■ ■ v f Edited by: Akachi C. Odoemene Jacinta C. Nwaka Bashir O. Animashaun iMD ^ ^ F e s tsc r if t in Honour of Prof. C.B.N. Ogbogbo UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Published by LANUV Alpha Hall, G.A.T.l, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos. lanuv.enterprise@gmail.com. 08032395220 Book design by Olayiwola Azeez Cover design by Samuel Okhiulu © OdoemeneA.C, Nwaka J.C. & AnimashaunB.O. 2021 All Rights Reserved. No pari of this publication may be reproduced, retained or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any form of information storage or retrieval System, without the prior written permission of the Copyright owners. ISBN 978-978-998-491-6 Printed in Nigeria UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY mailto:lanuv.enterprise@gmail.com CONTENTS FOREWORD IX NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS XI ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS XV PROLOGUE XVI African History as Tradition: Chris Ogbogbo and the Quest for Nigeria'sFuture Toyin Falola SECTION ONE: ON THE NIGER DELTA CONFLICT AND RELATED ISSUES CHAPTERI 3 C.B.N. Ogbogbo: Tracing the Footsteps of an Icon Jacinta C. Nwaka CHAPTERII 22 Aspects of Illicit Activities in the Nigerian Maritime Environment Samuel O. Aghalino CHAPTERIII 45 The Niger Delta Crises, Its Roots in Ecological Philosophy and the Imperativeness of Ethnie Federalism Jim Ijenwa Unah CHAPTERIV 74 The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 Ayodele Samuel AbolorundeUNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY CHAPTERV 90 Amnesty for Niger Delta Militants: An Assessment A.O.D. Okoro CHAPTERVI 112 Politics in the Niger Delta: From Seif Determination to Resource Control (1966-2016) Abenabe Green Kevwe CHAPTERVII 132 A Historical Perspective on the Struggle for Development and Environmental Justice in the Niger Delta Bashir Olalekan Animashaun CHAPTERVIII 145 Women Icons on the Bench in the Niger Delta States of Edo and Delta, 1999-2010 Enibokun Uzebu-Imarhiagbe CHAPTER IX 170 Politicisation of Development Interventions or Securitisation of Development? An Appraisal of Government Intervention in the Development of the Niger Delta, 1999-2019 Samuel Segun Ojo CHAPTER X 198 The Economy of the Niger Delta Before 1956 Evelyn Onwaniban CHAPTER XI 210 Explaining the Nexus Between Government Policies on Resource Control and Insecurity in Nigeria, 1960-2020 Fidelis Enang Egbe CHAPTER XII 221 From Oil to Oil: A History of the Niger Delta Oil Economy, 1900- 2019 Shuaibu Ibrahim and Bern JaphetAudu vi UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY CHAPTERXIII 239 Colonialism and Nation-building: The Historical Imperative for the Niger Delta Unyime-Young Enobong Mfon CHAPTERXIV 252 Politics of Oil: A Critical Appraisal of Oil Exploration and Its Effects in Oguta LGAof Imo State UgoP. Onumonu and Daniel Olisalweze CHAPTER XV 273 Militant Insurgencies and the Niger Delta Crises: A Continuum of Violence Against Women Chukwuemeka Nwosu SECTION TWO: DISCOURSES ON THE HUMANI- TIES, AND POLITICS IN SOCIETY CHAPTER XVI 287 Bringing Back History: C.B.N. Ogbogbo and the Restoration of 'Memory Device' of the Humanities IsaacE. Ukpokolo CHAPTER XVII 301 Beyond the 'Return of History to Schools': Towards the Re-- invention of Historical Enterprise in Nigeria Akachi Odoemene CHAPTER XVIII 328 The Nature of Reality, the Fluidity of Knowledge and the Cent- rality of the Humanities Francis O. Egbokhare vii UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY CHAPTER XIX 351 Grassroots Politics in Africa: Addressing Democratic Practices in Nigeria Toyin Falola CHAPTER XX 382 Information Technology and Governance in Nigeria: Historical Perspectives and a Prognosis for the Future Yakubu Aboki Ochefu CHAPTER XXI 399 History, the Agitations for Restructuring and the Middlebelt: Some Deep Thoughts on Some Identity Issues in Contemporary Nigeria Okpeh Ochayi Okpeh CHAPTER XXII 420 Infrastructural Deficit and the Crisis of Development in Nigeria: AFailed Vision 20:2020 David L. Imbua and Joseph O. Ajor EPILOGUE 448 Historicizing Minority Agitations in the Niger Delta Up to 1995: A Critical Review Andy Oseloka Sawyer INDEX 455 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY Chapter IV The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 Ayodele Samuel Abolorunde Introduction The Strategie positioning of the Niger-Delta played important roles in the interaction of the people that occupied an entity that later became Nigeria. The people of this region were extremely conscious of its Strategie location and diverse human and materials resources and therefore exploited its potentials for the economic gains o f the region even before contact was made with the Europeans. The exploitation of geographical advantage by people or groups in a particular region has been the basis through which their survival was ensured. The difference inherent in geographical features positioned various regions in Africa, and various communities that later became Nigeria as specialists in the production of different food items. The unique economic features of the Niger-Delta propelled the various groups in the region to be involved in fishing and salt making from the sea and this production pattem was, to a large extent, conditioned by their physical environment.1 Since the Coastal people could not produce certain food items such as yam and maize, they depended largely on their forest neighbours that shared territorial boundaries with them .2 Geographical condition served as a catalyst which facilitated exchange. In Africa, exchange of goods based on geographical and Strategie advantage has always been the basis of interaction among various groups of various regions of the continent. As exchange continued unabated among various groups in Africa, expansion of 1 Reuben..K, Udo, '1980 ‘Environment and PeoplesofNigeriaA Geographical Introduction to the History ofNigeria' in Obaro Ikime Ed. Groundwork ofNigerian History. Ed. Ibadan: Heinemann Publishers PLC, 1980,pp.7-8 2 Since most communities in the delta were specialists in salt making, importation of salt by the communities of the forest region facilitated exchange between the Coastal States and the forest region. Within the delta region, the Gbaramutu Ijo of the westem delta and Basan of the central delta exchanged their salt with the people of the forest region. See, Obaro Ikime, 'The Peoples and Kingdoms of the Delta Province'In Ikime, Ed Groundwork ofNigerian History. p. 103 74 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making ofNigeria, 1885-1914 such exchange transmuted into trade which served as buying and selling between various groups belonging to different regions.3 It should be added that geographical advantage like the possession of huge mineral deposits such as salt, iron and gold assisted in the process of state formation and expansion of trade.4 In West Africa, Ghana and Mali Empires benefited immensely firom this geo- economic advantage at the peak of the Trans-Saharan trade in twelfth and thirteenth centuries respectively.5 As trade expanded between different communities belonging to different regions in Africa, importation and exchange became a necessity.6 The evolvement of import among various kingdoms and empires like Ghana and Mali necessitated the control of goods entering these empires.7 8 In Ghana Empire for instance, the king placed a tax of one dinar of gold for each load of Saharan salt imported into the empire and additional two dinars on each load of salt re-exported beyond the territorial boundaries of the empire.s The flexible import policy of the Ghana Empire on salt was consistent with the need to encourage the influx of scarce salt from North Africa via the Saharan trade. This explains the rigid position of the empire on the re-export of salt outside it. Since the Ghana Empire exchanged gold for salt from the Sahara, rigid barriers were erected against the importation of gold into the empire as the king took all nuggets of gold that is, a solid measure of the value of the imported gold as tax leaving just the gold dust for importation into the empire.9 Similar import restriction against the importation of gold into the Mali Empire was demonstrated as it insisted on the payment of gold nuggets to the mansa that is, the leader of the empire in the fourteenth Century.10 This rigid policy against gold importation into the empire was designed to 3 See, Kevin Shillington, 1989, History o f Africa Revised Second Edition London: Macmillan Publishers Limited, p. 51 4 Kevin Shillington, History o f Africa Revised 2"'' Edition.. .pp. 82&84 5 Ibid. 6 Trade between Western Sudan and North Africa provided the platform for the importation of Moroccan leather produced by Hausa and Madinga specialists in present Nigeria by North Affican traders. See, Walter Rodney, 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Washington: Howard University Press, p.48 7. Shillington, History o f Africa Revised, p.44-45. See also, E.L. Mendosa, 2002 West Africa an Introduction to its History, Civilization and Contemporary Situation California: California Academic Press, 2002, p.241 8 Kevin Shillington, History o f Africa Revised.. .p.84 9 Ibid, p.84 10 Ibid...p.84 75 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGER! AN STATE prevent the influx of gold into Mali as the major gold producer of the Western Sudan. The economy of the Western Sudanese States of Ghana and Mali got more developed and sophisticated as they attracted traders and travellers from far and near. Indeed, Arabs from North Africa poured into these empires through the Trans-Saharan Trade routes. The rulers of Ghana and Mali made the payment of duties on goods imported into their empires compulsory. This became a major means of revenue generation for these States as well as a tool of Controlling trade. This served as a strategy of erecting import policy that regulated the influx of goods into these empires. By the sixteenth Century, the Arabs and Mauritanians who frequently travelled to river Senegal to conduct commercial transactions with the Madinga and Djola traders“paid beads manufactured in Ceuta through woven cloth with raw material derived from the wool o f North African sheep11 12 as tax before importing the Saharan sah and horses into the Songhai Empire.13 All these trade barriers were shaped by the Strategie location o f these kingdoms and empires. The rationale behind the payment of cloth from Ceuta as tax before importation into Songhai was to prevent the glut of woven materials that were equally produced by the craftsmen of the empire. The leadership of Songhai restricted the influx of woven cloths into its territory from North Africa as this served as an economic strategy of boosting local production against imports. Weavers were mandated to convert woolen cloth and linen paid as tax by North African traders to local materials that attracted the demands o f local population of Songhai.14 The Strategie geographical advantage of these various kingdoms and empires across Africa was also conspicuous around the Niger Delta area of an entity called Nigeria and literature abounds on this Strategie region of Nigeria.15 However, these studies reveals the economic importance o f the region and its 11 Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.. .p. 128 “ Ibidp.128 1 Shillington, History o f Africa Revised Second Edition... p.102. Ibidp.102 15 See A.E Afigbo, 1966 'The Economic and Political Changes in the Niger Delta in the 19th Century in J.C Anene Ed. 1966, Essays in African History 19“ and 2(fh Centimes Ibadan: Onibonoje Press See also Obaro Ikime, 'The Western Niger Delta and the Hinterland in the Nineteenth Century' in Ikime Ed. GroundworkofNigerian History. See also, E.J.Alagoa, 1971 'TheNiger Delta States and TheirNeighbourstoc. 1800'in J.F. Ade-Ajayi and Michael Crowder Eds 1974. History o f West Africa Vol. 1 Third Edition New York: Longman Incorporation. See also, C.B.N. Ogbogbo, '100 Years of the South- South Zone in the Political Economy of Nigeria: The Pains and Gains' in S.U. Fwatshak 76 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 unwavering geo-economic advantage without pointedly linking the contribution of the region to the making of an entity that later became Nigeria. The quest for this interrogation makes the study significant to us. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the Niger Delta and the making of Nigeria from 1885 when the Oil Rivers Protectorate was established to 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria. The Niger Delta Up to 1885 The Niger Delta as a Strategie area of an entity that later became Nigeria is the whole of territory which covers estuaries of the Benin and Cross Rivers to the West and East of River Niger proper with broken creeks.16 The Niger Delta in Nigeria is Africa's biggest riverine area and covers an approximately 29,900km2. Its river releases an average of over 30,000mm of water per second into the Gulf of Guinea.17 The horizontal Sediment stmeture of the delta has different marine and deposited layers composed of sand, silt, and clay. The region can be categorized into three different regions: the Continental part of the delta, the transitional area dominated by land and ocean interactions in the Coastal zone, and the delta's marine territories. This humid region receives between 2400 and 4200mm of precipitation every passing year, especially during the rainy season. The largest mangrove forest of Africa and the third largest globally is situated in the delta and covers an area between 5000 and 8600km2.18 The Niger Delta region possesses an extraordinary aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, especially the one related to the aforementioned mangrove forest areas, which also provides a and Olayemi Akinwumi Eds. 'The House that Lugard Built’ Perspectives on Nigeria''s First Centenary: The Pains, the Gains and the Agenda fo r the Future Jos: Jos University Press and the Historical Society of Nigeria. See also, Adigun Agbaje and Adewale Adebanwi, 'The Political Economy of the Problem of Nigerian Statehood' in Richard A. Olaniyan Ed. The Amalgamation and Its Enemies (An Interpretative History o f Modern Nigeria) Ue-Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press, Limited, 2003. See also, Obaro Ikime, 1971, 'Nigeria-Ebrohimi' in Michael Crowder Ed. West African Resistance The Military Response to Colonial Occupation. London: Hutchinson and Co Publishers Limited. 16 A.E Afigbo, 1966 'The Economic and Political Changes in the N i|er Delta in the 19,h Century' in J.C Anene Ed. Essays in African History 19‘ and 20 Centuries Ibadan: Onibonoje Press, p.77 17 Cleandia Kuenzer, Sybrand Van Berjjima, Ursula Gesser and Stefan Dech, 2014 Land Surface Dynamics and Environmental Challenges of the Niger Delta: Remote Sensing Based Analyses Spanning Three Decades, 1986-2013 Journal o f Applied Geographv Vol. 53,p.354 18 Ibid, p.354 77 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE substantial number of ecosystem Services.19 The region during the pre-colonial times demonstrated sufficient capacity for the promotion of unity of the people of the Nigerian geographical area. For instance, the Igbo socio-political System west of the Niger was pattemed after that of Benin monarchical System due to the process of migration from Benin to the Igbo communities in the area.20 Similarly, the Ibibio had a direct socio-cultural relationship with the Aro through Arochukwu, a settlement which served as the meeting point of peaceful co-existence and occasional warfare of both groups.21 22 It is plausible to state that the people of the Niger Delta themselves would have equally borrowed certain cultural Orientations of other groups they contacted. This has been aptly described by Ikime as the boldness of the people of pre-colonial Nigeria in borrowing certain cultural traits that were deemed appropriate for the improvement of their relations with one another and the peace of their societies." More than that, the Niger Delta from time has no favourable climate for agricultural production and the occupiers of this Strategie region who were mainly fishermen and salt producers forged an enduring economic relationship with the various groups of the hinterland of Nigerian geographical area.23 The forging of this economic relationship with the other groups, especially the Igbo around the 12th Century reveals how the various groups such as Ijo, Okrika and Bonny of the Niger Delta region played the consummate roles of ensuring economic interdependence between them and other groups of the hinterland who supplied yams and other agricultural products needed by the people of the hinterland.24 19 Ibid, p.354 20 L.C. Dioka,1997 'Inter-Group Relations Among Nigerian Communities' in Akinjide Osuntokun and Ayodeji Olukoju Eds. Nigerian Peoples and Cultures Ibadan: Davidson Press, p. 61 21 Ibid p.62 22 Obaro Ikime, 1985, In Search ofNigerians: Changing Patterns o f Inter-Group Relations in an Evolving Nation State Being a Presidential Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the 30“ Congress ofthe Society, at the University ofNigeria, Nsukka, on May 1, p.9 Ibadan: Dalag Prints and Pak Ltd 23 P.I. Oguagha, 1992, 'The Igbo and Their Neighbours: Some Pattems of Relationships in Pre-Colonial Southern Nigeria' in A.E. Ekoko and S.O. Agbi Eds. Perspectives in History Essays in Honour o f Professor Obaro Ikime Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria PLC, p.44. 24 Dioka, 'Inter-Group Relations Among Nigerian Communities'.. .pp.60-61 78 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 Beyond the fledging economic relationship with the Igbo who were the immediate neighbours of the Niger Delta region, the Strategie location of the region before its penetration by the Europeans had been destined for the melting point of cultural and economic Orientations of various groups that make up an entity called Nigeria. This could be seen in the way the trading System of Delta attracted the Igala and Idoma traders as well as the influx of akori beads from the North through river Niger, while the quest for unlimited fishing rights by the Hausa and Nupe attracted them to the region.25 The influx of various groups into the region for economic reasons meant that differences in the climatic conditions of the environment of various groups that make up Nigeria warranted the quest for long distance trade to the Niger Delta region whose occupiers welcomed various groups without the consciousness of the middlemen position before the advent of the Europeans in the 16th Century. With the advent of the Europeans at the coast of the Niger Delta and subsequent commencement of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 16th Century, the fledging economic relationship between the Niger-Delta region and the Igbo was further cemented. While the people o f this region occupied middlemen position between the Europeans and the people of hinterland, especially the Igbo, the Igbo traders who brought goods, especially slaves from the hinterland recognized that their Niger Delta neighbours were in a better position to trade with the Europeans at the coast.26 Geographical advantage further positioned the Niger Delta as a major player in the establishment of economic relationship which propelled the subsequent colonization of an entity called Nigeria by the Europeans. As the slave trade continued unabated, the Strategie location of the region continued to connect it with the other parts of what later became Nigeria. Ikime argues that the geographical connectedness of the Itskekiri country with the Lagos Lagoon made it a formidable supplier of slaves to the coast while it equally maintained its 25 For Further Reading, See, RI. Oguagha, 'The Igbo and Their Neighbours: Some Patterns of Relationships in Pre-Colonial Southern Nigeria'...p.44. See also, Northrup D., 1972, 'The Growth of Trade Among the Igbo Before 1800' Journal of African History (JAH) Vol. 13, No.2. See also, G.O. Ogunremi, 'The Structure of Pre-Colonial Economy' in G.O. Ogunremi and E.K.. Faluyi Eds. Economic History of West Africa Ibadan: Rex Charles Publications. 26 Dioka, 'Inter-Group Relations Among Nigerian Communities'.. .p.65 79 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE economic relationship with Lagos.27 As the Delta region maintained its firm economic relationship with Lagos, its firm control of goods coming from hinterland to the Europeans at the coast did not damage its relationship, apart from occasional rivalry, with the suppliers of goods coming from the hinterland.28 Throughout the period of the slave trade which lasted from the 16th Century to 19th Century, the Niger Delta communities maintained their hold on the middlemen position as a result o f their consciousness of the importance of the region. The middlemen Position of the communities of this region separated the Europeans from the people o f the hinterland while both the Europeans and the hinterland people enjoyed what they wanted in terms of supp ly of slaves and manufactured goods respectively without much ado.29 As Afigbo argues, the strategy which made the middlemen position of the Niger Delta communities effective was the house System which catapulted individuals to prominence through the ability to trade rather than descent as this unique arrangement further provided the leverage on these individuals to play their politics of middlemen perfectly well.30 This uncommon social arrangement enabled the communities of the region during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to foster peace between the principal sectors of the slave trade in the Nigerian geographical area that is, the Coastal people, the Europeans and the hinterland. The astuteness displayed by the people during this period helped in preparing the involvement of these sectors of the slave economy in the subsequent colonial economy. By 1807, the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was undertaken by the British through the Abolition Bill passed by the British Parliament in that year. This was unconnected with the undesirable and anachronistic Outlook of the slave trade which had outlived its economic usefulness to the British economy while the palm oil and palm kemels of the Niger Delta and its hinterland were needed by the British industries for proper transition to industrial 27 Ikime, 1980, 'The Western Niger Delta and the Hinterland in the Nineteenth Century' in Obaro Ikime Ed. Groundwork of Nigerian History Ibadan: Heinemann Publishers PLC, p.362 28 E.J. Alagoa, 'The Niger Delta States and Their Neighbours, p. 399. ' Afigbo, 'The Economic and Political Changes in the Niger Delta in the 19"1 Century'...p.78 30 Ibid, p.78 80 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 capitalism.31 As the British were desperately desirous of registering a robust economic presence in an area that later became Nigeria due to the need for raw materials required by metropolitan economies, the Niger Delta became a Strategie point through which the search for materials by the Europeans was made possible. To this nd, John Beecroft was appointed the first Consul in 1849 with the responsibility to govem the Bight o f Benin (now Bonny) as his appointment facilitated the switch to the legitimate trade.32 This legitimate trade transformed Africa, including Nigeria to an exporter of raw materials to European industries while Africa started the importation of finished goods.33 The quest for the appropriation of the resources of the Niger Delta as well as the entrenchment of the British presence in Nigeria led to the intensification of missionary activities in Nigeria, especially in Niger Delta. For instance, the Penetration of the missionaries into the Efik town and the subsequent acceptance of Christianity by king Eyo in 1850 enabled Efik to sustain its grip over other vassal States of Duke Town and other towns around Old Calabar, which by extension, Consolidated the European presence in the Niger Delta.34 The more the missionaries were successful, the more they became the harbingers of British colonialism in an area that later became Nigeria through the Strategie region of the Niger Delta. The European capitalist expansion through the exploitation of the Strategie location of the region for the European benefits as well as the entrenchment of their presence was what Rodney describes as the contradiction of the internal logic o f the capitalist System - a contradiction which compelled them to seek opportunities in less developed entities for raw materials that were transformed to marketable goods which were equally profitable in the fields of investment.35 As the legitimate trade continued to grow with the consolidation of the British and European presence in the Coastal States of the Niger Delta, the traders o f the Niger Delta States further contributed to the laying of the foundation of the British presence in Nigeria by 31 Alagoa, 'The Eastem Niger Delta and the Hinterland in the 1911 Century', p248. 32 Ibid. A.G. Hopkins, An Economic History of West Africa London: Longman Publishers, 1974, p.120 ’4 E. A. Ayandele, The Missionary Impact on Modem Nigeria 1842-1914 A Political and Social Analysis London: Longman Group Limited, 1966, pp.18-19 ? Rodney, 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, p.162 81 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE prevailing on the hinterland producers to shift their attention from slaves to palm oil and palm kemel production as this boosted the legitimate trade.36 The expansion of the legitimate trade further accelerated che number of Europeans traders along the Coastal States of the Niger Delta and this increased the demands of these European traders for protection from their home govemment. The British quickly capitalised on their numerical advantage in terms of trade in the Niger Delta by responding to this call of protection through the appointment in 1849 of John Beecroft as the British consul saddled with the Obligation of administering the Bights of Benin and Biafra as this further entrenched British intervention in Niger Delta.37 38 * The success of this persuasion further encouraged the Europeans at the Niger Delta coast to penetrate the hinterland by bypassing the Coastal traders of the Niger Delta through their organizations called trading Companies and this led to a breakdown of commercial relationship between the Niger Delta traders and the Europeans until these traders were displaced from the commercial obligations they performed through establishment of Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1885.36 The Making of Nigeria: The Role of the Niger Delta, 1885-1914 The making of Nigeria was a process that had been crystalizing among various groups that make up an entity called Nigeria long before contact was made with Europe, especially the British. The forging of alliances, long distance trade, strategies of warfare and consummate diplomatic skills which followed warranted and unwarranted wars were the manifestations of how the boundaries and world views of the forebears of the Contemporary Nigeria shifted in Order to maintain a semblance of interconnectedness for their overall benefits. This pre-colonial interconnectedness further reveals the laudable efforts of the various Nigerian groups at making what later became Nigeria a feasible project when the colonial govemment appeared on the scene. This pre-colonial fratemization has been described by Ogbogbo as building blocks that were made possible 16 Afigbo, 'The Economic and Political Changes in the Niger Delta in the 19'6 Century'...p.79 37 Kehinde Faluyi, 1997, TSfigeria in the Nineteenth Century' in Akinjide Osuntokun and Ayodeji Olukoju Eds. Nigerian Peoples and Cultures Ibadan: Davidson Press, p. 167 38 Afigbo, 'The Economic and Political Changes in the Niger Delta in the 19th Century'... p.80 82 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making ofNigeria, 1885-1914 through state formation which demanded empire building processes that were initiated by the N igerian peoples before the amalgamation.3t) Some of the processes which engendered state formation among these various groups transcended that f political but economic and this has been described by Ikime as c t nmercial relations which metamorphosed into social contacts that accelerated the developments of individual families of the actors involved and theirkingdoms.40 From the foregoing, it could be postulated that the making of Nigeria had commenced undocumented by the various groups that made up the Nigerian geographical area before the advent of the Europeans. The arrival of the Europeans and the subsequent British conquest o f the country served as a continuation of an edifice whose foundation had already been laid by the Nigerian peoples part of whom the Niger Delta and its people belonged. It is crystal clear that the discussion on the making ofNigeria will be incomplete without discussing the role of the Strategie region of the Niger Delta. Although various groups and regions ofN igeria contributed to the making of the country, the Strategie nature of the Niger Delta makes it an important calculus in the emergence of Nigerian political equation. After the annexation of Lagos in 1861 by the British, they developed the urge to consolidate on their imperial presence in an entity that later became Nigeria as this propelled them to embrace the strategy of protectionism in order to prevent rivalry which other European powers were capable of exhibiting in their quest for space in the promising entity called Nigeria.41 The British further strengthened its foothold in Nigeria with the formation of the Royal Niger Company with responsibility of administering the trade of the Oil Rivers on behalf o f the British govemment in 1886.42 The administrative and commercial strategies of the Royal Niger Company (R.N.C) around the Oil Rivers Protectorate further ” C.B.N. Ogbogbo, 2014, T00 Years of the South-South Zone, p. 105 "Obaro Ikime, 1979, Through Changing Scenes: Nigerian History Yesterday Today and Tomorrow Inaugural Lecture Delivered at the University ofIbadan Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, pp. 17-18 41 Ayodele Samuel Aborisade, Import Control in Colonial Nigeria, 1939-1960 Being a PhD Thesis Submitted to the Department of History, University of Ibadan, Ibadan Nigeria, p.41 42 See, S.O. Okafor, Indirect Rule The Development of Central Legislation in Nigeria Lagos: Thomas Nelson Publishers, p.24 83 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE cemented commercial relationship of both the African middlemen of the Niger Delta and European trading firms whose trading activities around the Oil Rivers4' further brought to the fore the Strategie importance of the Niger Delta to the Europeans in general and the British in particular in their quest to appropriate the enclave that later became Nigeria into their respective empires. The interests o f the British to further consolidate their political and economic presence in Nigeria was further encouraged by the quantum of resources which accrued to the European trading firms. However, the quest for the appropriation of the resources of the Oil Rivers was somehow restricted by the middlemen position which the Niger Delta traders established to maintain their Strategie economic advantage through the effective monitoring o f goods coming in and out of the hinterland.43 44 The exploitation of the vantage position o f the Niger Delta people further made it compelling for the British and other European traders to further intensify the need to subjugate the Niger Delta as this will grant them unhindered access to the resources of the region. The perception of the British to this reaction of the Niger Delta traders was not unconnected with the development of Africans' capacity to defend their social and economic interests which was the hallmark of socially, economically and militarily strong States that repulsed the economic dominance o f the Europeans in the late 19th Century.45 The British reaction to the exploitation of the vantage commercial position of the Niger Delta traders was designed to wrestle the trade o f the Oil Rivers from the Delta traders for the advantage of Britain. The British deployed the overriding purpose of the Charter of the (RNC) which was the protection of the British economic interests and growth of trade and since the growth of trade in the Oil Rivers accelerated revenues for the British, the checking of the commercial dominance of the Niger Delta traders in the Oil Rivers became surmountable through the monopolization of 43For further reading, See, John, F, 1960, Sir George Goldie and The Making of Nigeria London: Oxford University Press, p. 132. 44 See, Ekejiba, F, 1995, 'Currency Stability and Social Payments Among the Igbo of Eastem Nigeria, 1890— 1990' in Jane Guyer Ed. Monetary Matters, Instability, Values and Social Payments in the Modem History of West African Communities London: James Currey Limited, p. 136 45 Rodney, 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa..., p.134 84 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 commerce by the (RNC) and by extension, the British govemment.4'’ This monopolization was made possible because the RNC had accumulated so much wealth such that its economic prosperity in the Oil Rivers had opened its eyes and that o f London to political control of the area. This was consistent with the staggering amount of £90,000 derived from import duties as revenues around the Oil Rivers in the first year of the company's Operation.46 47 The commercial dominance of the RNC in the Oil Rivers ignited sharp reaction in form of protest from the Oil Rivers people against the Company and w hen Sir Claude M acDonald was eventually appointed Commissioner and Consul-General of the Oil Rivers Protectorate in 1891, the unpopularity of the Company propelled him to campaign against the incorporation of the Oil Rivers into the political sphere of the RNC as this was capable of aggravating the already tensed Situation between the Company and the Kings o f Oil Rivers Protectorate.48 Despite the protectionist strategy of the Company, individual kings around the Oil Rivers Protectorate remained undeterred to the high handedness of the British through the RNC. For instance, Jaja of Opobo whose reign had started since 1869 demonstrated outstanding commercial acumen in his dealings with the British. By the 1880s, he put in place rigid tariff walls which prevented British goods from penetrating the hinterland of his kingdom.49 Similarly, Nana Olomu of Itsekiri demonstrated rigid commercial relations against the British and other European traders before these outstanding leaders of the Oil Rivers were removed by the British5" because of their exclusionist policies. The dominance of palm oil trade around Bonny and Opobo area by both Jaja and Nana was due to the exploitation of their geographical location of the Atlantic littoral as this projected them as astute businessmen whose commercial acumen attracted the attention of the British and other European traders before their eventual conquest.5lHowever, the subjugation of Nana by the British 46 Agbaje and Adebanwi, 2003, 'The Political Economy of the Problem of Nigerian Statehood' ...p.61 47 Ibid, p. .62 48 Agbaje and Adebanwi, 'The Political Economy of the Problem of Nigerian Statehood'...p.61 44 Michael Crowder,1968, West Africa Under Colonial Rule London: Hutchinson and Co. Publishers, 1968, p. 120. 50 Ibid, pp. 120-123. 51 Ogbogbo, '100 Years of the South-South Zone, p.109 85 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE was not an easy one. As argued by Obaro Ikime, the British were amazed at the fiscal and physical strength of the barrier of Nana before his deportation in 1894.52 The British superior military capability was instrumental to the subjugation of Nana and Jaja as this provided the leverage for the subjugation o f other parts of what later became Nigeria.53 By 1900, colonial rule was institutionalized in Nigeria by the British. The introduction of colonialism further deepened the British involvement in the trade of the Nigerian peoples and the Delta region was very Strategie. The erection o f colonial rule necessitated the abrogation of the charter of the Royal Niger Company by the British govemment and this placed the administration of Nigeria directly under the control o f the British. The colonization did not go unchallenged by various groups in Nigeria in general and Niger Delta in particular. It should be noted that this resistance served as the continuation o f recalcitrant disposition o f the Niger Delta peoples in the late 19th Century. For instance, king Koko of Nembe in 1895 attacked the facilities o f the Royal Niger Company for threatening his trade monopoly around the lower Delta of Akassa while king Ibanichuka of Okrika in 1898 supplanted the authority o f the protectorate govemment.54 The continuation of this resistance was contained by the British after 1900 through the total Suppression of the kings' authority in the region as the kings could no longer collect trade duties, instead, the British colonialists paid subsidies to each state in proportion to volume of palm oil trade passing through it.55 The implication of the subjugation of the Niger Delta further put the British on a solid rock o f finance. The control of the resources 52 Obaro Ikime, 1971, 'Nigeria-Ebrohimi' in Michael Crowder Ed. West African Resistance The Military Response to Colonial Occupation. London: Hutchinson and Co Publishers Limited, p.220 53 The resistance of Jaja and Nana to British incursion of their kingdoms showed that, protectionism as an important ingredient o f commercialism did not only reside with the Europeans who appeared superior in terms of military capability when the colonization of an entity that later became Nigeria commenced. This capability enabled the British to consolidate their commercial control in Lokoja and Ilorin in 1897.See, Boahen, A.A. 1990. UNESCO General History of Africa Abridged Edition VII Africa under Colonial Domination 1880-1935 Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books Nigeria Limited, p.17. The commercial advantage of the British in Lokoja and Ilorin was further boosted by the Niger Convention of 1898 between Britain and France. See also, Boahen, A.A. 1990. Africa Under Colonial Domination 1880-1935... .p. 16 54 Alagoa, The EastemNiger Delta and the Hinterland, p.254. 55 Ibid...p.254 86 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY of the region vis-ä-vis its Strategie location enabled Britain to appropriate resources which she used in wagging relentless wars against other areas in the country. For instance, the Sokoto Caliphate was conquered by the West African Frontier Force56 and this was partly due to the appropriation o f the resources of the Niger Delta as this enabled the British to further consolidate on their war of conquest against other regions and groups in Nigeria. The appropriation of the resources of the Delta region, given its Strategie location played significant roles in these wars of conquest by the British. By 1901, the importance of the region to what later became southem Nigeria made the British to establish the Protectorate of Southem Nigeria which Ikime argues did not include Yoruba land because Yoruba land was part of the colony of Lagos.57 58 The importance of the Protectorate o f Southem Nigeria to the British colonial administration further made it compelling for it to merge the protectorate with the colony of Lagos in 1906. The reason for the 1906 amalgamation was purely economic. The importance of southem Nigeria to the financial survival o f the colonialists became palpable when the colonial regime found itself in an embarrassing financial Situation only to be augmented by the allocation from the Imperial Treasury and this financial mess necessitated the sharing of Southem Nigerian Protectorate's revenue with the North by 1906 while the latter equally borrowed 2 million naira from the former for its railway developments.55 From the foregoing, the Strategie importance of the Niger Delta region to the making of Nigeria was monumental. Although the entire resources of the South at the beginning of the 20th Century when colonialism began did not come from the Niger Delta alone because the colony of Lagos was also generating income for the colonial regime. However, the importance of palm oil trade to both the colonial and metropolitan economies further revealed the economic and Strategie importance of the Niger Delta to the British beyond the shores of the country. Lagos might have contributed to the colonial 56 Faluyi, 'Nigeria in the Nineteenth Century'. ..p .172 87 Obaro Ikime as Cited in C.B.N. Ogbogbo, 2013 '100 Years of the South-South Zone in the - Political Economy of Nigeria: The Pains and Gains' 'God, History, The Amalgamation of 1914 and the Nigeria of 1913' Paper Delivered at the Oba Akenzua II Cultural Centre, Benin City ( 22nd of November, p .ll. 58 Tekena Tamuno, 1980, British Colonial Administration in Nigeria in the Twentieth Century in Obaro Ikime Ed. Groundwork of Nigerian History, p. 394. The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 87 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY NIGER DELTA AND THE NIGERIAN STATE revenue through customs' import and export duties, the colonial Delta region beyond its contribution to the financial position of the colonial govemment increasingly assumed greater importance to the industrial and economic growth of Britain. As Ogbogbo argues, by the late 19th Century, the palm oil trade had become so important such that the port cities o f Bonny and later Opobo were the largest exporters of Palm oil in the w orld .9 The economic importance of the region to other European powers apart ffom Britain would have further convinced the bureaucrats in London on the need to entrench the British presence in the region as well as the need to use the resources of the region to finance other areas of the British presence in an entity that later became Nigeria. By the time the scheme to amalgamate the entire nation started gathering momentum after Lugard was appointed in 1912, it was clear to both the colonial and metropolitan officials why the amalgamation was capable of relieving them of stresses and strains of administering a large area like Nigeria. These officials did not consider whether the amalgamation was right or wrong for Nigerians, what mattered to them was the conviction that the amalgamation would give them the opportunity of ensuring firm administration of Nigeria.* 60 The opportunity in this context was the extrapolation of the resources of the Protectorate of Southern Nigeria to which the Niger Delta belonged, for administrative convenience which helped in ameliorating the precarious financial Situation that confronted the British in their quest to administer Nigeria. It was this economic consideration that served as one of the catalysts which necessitated the amalgamation of 1914 and this explains why govemment agencies such as police, education and prison were not amalgamateduntil the 1920s and 1930s.61 Conclusion The making of an entity that later became Nigeria comprised of the inputs of various groups that make up that entity. However, the Strategie location of the Niger Delta positioned it as one of the major forces that shaped the political destiny of Nigeria. The region's ' C.B.N. Ogbogbo, '100 Years of the South-South Zone. ..p .109 60 Tekena Tamuno, British Colonial Administration in Nigeria in the Twentieth Century...p.394 61 Ibid...p.395 88 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY The Niger-Delta and the Making of Nigeria, 1885-1914 vantage position made it a melting point of cultures and fratemization of economic Orientations of various groups around the region before contact was made with Europe. The importance of the region was further enhanced during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade which lasted for over three centuries. In fact, the importance of the region to the economic survival of other groups in an entity that later became Nigeria placed upon its shoulders the responsibility of maintaining socio-economic relations that crystalized into cultural fratemization. The occupiers of this Strategie region, despite their consciousness of the region's importance to the slave trade opened the eyes of the Europeans to how important the region was to the illicit slave trade. It was this importance that further spurred the Europeans to use the region for the acceleration of the legitimate trade which sustained the metropolitan economies after the collapse o f the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. As the legitimate continued to oil the economic engines of both Britain and other European powers, the importance of the region further convinced the British on the need to control the resources of an entity that later became Nigeria through the Strategie usage o f the Niger Delta as a channel that sustained the outflow of the country's resources under the rubric of legitimate trade. One may not be out place to contend that the advent of colonialism in Nigeria was as a result o f the conviction which the British had that the economic subjugation of the various groups of an entity that became Nigeria would be successful if the Strategie location of the Delta region was exploited for the economic advantage of Britain. 89 UNIV ERSIT Y O F IB ADAN L IB RARY