehensive regulation of imports through the initiative of an Umpire that is, the colonial regime. By implication, African or Nigerian importers’ position in the importing business transmuted from policy of exclusiveness as exhibited by the foreign importing firms before the war to policy of discrimination as somewhat displayed by the colonial administration when the war started. The end of the war in 1945 which ushered in the changing nature of import control prepared the ground for political developments that were embedded in the spirit of decolonization which took a centre stage in global consciousness. Consequently, these political developments led to regional System of govemment which took the nature of import control to another level in Nigeria. It is this that necessitates the choice of Gains and Discontents o f Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939-1960 as the title of this piece. Conceptualizing Import Control Import control can also be defined as a strategy of changing or sustaining the consumption pattem of a people through barriers against the importation of goods or a particular good into a country as enshrined in the economic policy of a state. Control on imports can be achieved through local production of goods hitherto imported into a country. It is an economic policy that determines the nature and dimension of economic interactions among States. Import control is an economic policy that can be used to achieve political objectives. Control on imports is an important aspect of trade relations among States. From the foregoing, import control is an economic instrument that nations use to pursue their economic objectives. It could be deployed to change the consumption pattem of a people History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture 882 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY through complete embargo on the importation of a good or certain goods. It can be used as an instrument for waging economic war. The Gains of Import Control in the Colonial Period The history of colonialism in Nigeria cannot be comprehensively discussed without examining the various phases of import control policies implemented by the colonial govemment. The dominance of the import sector by the foreign importing firms from the time effective colonization took place in 1900 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 was consistent with the colonial policy of raison de’tre because these firms represented the economic interests of the metropolitan govemments, Britain especially. The monopolization of the control of imports during the war by the colonial govemment in Nigeria before it ended in 1918 was a rational decision that emasculated the economic potentials of the axis enemies. By 1918 when the war ended, obligations conceming importation which were shouldered by the importing firms through colonial import control policies were not unconnected with the lack of pressure on the European powers conceming the decolonization of their territories in Africa, including Nigeria. This explains why the control on imports by the foreign importing during the inter-war years remained. With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the need for the control of imports by the colonial administration in Nigeria became an important strategy of the Allied Powers. It must be stated that the imposition of restrictions on imports during the Second World War had dimensions different from the First World War because the restrictions on imports were not only used to castrate the axis enemies economically but were equally used to prosecute the war. The prosecution of the war emanated from the British policy of import rationing of iron related materials and Steel into Nigeria while the needs and economic empowerment of the people were neglected. The importation of few goods into Nigeria during the war was bome out of the need to ensure the contribution of the country to the war through her exports of raw materials to the metropolitan economy. The end of the Second World War in 1945 necessitated the need for domestic production. This was unconnected with the difficulties which emanated from restrictions on imports during the war. By 1945, war time difficulties which compelled the colonial govemment to produce what can be produced locally provided the platform for possible domestic production. Technically, import control of the war time assisted in the reshaping of the economic prospects of Nigeria as the gains of war time restrictions manifested in the post-war era. It is worthy of note that the reshaping of the post-war Nigefian economy did not emanate from the colonial bureaucracy in isolation. It was a product of avalanche of opinions from the Nigerian public after the war. In its editorials of Saturday, October 6, 1945, the Daily Service berated the British policy of using the colonies as a constant source of raw materials for the metropolitan economy with Gains & Discontents o f Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 - 1960 883 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY the colonies having no prospects of evolving industries that can produce imported goods locally.6 The paper acknowledged the importance of Capital as a pre-condition for the establishment of industries and insisted that such capital can only be derived from the post-war expansion of trade such as imports but wamed that excessive imports from Britain was capable of destroying the prospects of local industries that evolved during the war.7 The criticisms which emanated from the public appeared to have fallen on the ears of the officials of both the metropolitan and the colonial govemments because of the initiation of the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts which served as post-war reconstruction of British colonies in West Africa. However, the drive for excessive production locally had not taken a centre stage in the consciousness of the colonial govemment by 1946. As post- war restrictions on imports continued to dwindle, chunk of gains from of post- war trade was spent on imports.8 By 1952, the colonial govemment responded to the call for local production when the Pioneer Industries Ordinance was enacted as the ordinance encouraged the establishment of new industries in the overall economic development of Nigeria. Industries that produced cement, rubber soled shoes, textile, plastics, glassware, matches, tyres and tubes and industries that produced consumables such as cabin bread biscuits, canned foodstuff and drugs were all granted pioneer Status.9 This quest for local production was further boosted when the Federal Govemment in 1955 set up a joint departmental committee on the Stimulation of local industries through the instrumentalities of protective duties against imported good in favour of local industries.10 By 1956, a considerable degree of financial assistance was offered to local industries by the Federal Govemment. This provided an appropriate template for these industries to increase the quality of their goods against imported goods that were competing with their products in the Nigerian markets while Purchasing Departments in the country were all mandated with local manufacturers.11 Relief was granted to imported raw, semi-processed or processed materials used by these local industries when the Industrial Development Import Duties Relief Ordinance of March, 1957 was passed into law by the Federal Kouse of History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture 6 Anon: Development of Home Industries The Daily Service of Saturday, October 6, 1945, p.6 7 Anon: Development of Home Industries The Daily Service of Saturday, October 6, 1945, p.6 8Anon: Free and Unrestricted Trade The Daily Service of Monday, March 25, 1946, p. 12 *NAI, PR/C8 The Role of the Federal Govemment in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria Sessional Paper No 3 of 1958 10NAI, PR/C8 The Role of the Federal Govemment in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria Sessional Paper No 3 of 1958 UNAI, PR/C8 The Role of the Federal Govemment in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria Sessional Paper No 3 of 1958 884 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Representatives in June that year.l2All these encouraged the diversification of the country’s economy because the establishment of these industries that produced goods that were hitherto imported provided employment opportunities for the citizenry, technical skill, managerial experience, reduction of the country’s dependence on imports of essential goods as these enhanced the value of Nigeria’s primary products through local processing.13 By 1958, tax holidays were granted to pioneer Companies through the Industrial Development Income Tax Relief Act as Companies which tied their minimum Capital of five thousand pounds within the economy enjoyed tax relief for an initial period of two years while those Companies that failed to retain or boost their investment Capital beyond five thousand pounds were denied tax holiday at the expiration of the initial tax holiday.14 However, the, Federal Government encouraged those industries that increased their investment capital from five thousand pounds to fifteen thousand pound and above an additional tax holiday that lasted between one to three years.15 The Discontents of Import Control in the Colonial Period Agitations against import control gained momentum during and aller the Second World War. By 1944, the displeasure of Nigerian as well as Afiican importers was further intensified through the media as these importers narrated their ordeal inherent in the quest for obtaining import licence in Nigeria. The importers berated the colonial regime for inadequate import permit which made it difficult for Nigerian importers to remain in business while their foreign counter parts continued to flourish during the war because Orders placed by African importers were slow in arrival based on discriminatory practice.16 These allegations were refuted by the Controller of Imports Mr. H. Wrench as he argued that the Import Control Office issued import licence based on past performance and that goods were not available in the Nigerian market because of shortage of supplies and constant need for shipping space for vital cargoes of war.17 The colonial govemment in its defence tried to downplay the discriminatory practice it was alleged to have demonstrated through exigencies of war time Situation while Gains & Discontents of Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 -1960 12NAI, PR/C8 The Role of the Federal Govemment in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria Sessional Paper No 3 of 1958 1JNAI, PR/C13, Federal Republic of Nigeria Statement on Industrial Policy, Sessional Paper No 6 of 1964 14NAI, PR/C13, Federal Republic of Nigeria Statement on Industrial Policy, Sessional Paper No 6 of 1964 1SNAI, PR/C13, Federal Republic of Nigeria Statement on Industrial Policy, Sessional Paper No 6 o f 1964 16Anon: Anyiam Deplores Plight of African Importers West African Pilot of 1401 of April, 1944 p.4 17Anon: Import Controller Says Paper Shortage Causes Restriction on Importing Books West African Pilot of 15,h April, 1944, p.3 885 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Nigerian importers believed that such explanation was unconvincing as foreign importers were treated fairly during the war than their African counterparts.18 The end of the war in 1945 vis-ä-vis the control on imports was accompanied by a lot of developments globally. One of such developments was the erection of the pillars of decolonization by various powers such as the United States and Russia. The policy of decolonization which took a centre stage in global consciousness partly compelled the colonial regime to appropriate the control on imports while the activities of various importing firms, foreign and indigenous were regulated by the colonial bureaucracy. While flexible import policy was erected in Nigeria after the war, the colonial govemment ensured that its import restriction policy was situated within the broad plan of economic recovery of the metropolitan govemment, except few instances of bureaucratic conffontation between Lagos and London. This plan of the metropolitan govemment was implemented through systematic negotiation of trade between Britain and other economic powers like the United States, India, Hong Kong and S weden. 19 The conditions attached to the post-war trade agreement between these countries and Britain were fulfllled through import control policy in Nigeria after the Second World War as London mounted pressure on Nigeria to allow the goods of these countries into the Nigerian market.20 This was Strategie on the pari of Britain because the flow of British exports into the markets of these countries after the Second World War was determined by the amount of exports of these countries into the Nigerian market. This explains why the expansion of local industries through production by the regions did not diminish imports substantially. This was due to the dominance of foreign Capital in Nigeria’s quest for local production against imports in the 1950s. Foreign Capital to an extent, shaped and determined the pattem of goods produced locally as local production went hand in hand with imports under flexible import policy of the post-war period. This assisted Britain to fulfill her own pari of the bargain in terms of exports of these countries into the Nigeria. Technically, the importation of foreign Capital into Nigeria under the disguise of expansion of local industries against imports was used as conspiratorial instruments between Britain and the foreign Capital which emanated from other countries apart from Britain. Britain in the face of this History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture 18Anon: Import Controller Says Paper Shortage Causes Restriction on Importing Books West African Pilot of 15* April, 1944, p.3 19See, Telegraph Message of the Secretary of States for the Colonies to the Govemment of Nigeria in NAI/DCI/36191/S: 221 Import Control: Goods from Sweden, 1948-1950. See also, NAI/ DCI l/l/4032/S:234 United Kingdom Trade Promotion Organizations in the United States and Canada, 1950-1951 20Telegraph Message of the Secretary of States for the Colonies to the Government of Nigeria in NAI/DCI/36191/S: 221 Import Control: Goods from Sweden, 1948-1950. See also, NAI/ DCI l/l/4032/S:234 United Kingdom Trade Promotion Organizations in the United States and Canada, 1950-1951 886 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Gains & Discontents o f Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 -1960 conspiracy systematically ensured that the fulfillment of her own part of the bargain through the exports of the countries mentioned into the Nigerian market did not relegate her own exports into her largest colony in Africa as her exports outweighed that of her economic allies. This explains why Lagos and Port Harcourt ports served as the hubs of imported goods into the country compare to other ports. This was done in order to ensure the flow and the pattem of imports into Nigeria with the possibility of monitoring the dominance of British exports into Nigeria after the war.21 The end of the war in 1945 did not obliterate this rhetoric of discrimination. In its editorial of Monday, 30th of July 1945, the Daily Service drew the attention of the metropolitan and colonial govemments to the precarious economic Situation of Nigerian importers who made unquantifiable sacrifice to the war efforts of the Allied Powers. 2“ This sacrifice according to the editorial made the importers to experience economic reverses without gradual plan and steady revival of their economic fortune after the war as these Nigerian importers remained as human tools of foreign capitalism while their foreign counterparts continued to expand economically23 It is instructive to state that the criticisms that trailed the flexible import policy of the post-war era were hinged on the fact that the flexibility was designed to drain cash liquidity from the Nigerian economy through the granting of export permits to the metropolitan manufacturers in Britain.24 This in the estimation of the Nigerian businessmen as well as the general public was an attempt by London to create market for British goods while foreign importers enjoyed this flexible post-war import restriction to the detriment of their Nigerian and African counterparts.25 Sensing the danger of being guilty of discriminatory practice, the Controller of Imports, S. Macdonald Smith issued a press Statement dated 1 l th of October, 1945 waming importers to disregard the news that the Defence Control of Imports had been revoked and that only goods covered by valid licences would be allowed into the country and goods without licence were liable to seizure.26 The position of the colonial govemment through the press release served as a strategy of refuting the allegation of huge exports of British goods into the Nigerian market under the policy of post-war flexible imports that favoured foreign importers. The shrugging off of the allegation of discriminatory practices 21See, Annual Abstract of Statistics of 1960 derived from Nigerian Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria. 22Anon: What About the African Traders? Daily Service of Monday, 30® of July, 1945, p.5 23Anon: What About the African Traders? Daily Service of Monday, 30® of July, 1945, P-5 24Anon: A Note of Waming to Importers The Daily Times of Friday, September 28, 1945, p.6 25Anon: A Note of Waming to Importers The Daily Times of Friday, September 28, 1945, p.6 26NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 887 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY inherent in the granting of import licence after the war through various memos and bulletins which emanated from the colonial bureaucracy did not diminish public discontents against the policy of colonial import control. By 1946, Nigerian importers expressed their displeasure about how ninety five percent of European importing firms held Main Merchant Licence used in importing goods that worth five hundred pounds with a wide margin of profits while their African and Nigerian counterparts were denied.2 Indigenous importers remembered with nostalgia how discriminatory practice was minimal at the Import Control Office when Mr. Barton and Mr. John McLagan were in the saddle as Controllers of Imports between 1941 and 1943.27 28 It must be added that the possession of Main Merchant Licence positioned the foreign importing firms as beneficiaries of post-war imports from Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal, United States and Britain and these imports were shrouded in secrecy in favour of these firms against Nigerian importers.29 The secret dimension was necessary due to the disparity between the value of Main Merchants Licence and Small Merchants Licence. Small Merchants Licence had a value of three hundred pounds with limited capacity for profits after using it to import goods were issued to African merchants while Main Merchants Licence issued to foreign importers with its five thousand pounds value can import Programme Goods with high profits enabled foreign importers to import more than their African counterparts after the war.30 This discriminatory practice was challenged by the African Merchants Association as association pressed the Controller of Imports to present the percentage of licences allocated to Non- African and African Merchants respectively for the importation of goods but the Office of Import Control declared that the issuance of Main Merchants Licence was discretionary.3' The displeasure of African importers in Nigeria about blatant disregard for equal opportunities available in the colonial import control was hinged on the strategy of ensuring the inflow of British goods into the Nigerian market.32 This Position appears plausible because the discriminatory practice enabled foreign importers to import goods from other parts of the globe apart from Britain. By 1948, the Association of Importers continued to receive avalanche of petitions from importers who could not clear their goods such as watches from South Africa due to colonial bureaucracy’s insistence on the possession of Specific Licence before the watches could be cleared.33 The colonial authority argued that History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture 27NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 28NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 29NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 3°NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 31NAI/4032/S:178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950 32Anon. Free and Unrestricted Trade The Daily Service of March 25, 1946, p.12 33Anon: The Law and The African Enterprise West African Pilot of Friday, February 20, 1948, p. 16 888 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY some of the importers used Quota Licence instead of Specific Licence to import the goods and that the importers’ argument that the goods were dispatched from South Africa before 31sl of December, 1947, the deadline for the expiration of the Quota Licence as a valid import licence for importation of goods from South Africa could not hold water.34The colonial regime further argued that its action was based on the advice of Colonial Office in London on the need to restrict importation of goods that were not needed for the recovery of post-war Nigerian economy and that such luxuries could slow down the recovery of the economy.35 The explanation of the colonial govemment was heavily criticized in the editorial of the Nigerian Observer of 14,h of May, 1948 as the paper ffowned at the punitive measure which the colonial import control carried.36 The paper questioned why import regulations circumscribed the rights of Nigerian importers to import from where they chose and that such violations were intolerable during the war not after the end of the war.37 The general feeling of the public was that import control in the post-war Nigeria was doing more harm than good to the country’s capacity for revenue generation and free trade while its abrogation was capable of empowering Nigerian importers whose state of squalor was perpetuated by the rigid import restrictions of the post war period.38 By 1950, the Nigerian public continued to express displeasure about how import requests of Africans, especially Nigerians were tumed down in favour of foreign importers whose unhindered influence within the colonial bureaucracy diminished the capacity of indigenous importers to compete with them.39 The failure of those importers who could not clear their goods based on the validity their import licence to claim these goods created the platform for their bankruptcy due to the repayment of loans obtained from their banks.40 When greater autonomy was granted to the regions in 1954, the three regional govemments exploited the opportunities bestowed on them by the Constitution to boost local production against imports. To this end, various Development Boards and Corporations were established to empower Nigerian importers whose importation of raw materials assisted greatly in the production of consumables and non-consumable goods. Sensing the importance of foreign capital, the regional govemments also embarked on joint establishment of industries such as cement, sugar and glass factories across the country as this was aimed at reducing the regions’ dependence on imports. The entrepreneurial risk Gains & Discontents ofImport Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 - I960 34Anon: The Law and The African Enterprise West African Pilot of Friday, February 20, 1948, p.16 35Anon: Colonies Wamed to Restrict Imports The Nigerian Daily Times of Wsdnesday, May 12, 1948 36Anon: Licence77n? Nigerian Observer of 14* May, 1948, p.18 37 Anon: Licence The Nigerian Ob Server of 14* May, 1948, p. 18 38 Bright, J.O. Away With Controls The Daily Comet of Friday August 20, 1948, p.9 39Anon: Import Licence Permits West African Pilot of Friday, June 2, 1950, p.4 40 Anon: Import Licence Permits West African Pilot of Friday, June 2, 1950, p.4 889 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY shouldered by these regions became a strategy of encouraging foreign Capital to remain within the Nigerian economy through the establishment of Industries that sustained local production against imports. Since this risk could not be shouldered by private locate investors, embarking on joint venture with foreign Capital became a necessity. In order to encourage local production against imports, various tax relief ordinances were enacted froml956 to 1958 in order to encourage the importation of raw materials, machinery and equipment that were essential to production of consumable and non-consumable goods in Nigeria with the possibility of reducing imports into the country. Powerful importing firms like U.A.C and John Holt equally keyed into the opportunities of these tax relief ordinances through the diversion of part of their capital into local production.41 The metropolitan govemment in London and other European capitals that supported foreign investment in Nigeria in the late 1950s ensured that the active involvement of Nigerians in local production against imports was whittled down through the monopolisation of investment opportunities by foreign business interests and their huge capital in the Nigerian economy.42This diversion of capital according to MrEgbu, who was undergoing apprenticeship on importation in 1959 in Port Harcourt further stifled the opportunities provided by tax relief to Nigerian importers and investors.43 Conclusion One may argue that the erection of import restriction by Britain in Nigeria during the Second World War vis-ä-vis its changing nature after the war was used to sustain the British war efforts as well as the revamping of the British economy after the war. Britain used her largest colony in Africa to navigate the complex and problematic global economic space of the post-war period through the instrumentality of import control. It must be added that the British succeeded in using Nigeria as a Strategie instrument of achieving their economic objectives in an era of colonialism due to the non-static nature of the import control policies. The fluctuation of the policies was determined by the colonial bureaucracies that were used in implementing import control policies in Nigeria. The post Second World War which ushered in the enactment of ordinances that accelerated the establishment of industries that were empowered by the colonial govemment to produce semi-finished goods and certain raw materials for industrial use did not launch the country on the path of full industrialization which a colony like Nigeria needed. What Nigeria as a colony gained was a mere expansion of industries which cannot be regarded as History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture 41Interview granted by Christopher Egbu, an importer. Age, 65. 5th of May, 2017 at Port Harcourt, Nigeria 42Interview granted by Ogburie Aloysius, an importer. Age, 84. 3rd of May, 2017 at Oguta, Imo State, Nigeria 43Interview granted by Christopher Egbu, an importer. Age, 65. 5th of May, 2017 at Port Harcourt, Nigeria 890 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Gains & Discontents o f Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 - 1960 industrialization but was at best, industrial process that was programmed to be terminated halfway for the benefit of the colonialist. The maturity of this industrial process into full industrialization would have defeated the whole essence of colonialism. It could be posited that the gains of import control in Nigeria during and after the Second World War were skewed for the benefits of the metropolitan economies outside Nigeria. The insensitivity of the colonial regime to the opprobrium which its import control policies attracted through public opinion revealed the economic broad plan of the British in their largest colony in Africa. This explains why import control was used as a raison d ’etre of the British colonial adventure in Nigeria. 891 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY History and The Niger Delta: Oil Politics & Culture References Primary Sources Oral Interviews Interview granted by Christopher Eg'bu, an importer. Age, 65. 5,hof May, 2017 at Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Interview granted by Ogburie Aloysius, an importer. Age, 84. 3rd of May, 2017 at Oguta, Imo State, Nigeria. Interview granted by Christopher Egbu, an importer. Age, 65. 5,hof May, 2017 at Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Newspapers Anon: Anyiam Deplores Plight of African Importers West African Pilot of 14,h of April, 1944. Anon: Import Controller Says Paper Shortage Causes Restriction on Importing Books West African Pilot of 15lh April, 1944. Anon: What about the African Traders? Daily Service of Monday, 30,h of July, 1945. Anon: A Note of Waming to Importers The Daily Times of Friday, September 28, 1945. Anon: Development of Home Industries The Daily Service of Saturday, October 6, 1945. Anon: Free and Unrestricted Trade The Daily Service of Monday, March 25, 1946. Anon: The Law and The African Enterprise West African Pilot of Friday, February 20, 1948. Anon: Colonies Wamed to Restrict Imports The Nigerian Daily Times of Wednesday, May 12, 1948. Anon: Licence The Nigerian Observer of 14,h May, 1948. Anon: Licence The Nigerian Observer of 14,h May, 1948. Bright, J.O. Away With Controls The Daily Comet of Friday August 20, 1948. Anon: Import Licence Permits West African Pilot of Friday, June 2, 1950. Archival Documents National Archives Ibadan /4032/S: 178 Import Control: Relation with Press, 1944-1950. Telegraph Message of the Secretary of States for the Colonies to the Government of Nigeria in NAI/DCI/36191/S: 221 Import Control: Goods from Sweden, 1948-1950. NAI/ DCI l/l/4032/S:234 United Kingdom Trade Promotion Organizations in the United States and Canada, 1950-1951. NAI, PR/C8 The Role of the Federal Government in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria Sessional Paper No 3 of 1958. 892 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Gains & Discontents o f Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939 - I960 NAI, PR/C13, Federal Republic of Nigeria Statement on Industrial Policy, Sessional Paper No 6 of 1964 See, Annual Abstract of Statistics of 1960 derived from Nigerian Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria. Secondary Sources: Books Boahen, A.A. 1987. African Perspectives on Colonialism Maryland: The John Hopkins University Press. Falola, T., Mahadi, A. Uhomoibhi, M. And Anyanwu, W. 1991. History o f Nigeria: Nigeria in the Twentieth Century Lagos: Lean Africa P.L.C. Edited Work Njoku, N. 1987. ‘Trade with the metropolis: An Unequal Exchange’ inToyinFalola ed. Britain and Nigeria: Exploitation or Development? London: Zed Books Limited. Journal Articles Meredith, D. The British Government and Colonial Economic Policy, 1919-1939 Economic History Review, Second Series, Vol. 28 No 2, 1975 Olukoju, A. Slamming the ‘Open Door’: British Protectionist Fiscal Policy in Inter-War Nigeria The Nigerian Journal o f Economic History Number 1, 1998. 893 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY