1966 coup speech made by Lt. Colonel Patrick Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu

IN the name of the Supreme Council of the Revolution of the Nigerian Armed  Forces, I declare martial law over the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. The Constitution is suspended and the regional government and elected assemblies are hereby dissolved. All political, cultural, tribal and trade union activities, together with all demonstrations and unauthorized gatherings, excluding religious worship, are banned until further notice. The aim of the Revolutionary Council is to establish a strong united and prosperous nation, free from corruption and internal strife.

 Our method of  achieving this is strictly military but we have no doubt that every Nigerian  will give us maximum cooperation by assisting the regime and not disturbing the  peace during the slight changes that are taking place. I am to assure all  foreigners living and working in this part of Nigeria that their rights will  continue to be respected.

All treaty obligations previously entered into with  any foreign nation will be respected and we hope that such nations will respect our country’s territorial integrity and will avoid taking sides with enemies of  the revolution and enemies of the people. My dear countrymen, you will hear, and probably see a lot being done by certain  bodies charged by the Supreme Council with the duties of national integration,  supreme justice, general security and property recovery.

As an interim measure  all permanent secretaries, corporation chairmen and senior heads of departments  are allowed to make decisions until the new organs are functioning, so long as  such decisions are not contrary to the aims and wishes of the Supreme Council. No Minister or Parliamentary Secretary possesses administrative or other forms  of control over any Ministry, even if they are not considered too dangerous to  be arrested.


This is not a time for long speech-making and so let me acquaint you with ten  proclamations in the Extraordinary Orders of the Day which the Supreme Council  has promulgated. These will be modified as the situation improves. You are hereby warned that looting, arson, homosexuality, rape, embezzlement,  bribery or corruption, obstruction of the revolution, sabotage, subversion, false alarms and assistance to foreign invaders, are all offences punishable by  death sentence. Demonstrations and unauthorized assembly, non-cooperation with  revolutionary troops are punishable in grave manner up to death.

Refusal or  neglect to perform normal duties or any task that may of necessity be ordered by local military commanders in support of the change will be punishable by a sentence imposed by the local military commander. Spying, harmful or injurious publications, and broadcasts of troop movements or actions, will be punished by any suitable sentence deemed fit by the local military commander. Shouting of slogans, loitering and rowdy behaviour will be rectified by any sentence of  incarceration, or any more severe punishment deemed fit by the local military commander. Doubtful loyalty will be penalised by imprisonment or any more severe sentence.


Illegal possession or carrying of firearms, smuggling or trying to  escape with documents, valuables, including money or other assets vital to the  running of any establishment will be punished by death sentence. Wavering or  sitting on the fence and failing to declare open loyalty with the revolution will be regarded as an act of hostility punishable by any sentence deemed  suitable by the local military commander. Tearing down an order of the day or proclamation or other authorized notices will be penalised by death.


 This is the end of the Extraordinary Order of the Day which you will soon begin  to see displayed in public. My dear countrymen, no citizen should have anything  to fear, so long as that citizen is law abiding and if that citizen has  religiously obeyed the native laws of the country and those set down in every heart and conscience since 1st October, 1960.

Our enemies are the political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low  places that seek bribes and demand 10 percent; those that seek to keep the  country divided permanently so that they can remain in office as ministers or  VIPs at least, the tribalists, the nepotists, those that make the country look big for nothing before international circles, those that have corrupted our society and put the Nigerian political calendar back by their words and deeds.

Like good soldiers we are not promising anything miraculous or spectacular. But  what we do promise every law abiding citizen is freedom from fear and all forms  of oppression, freedom from general inefficiency and freedom to live and strive  in every field of human endeavor, both nationally and internationally.

We  promise that you will no more be ashamed to say that you are a Nigerian. I leave you with a message of good wishes and ask for your support at all times, so that our land, watered by the Niger and Benue, between the sandy wastes and gulf of guinea, washed in salt by the mighty Atlantic, shall not detract Nigeria from gaining sway in any great aspect of international endeavor. My dear countrymen, this is the end of this speech. I wish you all good luck and I hope you will cooperate to the fullest in this job which we have set for ourselves of establishing a prosperous nation and achieving solidarity.

Share

Read More

Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa OFR (3 December 1940 – 5 March 1986)

Major General Mamman Jiya Vatsa OFR (3 December 1940 – 5 March 1986) was a senior Nigerian Army officer and writer who was executed by the government of Major General Ibrahim Babangida on 5 March 1986 following a military tribunal conviction for treason associated with an abortive coup. He served as Minister of the Federal Capital Abuja, and was a member of the Supreme Military Council.

Early life and education
Vatsa was childhood friends with Ibrahim Babangida and both men were peers who attended the same educational institutions. Like Babangida, Vatsa attended the Government College Bida from 1957 to 1962 and started his career with the Nigerian Army by enrolling in the Nigerian Military Training College (NMTC) on 10 December 1962.

Military career
Since the NMTC was not yet an officer candidate commissioning institution (it would later become one in 1964 when it was upgraded and renamed Nigerian Defence Academy), the Nigerian government sent NMTC cadets who had completed their preparatory cadet training to foreign military academies for officer training and commissioning.[2] After graduating from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Vatsa was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army

Vatsa commanded the 21 battalion during the Nigerian Civil War and wrote academic articles about the operational aspects of certain battles. In 1970, Vatsa was an instructor at the Nigerian Defence Academy, before being posted as a Principal Staff Officer at Army Headquarters. Subsequently, he commanded the 30 Infantry Brigade (Ogoja) until July 1975, 13 Infantry Brigade (Calabar) until February 1976, and the Brigade of Guards until 1979.[3] It was during his tenure that the HQ of the Brigade of Guards was moved from Dodan Barracks to its Kofo Abayomi location in Victoria Island before transfer to Abuja. Vatsa subsequently served as Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI) from late 1979. He, along with Lt. Col Bitiyong developed the Special Warfare Wing and established the doctrinal basis for the establishment of the 82nd Composite Division of the Nigerian Army in Enugu. Vatsa was instrumental in naming the Division "82nd Div" after the 82nd West African Division in Burma. During the latter part of President Shehu Shagari's government, Vatsa was appointed Quarter-Master General (QMG), the post he held as of the time of the coup of December 1983. He was on leave during the Buhari coup against Shagari and did not take part. During the 27 August 1985 Babangida take-over, General Vatsa was in Mecca with Major General Tunde Idiagbon on pilgrimage. As of the time of his arrest in December 1985 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit treason, he was the Federal Minister for the Federal Capital Territory. He was a member of the AFRC, Federal Executive Council and occasionally, the National Council of States, the only military officer, other than the C-in-C, to be a member of all three ruling bodies.

Participation in the Nigerian Counter Coup of July 1966
Vatsa, then a Lieutenant with the 4th Battalion in Ibadan, was one of the many officers of northern Nigerian origin, who staged (and were led by Lieutenant Colonel Murtala Muhammed in) what became known as the Nigerian Counter-Coup of 1966 because of grievances they felt towards the administration of General Aguiyi Ironsi's government which quelled the 15 January 1966 coup. Other participants in the coup included 2nd Lieutenant Sanni Abacha, Lieutenant Muhammadu Buhari, Lieutenant Ibrahim Babangida, Lieutenant Ibrahim Bako, and Lieutenant Buka Suka Dimka among others.

Role in the abortive February 13, 1976 coup
Then Colonel Vatsa, Commander of 13 Infantry Brigade in Calabar, took to the airwaves to oppose Lt. Col Buka Suka Dimka's 13 February 1976 coup. During the Dimka coup investigation, Vatsa served as Secretary of the Court-Martial Tribunal.

Role in the 1981 Cameroon border incident
In 1981, when Cameroon soldiers shot and killed five Nigerian soldiers in the disputed Bakassi area, then Brigadier Vatsa was named the Commander of the Joint Military Task Force during the massive border mobilization along the entire length of the Nigeria-Cameroon border. Vatsa developed the operational plan of attack through Garoua in northern Cameroon, which was approved in principle by the National Defence Council, pending the outcome of diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.

Vatsa the poet and writer
Vatsa was also an accomplished poet and writer. He published eight poetry collections for adults and 11 for children, with titles such as Back Again at Wargate (1982), Reach for the Skies (1984) and Verses for Nigerian State Capitals (1973). His books are about ordinary people's lives and simple creatures, including the pidgin collection Tori for Geti Bow Leg (1981), his cultural picture book in Hausa, Bikin Suna, and a charming picture storybook entitled Stinger the Scorpion (1979).

Vatsa was a facilitator and patron of the arts in Nigeria, where he organized writing workshops for his fellow soldiers and their children and got their works published. He helped the Children's Literature Association of Nigeria with funds, built a Writers' Village for the Association of Nigerian Authors, and hosted their annual conferences.

The Writers' Village finally became a reality on the 24 January 2013, when the National Executive of the Association, led by its president, Prof. Remi Raji, performed a groundbreaking ceremony at the site. The Village has been named in Gen. Vatsa's honour #historianfacts

Share

Read More

Gov. Ambode Last and farewell speech as Lagos Governor

My fellow Lagosians.

With a heart full of gratitude, I address you today for the last time as your governor. It has been an honour and a privilege of a lifetime to serve you for the last four years.

It has been a remarkable journey which has had a lasting impact on my life and I want to thank all Lagosians for the experience of these last four years.

As in the beginning when we visited every single corner of this state, listening to you and asking for your votes, I have felt the power of your support, your collective energy and the endless goodwill that has propelled us to achieve many things.

For this administration, policies, programs and projects aimed at lifting more of our people out of poverty and making every part of the State safe, accessible and economically viable were always the priority; the driving force behind all our decisions and plans.

A few of our policies might have been unpopular but these were decisions taken with the best interest of our State in mind. With the benefit of hindsight, maybe we could have done some things differently but our intention was always clear, for the good of Lagos.

Even in those tough times, your constructive feedback and patience helped us surmount the challenges and enabled us grow stronger.

As a little boy growing up in Lagos, all I wanted was to be an accountant. This State gave me that and so much more. Our State is a land of opportunities, a home for everyone and a place where dreams come true. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure that we remain a centre of opportunities and growth for everyone; a place where people can achieve their dreams and aspirations.

From being just a commercial centre, our State has now become a prime destination for tourism, sports, entertainment and culture. And the future is even brighter with more exciting prospects and possibilities. In the near future, with God on our side, Lagos will take its rightful place in the comity of major city-States of the world.

Fellow Lagosians, it has been a remarkable journey. One in which we have pushed boundaries and moved our State to another level. A journey in which we have transformed many aspects of our State and set the ball rolling in other sectors. But there is still a lot more to be done.

But it is a job not for only the government; it is a responsibility for us all. In Lagos everyone counts and we all have a part to play.

By tomorrow, there will be a change of guard in our State. I will be stepping down and a new Governor will be sworn in. We will have a new Governor and a new administration with the same objective; achieving a better Lagos.

Those who have had the privilege of serving our dear State in different capacities especially as Governors owe their successes to your prayers, understanding and support. The same courtesy and cooperation that you gave to my predecessors from the first elected Governor of the State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande to our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to my humble self, I urge you to extend same to the next administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and ensure that he succeeds. It is in our best interest to do so.

I am immensely grateful to the three arms of Government, the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary for their immense support throughout the tenure of our administration.

I also reserve special thanks for the leadership, elders and members of our great party, the All Progressives Congress, the Local Government Councils and community leaders, all our Security agencies, civil society groups and our religious leaders.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo (SAN) for their support in the last four years.

To my wife, Bolanle and the children, who have had to endure many days and nights without me; I thank you for your love and steadfastness. You will continue to be my pillar of strength.

To all Lagosians; for your love, compassion, cooperation and support, I am eternally grateful. My love always.

God bless you.
God bless Lagos State, and
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Itesiwaju ipinle eko lo je wa logun

Share

Read More

The Aba women riot of 1929 - A turning point for women relevance in the colonial era

The Women's War, or Aba Women's Riots, was a period of unrest in British Nigeria over November 1929. It was the first major anti-colonial revolt by women in West African.

The Aba Women's War was sparked by a dispute between a woman named Nwanyeruwa and a man, Mark Emereuwa, who was helping to make a census of the people living in the town controlled by the Warrant, Okugo. Nwanyeruwa was of Ngwa ancestry, and had been married in the town of Oloko. In Oloko, the census was related to taxation, and women in the area were worried about who would tax them, especially during the period of hyperinflation in the late 1920s. The financial crash of 1929 impeded women's ability to trade and produce so they sought assurance from the colonial government that they would not to be required to pay taxes. Faced with a political halt, the women settled that they would not pay taxes nor have their property appraised.

On the morning of November 18, Emereuwa arrived at Nwanyereuwa's house and approached Nwanyereuwa, since her husband Ojim, had already died. He told the widow to "count her goats, sheep and people." Since Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, "How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them", she was angry. She replied by saying "Was your widowed mother counted?," meaning "that women don't pay tax in traditional Igbo society." The two exchanged angry words, and Emeruwa grabbed Nwanyeruwa by the throat. Nwanyeruwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with other women who happened to be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of taxing women. Believing they would be taxed, based on Nwanyeruwa's account, the Oloko women invited other women (by sending leaves of palm-oil trees) from other areas in the Bende District, as well as from Umuahia and Ngwa. They gathered nearly 10,000 women who protested at the office of Warrant Chief Okugo, demanding his resignation and calling for a trial.

Read More

The Aba women riot of 1929

The Women's War, or Aba Women's Riots, was a period of unrest in British Nigeria over November 1929. It was the first major anti-colonial revolt by women in West African.

The Aba Women's War was sparked by a dispute between a woman named Nwanyeruwa and a man, Mark Emereuwa, who was helping to make a census of the people living in the town controlled by the Warrant, Okugo. Nwanyeruwa was of Ngwa ancestry, and had been married in the town of Oloko. In Oloko, the census was related to taxation, and women in the area were worried about who would tax them, especially during the period of hyperinflation in the late 1920s. The financial crash of 1929 impeded women's ability to trade and produce so they sought assurance from the colonial government that they would not to be required to pay taxes. Faced with a political halt, the women settled that they would not pay taxes nor have their property appraised.

On the morning of November 18, Emereuwa arrived at Nwanyereuwa's house and approached Nwanyereuwa, since her husband Ojim, had already died. He told the widow to "count her goats, sheep and people." Since Nwanyereuwa understood this to mean, "How many of these things do you have so we can tax you based on them", she was angry. She replied by saying "Was your widowed mother counted?," meaning "that women don't pay tax in traditional Igbo society." The two exchanged angry words, and Emeruwa grabbed Nwanyeruwa by the throat. Nwanyeruwa went to the town square to discuss the incident with other women who happened to be holding a meeting to discuss the issue of taxing women. Believing they would be taxed, based on Nwanyeruwa's account, the Oloko women invited other women (by sending leaves of palm-oil trees) from other areas in the Bende District, as well as from Umuahia and Ngwa. They gathered nearly 10,000 women who protested at the office of Warrant Chief Okugo, demanding his resignation and calling for a trial.

Read More

The Nigerian Western region Wild Wild West known as Operation Wet ti e - How it all started

In fact because of Operation Weti e, some people began to label the people of the Western Region as being violent; they said that we in the West started the culture of violence. And my answer was that the violence did not just arise, it arose after the democratic system had failed. So our people were pushed to the wall. And how did the democratic option fail?

The beginning of the crisis was that Chief Ladoke Akintola, who was then deputy to the Premier of the Old Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, wanted the Action Group to have an alliance with the Northern People’s Congress. Awolowo and others objected and asked, ‘on what basis would the alliance be based? What is the connection between us that will make us come together? What is the programme of the NPC that is akin to our own and can work together?’ So it was an ideological disagreement. But Akintola and others were more inclined with the idea that the NPC people were in the majority, so let us join them to form the government. Chief Awolowo felt that you would form a government with a party with a programme for the people. The question was: Is the NPC going to implement free education, free health services, integrated rural development and so on? These were the programmes with which the AG had been known. So if you are going to form a government with a party, it has to be with a party with similar programmes; even if not all the programmes, at least one or two.

Those were the arguments. But at that time, there was schism within the AG and there was prejudice against Yoruba people from Ijebu area, who had been pitted against the people of Yoruba land from the upper north like Oyo and others. It was their view that Awolowo was becoming too powerful. And more so, that was the time Awolowo had resigned from his position as the Premier of the Western Region and Akintola had become the Premier. Awolowo had chosen to go to the centre (Federal Government). The crisis went on; then there was crisis in the House of Assembly which was a spillover of the rift in the party. Akintola was then the Premier. The members of the House, who were supporters of Awolowo said to Akintola that ‘well, you can’t hold this view and still be our Premier.’ Then they moved a motion for a vote of no confidence in the Premier, to substitute him with Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro. Akintola had the backing of the Federal Government led by Alhaji Tafawa Balewa. Knowing that the motion might pass, they brought armed security men to the House of Assembly.


When Afenifere (a pan-Yoruba group) and the progressives are now agitating for regionalisation of the police, people do not know what gave birth to it. It was since that time that the Governor or the Premier of a region was head of security by name. It was the Federal Government that was controlling the police force. So the police invaded the parliament on the day that the motion was to be moved. I remember that a man from Ogbomoso that was in support of Akintola, jumped on the table and shouted ‘Fire on the mountain’ the moment the motion for a vote of no confidence in Akintola was moved. The Federal Government had brought security people to surround the parliament. Then the police rushed into the parliament and tear gassed the people.

Were the supporters of Awolowo who had championed the motion arrested?

No! They only tear gassed the place. But the action of the police was uncalled for. That was the genesis of the crisis. That was the time Balewa said law and order had broken down in the Western Region and then declared a State of Emergency. We challenged that declaration. The Chief Judge of the Western Region at that time was a Ghanaian and he was afraid because he was not a native. Justice Adetokunbo Ademola, who was Akintola’s supporter, was the Chief Justice of Nigeria. He asked the Chief Justice of the Western Region to refer the case to the Federal Government if he could not handle it. So the judgement was given in favour of Akintola. Then we appealed to the Privy Council that he had no right to do that.

The Privy Council confirmed Adegbenro as Premier. But because Balewa didn’t like that, he refused to accept that judgement. So he passed a law prohibiting appeal from Nigeria from going to the Privy Council and that the final court of appeal should be the Supreme Court. That is the origin of what we have today where the judgement of the Supreme Court is sacrosanct. So that was the situation until 1964 or so. At that time, Akintola had become the premier and Remi Fani-Kayode had become the deputy. An election was coming and their slogan then was: ‘Bi e dibo fun wa, bie e dibo fun wa, ati wole’, which means whether you vote for us or don’t vote for us, we have won. When the result was declared, they won and the people revolted against this. So that was the beginning of the crisis. It was a reaction to the rigging of the election.

This was part of  an interview withChief Ayo Adebanjo,an old politician who played active politics in the period, takes GBENRO ADEOYE through the cause of the crisis Published Inside Punch of July 23, 2016

Share

Read More

Oba Ovonramwen of Benin Kingdom and the British encounter

In 1896–1897 the forces of the Niger Coast Protectorate fought with the remnants of the Edo Empire. Following the defeat of an unsuccessful foray by Consul General James R. Phillips, a larger retaliatory force captured Benin City and drove Ovonramwen, the Oba of Benin, into exile.

Overami or Ovonramwen was the last Oba or King of the African Kingdom of Benin, also sometimes referred to as the Benin Empire (not be confused with the modern country of Benin) which occupied an area mostly within what is now Nigeria. For many years prior to Ovonramwen coming to the throne British influence in the area had been expanding and strengthening but Benin remained independent but that independence, particularly the trade monopoly the Oba held in the region, aroused the jealousy of elite colonial investors and businessmen. They were determined to bring Benin with its palm-oil, rubber and ivory wealth under British control. Ovonramwen came to the throne in 1888 as the 35th Oba of Benin and in 1892 signed a treaty with the British to abolish the slave trade in the region and making the Kingdom of Benin an autonomous protectorate of Great Britain.

However, powerful forces were arrayed against the king, particularly the Vice-Consul James Robert Phillips and Captain Gallwey of the Oil Rivers Protectorate. Their goal was the full annexation of Benin to the British Empire and the overthrow of the Oba who stood in their way. In 1896 a British column led by Phillips went to meet with Oba Ovonramwen in Benin City but did not get to see the monarch who was occupied with performing important ceremonies at the time. Another expedition was launched despite warnings from the Oba not to come as their visit was timed to coincide with the celebration of the annual Igue Festival; a time of much ceremony when all outsiders were encouraged to stay away. The British were asked to postpone the visit for two months but Phillips refused and sent the king his stick; a traditional sign of insult and a deliberate provocation. As a result, when the party entered Benin territory they were ambushed and massacred with only a few managing to escape.

In February of 1897 the British launched a full-scale attack on Benin City which fell after eight days of fierce fighting. The Kingdom of Benin was totally destroyed, many inhabitants killed, the city looted and many valuable artifacts taken as trophies. The accused mastermind of the ambush and massacre of Captain Phillips and his party, Ologbohere, was put on trial and hanged. Oba Ovonramwen was to be hanged as well but after his surrender was deposed instead and exiled to Calabar with his two wives where he died in January of 1914. The king had actually had nothing to do with the massacre, knowing well enough that such an act would only provoke a war he could not hope to win, which is exactly what happened. The area of Benin was annexed and allowed for further British expansion into the interior of West Africa. However, despite the exile and death of the last reigning Oba of Benin the royal family continued on and still does today in the person of Crown Prince Solomon Akenzua who succeeded as Oba Erediauwa of the Benin people in Nigeria in 1978.

Share

Read More

Igboland resistance to British rule

The British had difficulty conquering Igboland, which lacked central political organisation. In the name of liberating the Igbos from the Aro Confederacy, the British launched the Anglo-Aro War of 1901–1902. Despite conquering villages by burning houses and crops, continual political control over the Igbo remained elusive.The British forces began annual pacification missions to convince the locals of British supremacy

When the Royal Niger Company attempted to establish its authority in the Asaba hinterland in the 1880s, the existing town societies in the area provided the foundations of a resistance movement which became known as the Ekumeku. In 1900 the area came under the direct administration of the British government. British rule led to regulations against aspects of the people's religious and political practices and to the establishment of native courts, and provided a shelter under which missionary activities flourished. All these were considered by the people as inimical to their traditional way of life. This situation provoked a consolidation of the Ekumeku forces and galvanized the movement into action. Between 1902 and 1910 the Ekumeku offered a courageous and prolonged resistance to British rule in the Asaba hinterland.

Share

Read More

Nigeria a history of Corruption from pre-independence

According to a Colonial Government Report (CGR) of 1947, “The African’s background and outlook on public morality is very different from that of the present day Briton. The African in the public service seeks to further his own financial interest.” (Okonkwo, 2007). Before independence, there have been cases of official misuse of resources for personal enrichment (Storey, 1953). Over the years, Nigeria has seen its wealth withered with little to show in living conditions of the citizens. The First Republic under the leadership of Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikwe, the President, was marked by widespread corruption. Government officials looted public funds with impunity. Federal Representative and Ministers flaunted their wealth with reckless abandon. In fact, it appeared there were no men of good character in the political leadership of the First Republic. Politically, the thinking of the First Republic Nigerian leadership class was based on politics for material gain; making money and living well.

The situation described above, among other factors, provided the pretext for a group of young middle-rank army officers to sack the Nigerian First Republic politicians from power through a coup d’état on 15th January 1966 on the ground of corruption. The editorial of the Daily Times Newspaper of January 16, 1966 argued thus:

With the transfer of authority of the Federal Government to the Armed Forces, we reached a turning point in our national life. The old order has changed, yielding place to a new one... For a long time, instead of settling down to minister to people’s needs, the politicians were busy performing series of seven day wonders as if the act of government was some circus show... still we groped along as citizens watched politicians scorn the base by which they did ascend... (Daily Times, 1966). The coup was a direct response to the corruption of the First Republic; and the popular support the military received for the coup showed that Nigerians were long expecting such a wind of change to bail them out from the claws of the politicians of that era. Interestingly, despite the killings of some major First Republic politicians, there were widespread jubilation's in the country.

That corruption is the bane of Nigeria’s socio-economic development is to state the obvious. Today, in Nigeria, there is a consensus among well-meaning individuals and foreign nations that corruption has inevitably become a major clog in the quest for sustainable growth and development. It is further agreed that it must be halted before it shut down the country.

Share

Read More

Lagos in the slave trade era

According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Voyage Database, 308,800 people were sold across the Atlantic from Lagos in 1776–1850. Lagos became a major slave port in the late 1700s and into the 1850s. Much of the human trafficking which occurred there was nominally illegal, and records from this time and place are not comprehensive.  British and French traders did a large share of this business until 1807, when they were replaced by Portuguese and Spanish. By 1826–1850 the British Royal Navy was intervening significantly with Lagos slave exports

Share

Read More

Relationship between Edo kingdom and Yoruba kingdom

During the 15th century Benin was the first to receive foreign traders.The last Ogiso son who was to succeed his Father was banished from Edo and arrived in the Yoruba kingdom, crowned as their King, and titled the throne as Ilefe Izoduwa in Edo Language which was corrupted to Ile-ife Oduduwa in Yoruba. The Powerful Kingdom in Nigeria and first Empire recognized by foreign traders was (Ubini) Edo Kingdom. The Edo King captured many towns such as Eko which is now Lagos and also captured Ijebu and Edo Kingdom was stretched from Ijebu and Lagos to Republic of Darhomey which is now change to Republic of Benin. Respect for the priestly functions of the Oni of Ife was a crucial factor in the evolution of Yoruba ethnicity. The Ife model of government was adept and derived its military strength from its cavalry forces, which established hegemony over the adjacent Nupe and the Borgu kingdoms and thereby developed trade routes farther to the north.

Edo land established a community in the Yoruba-speaking area east of Ubini before becoming a dependency of Benin Kingdom at the beginning of the 14th century. By the 15th century it became an independent trading power, blocking Ife's access to the coastal ports as Oyo had cut off the mother city from the savanna. Political and religious authority resided in the oba (king) who according to tradition was descended from the Ogiso dynasty in Benin Kingdom. Benin, which may have housed much inhabitants at its height, spread over large square km that were enclosed by concentric rings of earthworks. By the late 15th century Edo Kingdom was in contact with Portugal who discovered an Empire of great men with civilization and resources (palm oil, ivory, cotton etc.) which was traded through a trade of import and export of natural resources which has been part of Edo culture. At its apogee in the 16th and 17th centuries, Edo encompassed parts of southeastern Yorubaland,and the western parts of the present Delta State.

Share

Read More

Jaja of Opobo (Rivers state)

Jaja of Opobo

King Jaja of Opobo (full name: Jubo Jubogha; 1821–1891) was a merchant prince and the founder of Opobo city-state in an area that is now the Rivers state of Nigeria. Born in Umuduruoha, Amaigbo, in Igboland, he was taken at about the age of twelve as a slave in Bonny. Jumo Jumofe later took the name "Jaja" for his dealings with the British.


King Jaja of Opobo (full name: Jubo Jubogha; 1821–1891) was a merchant prince and the founder of Opobo city-state in an area that is now the Rivers state of Nigeria. Born in Umuduruoha, Amaigbo, in Igboland, he was taken at about the age of twelve as a slave in Bonny. Jumo Jumofe later took the name "Jaja" for his dealings with the British.



He proved his aptitude for business at an early age, earning his way out of slavery; he was acculturated according to Ijaw (Ibani) rituals and eventually established himself as head of the Anna Pepple House. Under Jaja's leadership, Anna Pepple soon absorbed a number of Bonny's other trade houses until an ongoing dispute with the Manilla Pepple House led by Oko Jumbo forced Jaja to break away as Opobo city-state in 1869.



Opobo soon came to dominate the region's lucrative palm oil trade, and was soon home to fourteen of what were formerly Bonny's eighteen trade houses. Jaja also moved to block the access of British merchants to the interior, giving him an effective monopoly; at times, Opobo even shipped palm oil directly to Liverpool, independent of British middlemen.



At the 1884 Berlin Conference, however, the other European powers designated Opobo as British territory, and the British soon moved to claim it. When Jaja refused to cease taxing British traders, Henry Hamilton Johnston, a British vice consul, invited Jaja to negotiations in 1887. When Jaja arrived, the British arrested him and tried him in Accra in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) then took him to London for some time, where he met Queen Victoria and was her guest in Buckingham Palace. After some other turbulent history, he was exiled to Saint Vincent in the West Indies. Plans were also made for him to be relocated to Barbados.[1]



In 1891, Jaja was granted permission to return to Opobo, but died en route, allegedly poisoned with a cup of tea. Following his exile and death, the power of the Opobo state rapidly declined.

Share

Read More

Efunsetan Aniwura - The most powerful and wealthiest Yoruba woman that ever lived

Efunsetan Aniwura was killed in her sleep by two of her slaves in 1874, betrayed by her adopted son, Kumuyilo .She was deposed as Iyalode by Aare Latoosa on May 1, 1874 for politically motivated allegations, despite paying all the fines levied against her. Born in Abeokuta in the 1790s or 1820s, Aniwura was a migrant from Egbaland in present day Ogun State. Her father, Chief Ogunrin, was a warlord from Ikija while her mother was from Ife.

Chief Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà (c. 1790s - June 30, 1874) was the second Iyalode of Ibadan. Revered as a successful merchant and trader, her impact encompassed the political, military, economic and religious spheres of Ibadan. She is famous for being arguably the most powerful - and certainly one of the wealthiest - Yoruba women that ever lived. She has been described by historians as an authoritarian leader who often utilized capital punishment on erring slaves. This has been attributed to the psychological breakdown due to the death of her only daughter, and her inability to procreate afterwards.

Personal life
Born in Abeokuta in the 1790s (or 1820s), Aniwura was a migrant from Egbaland in present day Ogun State. Her father, Chief Ogunrin, was a warlord from Ikija while her mother was from Ife. Her entrepreneurial drive is reported to have originated when her mother, who was a petty trader, took her to the market with her. She was married multiple times, and had a child, whom she lost at birth. This event has been the subject of numerous historical writings, and has been attributed to influencing the latter parts of her life, both positively (in terms of focus) and negatively (in terms of ruthlessness).

Rise and fall
According to Olawale Idowu, Aniwura's decision to migrate to Ibadan was mainly for two reasons: Firstly, at the time, her cousin was a prominent leader in the city. Secondly, due to the enterprising nature of the town at the time in comparison to other locations, she could start a successful business there. She is reputed to have had about two thousand slaves and multiple farms, exporting agricultural produce to Porto-Novo, Badagry and Ikorodu. Her major line were in tobacco and slave trading. She also manufactured a local cosmetic product, Kijipa, that was transported to America for use. Her difficulty in child-bearing led her not only to be diligent in her business, but also become emotionally unstable as having a successor was seen as a major determinant of affluence at that time. Due to this, she was often depressed and it became evident in her style of leadership. She created rules that ensured no slave in her household could get pregnant, or get anyone pregnant, and instituted death as the penalty for defaulters. Isola (2010) revealed that during her lifetime, she had ordered the decapitation of 41 of her slaves.

By the 1860s, she was made the second Iyalode of Ibadan. She was also made a patron of the Anglican Church in Ibadan for her involvement in strengthening Christianity in the community.

She was deposed as Iyalode by Aare Latoosa on May 1, 1874 for politically motivated allegations, despite paying all the fines levied against her.

Her authority within the community and opposition to the political views of the Ibadan de facto ruler, the Aare Ona Kakanfo Latoosa, led him to plot to execute her. This proved to be difficult due to her political position among the high chiefs. He paid-off Kumuyilo, her adopted son, to betray her and lead her to the place of execution. There are many theories on why Latoosa wanted Aniwura out of Ibadan. While some felt it was motivated by sexism and jealousy, other historians believe it was simply because the city became too dependent on her - especially for military equipment, which was gotten on credit. Some writers argue that her failure to abide by the regulations of the Aare was what led him to get angry with her.

Death
Aniwura was killed in her sleep by two of her slaves in 1874. They had been instructed to do so by her adopted son, Kumuyilo. Kuwuyilo was in turn bribed by Aare Latoosa, the ruler of Ibadan at the time. The motivation was posited to be that Latoosa felt threatened by her wealth and disobedience towards him.

Share

Read More

Events in the north before the 1966 civil war

About 30,000 Igbo were killed in September 1966, while more conservative estimates put the casualties at between ten and thirty thousand for that month. This spree of killings carried on into early October and was carried out by civilians sometimes aided by army troops and swept the entire north. It has been described as the most painful and provocative incident leading to the Nigeria-Biafra War. The massacres were widely spread in the north and peaked on the 29 May, 29 July and 29 September 1966. By the time the pogrom ended, virtually all Igbos of the North were dead, hiding among sympathetic Northerners or on their way to the Eastern region. The massacres were led by the Nigerian Army and replicated in various Northern Nigerian cities.

The 1966 massacres of southern Nigerians have been described as a holocaust by "Greene -1975 . The Struggle for Secession 1966–70: A Personal Account of the Nigerian Civil War by N. U. Akpan. The Nigerian Civil War 1967–70. The Royal African society in January 1975 and others have variously been described as genocide.

Background
The events took place in the context of military coups d'etat and in the prelude to the Nigerian Civil War. The perceived lack of Igbo humility has been identified as one of the factors that sparked the pogroms, resulting in popular hostility toward the Igbo. The immediate precursor to the massacres was the January 1966 Nigerian coup d'etat led mostly by young Igbo officers. Most of the politicians and senior army officers killed by them were northerners, including the Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto. The coup was opposed by other senior army officers. An Igbo officer, Aguiyi-Ironsi stopped the coup in Lagos while another Igbo officer, Emeka Ojukwu stopped the coup in the north. Aguiyi-Ironsi then assumed power, forcing the civilian government to cede authority. He established a military government led by himself as supreme commander . In the months following the coup it was widely noted that four of the five army Majors who executed the coup were Igbo and that the General who took over power was also Igbo. It was feared that the Igbo had set out to take control of the country and in the North of Nigeria the fear of Igbo dominance became intense. On 29 July 1966 Northern officers carried out a countercoup in which 240 Southern officers and men, three-quarters of whom were Igbo,including Ironsi as well as thousands of civilians of southern origin living in the north were systematically killed. In the aftermath, Yakubu Gowon, a northerner assumed command of the military government. It is with this background that increasing ethnic rivalries led to further massacres.

The massacres were widely spread in the north and peaked on the 29 May, 29 July and 29 September 1966. By the time the pogrom ended, virtually all Igbos of the North were dead, hiding among sympathetic Northerners or on their way to the Eastern region. The massacres were led by the Nigerian Army and replicated in various Northern Nigerian cities. Although Colonel Gowon was issuing guarantees of safety to Southern Nigerians living in the North, the intention of a large portion of the Nigerian army at the time was genocidal as was the common racist rhetoric among Tiv, Idoma, Hausa and other Northern Nigerian tribes. With the exception of few Northern Nigerians (mainly army officers who were not convinced that Igbo were innately evil), the Southern and Eastern Nigerians were generally regarded at the time in the North of Nigeria as described by Charles Keil:

The Igbo and their ilk...vermin and snakes to trod underfoot...dogs to be killed.

Northern Nigerians were however also targeted in the Igbo dominated Eastern Nigeria. Thousands of Hausas, Tiv and other Northern Tribes were massacred by Igbo mobs, forcing a mass exodus of Northerners from the Eastern Region.

One factor that led to the hostility toward Southern Nigerians in general and Igbo in particular was the attempt by the Aguiyi Ironsi regime to abolish regionalisation in favor of a unitary system of government which was regarded as a plot to establish Igbo domination in the Federation. On 24 May 1966 Ironsi issued a unitary decree, which led to an explosion of attacks against the Igbo in Northern Nigeria on 29 May 1966. The British press was unanimous in its conviction at the time that these 29 May killings were organized and not spontaneous. The Ironsi regime was also perceived to have been favoring Southern Nigerians in the appointment to key positions in government, thus heightening the inter ethnic rivalries.

The failure of the Ironsi regime to punish the army mutineers responsible for the January 1966 coup further exacerbated the situation.The May 1966 pogrom was carried out by rampaging mobs with the connivance of local government. The unprofessional attitude of some elements of the international press are also known to have added to the existing tension. J.D.F. Jones, the diplomatic correspondent of the Financial Times had on 17 January 1966 already predicted that the Northerners might "already have begun to take revenge for the death of their leader the Sardauna of Sokoto on the large number of Igbo who live in the North", which at the time they were not doing. This has been criticized as an irresponsible and for a journalist unprofessional, self-fulfilling prophecy which would lead the Northern elite to assume that the Financial Times was in possession of information that they were not aware of, and that the world expected the North to react in this way. Later tactics were engineered by Northern elites to provoke violence such as fabricated news stories submitted to radio Cotonou and relayed by the Hausa service of the BBC detailing exaggerated attacks against Northerners in the East, which led to the furious killings of Eastern Nigerians on 29 September 1966.

According to British newspaper reports at the time, about 30,000 Igbo were killed in September 1966, while more conservative estimates put the casualties at between ten and thirty thousand for that month. This spree of killings carried on into early October and was carried out by civilians sometimes aided by army troops and swept the entire north. It has been described as the most painful and provocative incident leading to the Nigeria-Biafra War.

Aftermath
The pogroms led to the mass movement of Igbo and other Eastern Nigerians back to Eastern Nigeria (it is estimated that more than one million Igbos returned to the eastern region). It also was the precursor to Ojukwu's declaration of Eastern Nigeria's secession from the federation as the Republic of Biafra, and the resulting Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970), which Biafra lost.

Share

Read More

1967 ASABA incident -Over 1000 civilian were lost in the event

“I looked around and I saw machine guns all around us. Some of them were also carrying automatic rifles. One of them shouted an order, and they started shooting.”

With these chilling words, Ify Uraih describes how the massacre of hundreds of innocent civilians began in Asaba more than 40 years ago.

Asaba massacre

The Asaba Massacre occurred in early October 1967, during the Biafran War, fought over the secession of Biafra (the predominantly-Igbo, former Eastern Region of Nigeria). Asaba is ethnically and linguistically Igbo, but was never part of Biafra.

Location Asaba, Nigeria Date October 5-7, 1967 Target Igbo/civilians of Asaba

Background

In August 1967, three months into the Biafran War, Biafran troops invaded the Midwest Region, to the west of the River Niger. They spread west, taking Benin City and reaching as far as Ore, where they were pushed back by the Nigerian Second Division, under the command of Col. Murtala Muhammed. The Federal troops gained the upper hand, and forced the Biafrans back to the Niger, where they crossed the bridge back into the Biafran city of Onitsha, which lies directly across from Asaba. The Biafrans blew up the eastern spans of the bridge, so that the Federal troops were unable to pursue them.

Massacre

The Federal troops entered Asaba around October 5, and began ransacking houses and killing civilians, claiming they were Biafran sympathisers. Reports suggest that several hundred may have been killed individually and in groups at various locations in the town. Leaders summoned the townspeople to assemble on the morning of October 7, hoping to end the violence through a show of support for "One Nigeria." Hundreds of men, women, and children, many wearing the ceremonial akwa ocha (white) attire paraded along the main street, singing, dancing, and chanting "One Nigeria." At a junction, men and teenage boys were separated from women and young children, and gathered in an open square at Ogbe-Osowa village. Federal troops revealed machine guns, and orders were given, reportedly by Second-in-Command, Maj. Ibrahim Taiwo, to open fire. It is estimated that more than 700 men and boys were killed, some as young as 12 years old, in addition to many more killed in the preceding days.

The bodies of some victims were retrieved by family members and buried at home. But most were buried in mass graves, without appropriate ceremony. Many extended families lost dozens of men and boys. Federal troops occupied Asaba for many months, during which time most of the town was destroyed, many women and girls were raped or forcibly "married," and large numbers of citizens fled, often not returning until the war ended in 1970. The total death toll during early October was in excess of 1,000, although the exact numbers will likely never be known.

Suspect

Ibrahim B. Haruna has sometimes been named as the officer who ordered the massacre, following a report of his testimony to the Nigerian Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission, known as the Oputa Panel.This article quoted him as claiming responsibility (as the commanding officer) and having no apology for the atrocity. However, Haruna was not present in Asaba in 1967. He replaced Murtala Muhammed as C.O. of the Second Division in spring 1968. While there are no eye-witness reports of Muhammed ordering the killings, he was the Commander in the field, and thus must bear responsibility.

In October, 2017, the Asaba community marked the 50th anniversary of the massacres with a two-day commemoration, during which the new, comprehensive book on the massacre, its causes, consequences, and legacy, was launched: "The Asaba Massacre: Trauma, Memory, and the Nigerian Civil War," by S. Elizabeth Bird and Fraser Ottanelli (Cambridge University Press). This book, which draws on interviews with survivors and military and government figures, as well as archival sources, discusses how and why the massacres happened, and the impact of this community trauma, decades after the event.

Share

Read More

Palmwine Guitar and Highlife was the earliest music style in Nigera and west Africa

The palmwine Guiter is the most popular music style in Nigeria and west Africa in the 1920s In Nigeria, two exceptional guitarists emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s, playing a pure form of classic Palmwine Guitar. Ambrose Adekoya Campbell and Julius Araba gained superstar status - at least in the old Colony of Lagos. Campbell was a member of the legendary Lagos Jolly Orchestra, a multi-ethnic band consisting of Yoruba, Ghanaian and Kru (Liberian) musicians, including the legendary piccolo player known as Piccolo Pete. Also in Nigeria, the Three Night Wizards, led by Israel Njemanze, recorded hit after hit using a Calypso-influenced style of Palmwine Guitar and singing in Igbo and English.

A Short History of the

 Palmwine Guitar

Origins

The Palmwine Guitar sound is a distinctive hybrid folk sound that originated in West Africa at the turn of the 20th century. The exact location from which it originated is still unclear, however what is certain is that it was prevalent along the West African coast. Portuguese, Spanish and Caribbean sailors whose merchant ships docked at the ports of Freetown (Sierra Leone), Lagos (Nigeria), Monrovia (Liberia) and Accra or Tema (Ghana) lent their guitars and style to their African shipmates, who formulated a unique new style that fused native rhythms with the Latin styles bequeathed by their benefactors - the result being an expressive, melodious guitar fusion.

The early African guitar pioneers played in an era before iPods or Walkmans. They played on ships in their spare time to entertain themselves - the output often raw and rudimentary. Nevertheless, a revolution was taking place. The guitars were often played to accompany native vocal renditions, varied in their content but often centred on themes of love and peace, praise singing, native wisdom, personal angst, satire and social commentary.

As time went on, the guitar moved away from being the exclusive domain of African sailors and the more adventurous musicians in port cities, and into the hands of the general populace. Until then, West African musicians had generally played traditional forms of music (using traditional instruments) at funerals, weddings and religious festivals and to entertain royalty in court. Western music had also already been played in West Africa, especially by Europeans and educated West Africans. This was largely in form of classical music. For instance, Lagos hosted a Handel Festival in 1888, organised by the Yoruba musicologist Professor R.A. Coker, while nationalist figure Herbert Macaulay organised classical concerts in the late 1890s. However, by the early 1920s, with the popular usage of the guitar by indigenous musicians, a new form of musical expression emerged in urban centres, occupying a social space that merged both western musical forms and indigenous traditional music. These guitarists played at social functions for the new urban elite (the native professional class of lawyers, doctors, engineers and businessmen), who demanded the best musical entertainment, ranging from classical pianists to this emerging group of modern musicians.

At the lower end of the social ladder were the bards and minstrels who would perform at local bars and houses in the evening, asking for a few pennies for their troubles. Their guitar heroics offered accompaniment to tales of joy and pain - and praise singing of their ‘clients’. Often walking several miles on this beat (a practice that continues today), these guitarists would move around solo or accompanied by native drummers, thumb pianists or a variety of other traditional instruments. For example, the famous Nigerian minstrel Irewolede Denge would walk through the old city of Lagos in the late 1910s and early 1920s, stopping at the famous Water House (home of the Afro-Brazilian millionaire Candido Da Rocha), to deliver a praise singing rendition for which he would be assured of at least a couple of pennies. He would then end his journey in Old Yaba in the Lagos Mainland - a distance of about 9 miles. In this way, minstrels would often play at palmwine bars all along the West African coast.

Palmwine, by the way, is a sweet, tangy, mildly intoxicating drink that has been popular in West Africa (as well as Asia) for many generations. It tapped from the bark of the palm tree, yeast-fermented for a few days and served straight from the tree in calabashes (gourds). The particular musical style that emerged in the bars where the drink was enjoyed became known as the Palmwine Guitar.

The Rise of Palmwine Guitar

The Palmwine Guitar style evolved over the years and fused with various other musical forms, specifically West African vocals and rhythms and Latin and Calypso melodies. The explosion of the Palmwine Guitar into popular culture was heralded by the first series of recordings of West African popular music, between 1925 and 1928, by RCA-Victor Records, under its specialist Zonophone sub-label. The genesis for these recordings was that immediately after the First World War (1914-1918), a significant African immigrant community had settled in the port cities of Britain, especially London, Liverpool and Bristol. These were mostly former dockworkers and labourers who had served the colonial War effort and remained behind afterwards. The Zonophone label therefore sought to service the entertainment needs of this potential market with recordings by West African musicians.

These were not the first West African popular music recordings, however. Already by 1922, Rev. J.J. Ransome-Kuti had recorded an album of choral hymns in Yoruba. The first set of popular music recordings consisted of performers like Nigerian lawyer Oladipo Solanke, Afro-Brazilian musician Justus Domingo (in 1925), Ghanaians George Williams Aingo and Nicholas Van Heer, and the duo of Frank Essien and Edmund Tagoe between 1927 and 1928.

The styles played by these pioneer West African recording artists spanned from the furious Charleston guitar of the talented Tagoe to the more gentle Dixie-variant of Domingo. However, none of these embodied the classical Palmwine Guitar format - until the historic recording by the legendary Ghanaian group, the Kumasi Trio, led by Kwame Asare (aka Jacob Sam). This group recorded what could be described as the first Palmwine Guitar (or indeed Highlife) album from a live performance at London’s Kingsway Hall. Ghanaian guitarists were largely responsible for the creation of the classic styles of Palmwine Guitar, the most notable of which include the ‘Yaa Amponsah’ style made popular by the Kumasi Trio on its 1928 recordings, as well the variant Latin-influenced ‘Dagomba’ style and the ‘Native style’, a 6/8 progression, which was also first recorded by the Kumasi Trio in 1928.

A succession of Palmwine Guitar specialists was to emerge all along the West African coast over the next three decades. Notables names include Kwaa Mensah (Asare’s nephew), Nigerian musicians Irewolede Denge, Tunde King and Ayinde Bakare, and Ebenezer Calendar and Francis McFoy (aka Famous Scrubbs) from Sierra Leone, among many others. These gentlemen experimented with a variety of genres - Calendar and McFoy with calypso, while King and Bakare refined the Ghanaian ‘Dagomba’ sound with a stronger Latin accent, also introducing the electric guitar in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

It’s important to mention that at the same time in Central Africa (Congo to be precise), Joseph Wendo, using a similar format, recorded his legendary hit ‘Marie Louise’, which gave rise to the Rumba-Soukous genre.

In Nigeria, two exceptional guitarists emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s, playing a pure form of classic Palmwine Guitar. Ambrose Adekoya Campbell and Julius Araba gained superstar status - at least in the old Colony of Lagos. Campbell was a member of the legendary Lagos Jolly Orchestra, a multi-ethnic band consisting of Yoruba, Ghanaian and Kru (Liberian) musicians, including the legendary piccolo player known as Piccolo Pete. Also in Nigeria, the Three Night Wizards, led by Israel Njemanze, recorded hit after hit using a Calypso-influenced style of Palmwine Guitar and singing in Igbo and English.

The late 1950s and 1960s saw another wave of Palmwine Guitar heroes all across the sub-continent. These include Fatai Rolling Dollar in Nigeria to Soliman E. Rogie in Sierra Leone, who had a massive hit with ‘My Lovely Elizabeth’, widely regarded as the biggest-selling Palmwine Guitar track in history. From Ghana came Thomas Osei Ampomah (of T.O. Jazz), as well as one of the most influential Palmwine Guitar exponents of recent times, Daniel Amponsah (aka Koo Nimo). Other stars include Okonkwo Asaa (aka Seven-Seven), John Ikediala and Celestine ‘Daddy’ Obiakor from the east of Nigeria.

Palmwine Guitar and Highlife

The advanced template of this hybrid became popularly known as Highlife, in turn an alloy of Big Band Jazz and the Palmwine Guitar fusion, typically boasting large brass and rhythm sections and clearly targeted to an elite African audience. One of the earliest superstars of this genre was the Ghanaian tenor saxman, E.T. Mensah and his Tempos Band, formed in the 1930s, whose popularity stretched far beyond Ghana. Highlife Music erupted all over West Africa, with bands emerging all over the sub-continent, including the likes of Bobby Benson, Victor Olaiya, Stephen Amaechi, E.C. Arinze, The Nigeria Police Band, Duke Onyina and his band, King Bruce, the Ramblers Dance Band and many more. Over the years highlife bands have evolved in many different directions. However, the guitar element remains constant, with the rudimentary influence of the Palmwine Guitar still recognisable, an enduring reminder of this melodic style of music.

In conclusion, the Palmwine Guitar is an extremely important part of the heritage of West Africa and part of the common musical currency of all of its people - despite differences in their subjective histories. Tribute must therefore be paid to the old masters of this phenomenal institution and indeed to the modern exponents who have sustained its pure format and taken the genre to another level - young masters like Oscar Elimbi N’Guime, Abdul Teejay, Piper Jay, Joe Mbule, Rene Lendjou, Kari Bannerman, Phil Dawson and several others. Through them, the Palmwine Guitar lives on - and so it should!

Share

Read More