THE ABA WOMEN RIOT OF 1929

On January 1, 1914, Lord Lugard signed documents Amalgamating the Northern Protectorate and the southern Protectorate giving birth to today’s Nigeria.? He also introduced the indirect rule system under which the British would rule locally through indigenes of the community called “warrant chiefs”.? Essentially this meant the British would appoint people who will carry out their wishes. As time went on, the appointed warrant Chiefs became very oppressive and they imposed harsh draconian local regulations and imprisoned anyone who openly criticized them. They seized properties unjustly and imposed harsh taxes.?

Everyone knew that the source of their power was the British Colonial administrators. The real problem began when the British administrators through the warrant chiefs decided to impose special taxes on the Igbo market women. These women whom the special taxes were levied were the ones responsible for supplying food to the people in Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Owerri, and other Nigerian cities. There were growing fears that the Taxes will drive many of the market women out of business and also disrupt the supply of food to the growing population.

By November of 1929 thousands of women gathered at the native administration centers in Calabar, Ikot Abasi in Akwa Ibom, and Aba, chanting, singing, and Marching in protest against the warrant Chiefs and the Taxes imposed on the market women. Not long after the protest started, there were reports of shootings in Ikot Abasi. This was when the protests became fiery, as the women began to attack native courts run by colonial officers and burnt them to the ground. The women also attacked European-owned Stores and Banks, broke into prisons, and released prisoners.? The protests were so intense that the Colonial troops and police were called to disperse the crowd. However, they fired into the crowd killing over 50 women and wounding over 50 more. It is reported that the riots which lasted for about two months, had over 25,000 women involved in protesting against the British officers.

?In the end, some of the warrants chiefs resigned their positions and colonial authorities dropped their plans to impose taxes on the market women. The Aba women riots took the government months to suppress and it became a historic feminist movement and a story of strength and courage.

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