‘I wish to tell you what made the women move about and remain here for about five days. We do not want women to pay tax and we want the tax on men to be abolished- 129th witness, Oguta, Aba Commission of Inquiry Notes of Evidence, 1930, 278.
I find that a reflection into the archives to understand what has happened in order to try to evaluate what is playing out real time is always important. History documents the events that necessitated revolts with clear evidence on the facts and corresponding results. The quote above was written to emphasize the importance of not just protest triggers, but to also provide information on which bodies were involved in carrying out civil disobedience as well as the consequences of events. The story of the Aba Women, told, re-told and explained by many academics scholars give voice and show the extent to which a group of people can create revolt -challenge oppression and bring an end to domination and intimidation.
The Aba Women revolts in 1929 spoke against the taxation imposed by the colonial rule and to remove the warrant officers who created such economic conditions that caused them to suffer beyond bearable poverty. It is recorded in history that prior to the Aba Women, a revolt happened to end economic hardship by women who were seen to demonstrate by “dancing” and organising daily to challenge the status of discrimination. Aba women took the “sitting” method as a protests strategy to provoke a change against harsh governance conditions imposed by colonials.
It’s August 2024, Nigeria media coverage shows some groups of protesters walking to raise awareness on tough economic conditions in the Nation. This revolts also coined as “End Bad Governance” protests in Nigeria, happened across States. This is not the first “protests”that Nigeria has experienced . It is recorded that organised demonstrations such as Bring Back Our Girls and Occupy Nigeria, were largely supported by some government officials who are serving the current administration in varying capacities. It is “common” practice to hold protests in order to get the people to pay attention to issues of governance as well as call to order and action, the serving government in “power” on issues precipitating them. The most recent revolt alleged to be rife with violence and rioting would be the End SARS. protests which saw to the dismantling of a rogue security unit that was responsible for the intimidation of many defenceless young people in Nigeria.
Historically “Peasants” revolting is said to be triggered by harsh economic policies that greatly affect the subalterns and rural communities. These policies are usually instigated by the State. Policies created to govern a Nation should be evaluated and then implemented first in small tranches to understand its impact and then rolled out, in my opinion. How do we evaluate policies for deployments in Nigeria before implementation are made.? The common assumptions is that most governance systems in Nigeria, deploy policies without reviewing the contexts, conditions and consequences of such policy implications. Would this strategy of ‘checking’ in with constituents who will be recipients of such policies, reduce the likelihood of protests in Nigeria? Can this turn the country into a more protest-free and ‘stable’ environment?
August 2024 End Bad Governance Protests of this kind or the ones recorded historically, show that “challenging” norms and policies is one way to speak up and change the material effects in a democratic society. A government in power does play a significant role in triggering “unrest”. The ideal scenario would be to foster a system that’s inclusive and works for all her citizens.
As Nigeria experiences protests, some African countries have shown disapproval of government policies and legislation as well that one can almost imagine pan-africanism at play here. But when protests and revolts trigger riots, violence emanates and as M. Ghandi says, civil disobedience comes with its own costs and consequences to the government and the people. One needs to ask the underlining question which is- is there an alternative strategy to critique economic policies that doesn’t involve protesting? Can State violence be mitigated? Are we repeating a historical rhetoric or is this a colonial approach to democracy? Can the systems evolve and lead with empathy and compassion, integrity and transparency?
The Aba women had no voice even if there were voices challenging the imposition of taxation. Many women lost their lives and did not see the benefits and outcome of their revolts. While the West framed this revolts as riots, in order to defame the essence of authority women had to challenge the colonials, the outcome, albeit positive, turned violent.
Nigeria can learn from history. Repetition of a cycle can be tiring; the worse is to remain rhetorical.
Añuli Aniebo.
References
Korieh, Chima (2010) Chapter 4, Peasants, Depression, and Rural Revolts, in The land has changed: history, society and gender in colonial Eastern Nigeria, Calgary, Alberta: University of Calgary Press, 123-162
Livingston, A. (2018). Fidelity to Truth: Gandhi and the Genealogy of Civil Disobedience. Political Theory, 46(4), 511–536. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26966083