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The subject of the thesis is the attempt to control communist influence by the British within the wider history of decolonization and the transfer of power in West Africa. It concerns the evolution and implementation of anti-communist... more
The subject of the thesis is the attempt to control communist influence by the British within the wider history of decolonization and the transfer of power in West Africa. It concerns the evolution and implementation of anti-communist policies in the colonies with special reference to Nigeria. It analyses British policy in Nigeria within the context of the Cold War and the efforts of the Western powers to secure the good-will of Nigerian leaders after independence. It suggests that the success of the various anti-communist measures marked the beginning of the special relationship between Britain and the emergent Nigerian elite which took the country into independence in 1960. The study reviews the role of the Nigerian Left in the light of new evidence and concludes that communism was of considerable significance during the terminal colonial history of Nigeria. It shows that decolonisation and the transfer of power consisted of more than constitution-making, economic and development ...
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Dieser Artikel untersucht die Rolle und Bedeutung der International Labour Organisation (ILO) in den Arbeitsbeziehungen und bei der Arbeiterbildung im sudlichen Afrika wahrend der „glorreichen“ 1960er Jahre. Die Entstehung,... more
Dieser Artikel untersucht die Rolle und Bedeutung der International Labour Organisation (ILO) in den Arbeitsbeziehungen und bei der Arbeiterbildung im sudlichen Afrika wahrend der „glorreichen“ 1960er Jahre. Die Entstehung, Herausforderungen und Errungenschaften der ACTRAV-Aktiviaten in diesem Bereich werden historisiert. Die erfolgreiche Setzung internationaler Standards unterscheidet die ILO von vielen anderen internationalen Organisationen. Der Artikel untersucht den Stellenwert des subsaharischen Afrikas in den jahrlichen Tagungen des International Labour Congress (ILC) und seinen 200 Konventionen und Empfehlungen am Vorabend der 1960er Jahre. Wahrend diese Standards ursprunglich darauf zielten, direkte Arbeitnehmerrechte zu schutzen, hat die ILO seit den 1930er Jahren begonnen, diese Funktion auf andere Felder wie soziale Sicherheit oder Beschaftigungspolitik auszuweiten. Der Artikel untersucht die Blaupause der ILO in Bezug auf den Aufbruch Afrikas in den 1960er Jahren und die...
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Although retired, he is not tired of research and writing. John Iliffe’s latest book out of retirement is an unsolicited biography of one of the enigmas of modern Nigerian history. The good thing about the book is that Iliffe has... more
Although retired, he is not tired of research and writing. John Iliffe’s latest book out of retirement is an unsolicited biography of one of the enigmas of modern Nigerian history. The good thing about the book is that Iliffe has presented an objective weaving of many secondary sources available to us. For most writers, it may be diffıcult to turn “good journalism” and “lively Nigerian political press” into an informative and readable book (ix). However, his reliance on Obasanjo’s critics and supporters, and metropolitan records in England and the United States without oral interviews with him and close associates (e.g., Aare Afe Babalola) limits the comprehensiveness of the analysis and the historical objectivity. A good example is the Oshiomole/labor union threat and blockage of the airport tarmac, which ended with “Mr. Fix-It” (Aare Afe Babalola) litigation that brought about a speedy resolution and a victory for Obasanjo. Although Iliffe may be right that “many sources needed fo...
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Before the Wind of Change: The Orientation of Trade Unions in Africa Leftist Intelligentsia, Labor Union Education, and Decolonization Decolonization: Understanding the Conventional Narratives The Colonial State and Organized Labor Labor... more
Before the Wind of Change: The Orientation of Trade Unions in Africa Leftist Intelligentsia, Labor Union Education, and Decolonization Decolonization: Understanding the Conventional Narratives The Colonial State and Organized Labor Labor Union Education before 1960 Champions of the Working Class: Samuel Grace Ikoku and other Noble Men On the Eve of Independence: The Nigerian Union of Seamen Dispute, 1959 Labor Union Education since 1960
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Globalization has undoubtedly brought some challenges such as polarization of wealth and poverty, elongation of gap between the North (Developed countries) and South (Developing countries), and erosion of part of powers and activities of... more
Globalization has undoubtedly brought some challenges such as polarization of wealth and poverty, elongation of gap between the North (Developed countries) and South (Developing countries), and erosion of part of powers and activities of the nation-states, it has therefore become imperative for states in the South including Nigeria to reassess its relations with other national governments and transnational actors as international organization and multinational corporations. This is with a view to repositioning itself for these challenges. In an era of globalization, these challenges have unnaturally downplayed multilateralism and in its stead uplifted unilateralism. This is because globalization has heralded such phenomena as marketization and territorialization. It has also evolved strong competition among nation-states. The onus is now on the states in the South including Nigeria to respond to these challenges. Again, such happenings in the international arena as nuclearism, Islam...
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The tide of globalization through competition has stormed the global world and swept away uncooperative countries. This has therefore reconfigured and reshaped the state in both the activities and powers by transferring powers and... more
The tide of globalization through competition has stormed the global world and swept away uncooperative countries. This has therefore reconfigured and reshaped the state in both the activities and powers by transferring powers and activities hitherto held by the state to other actors. This is done at the vertical level (through the supra-national organization such as the United Nations) and at the horizontal level (through the society such as the private sector).Thus, state (public) has to partner with the society (private). The success of the partnership between the public and the society depends largely on the availability of strong institutions to regulate the shared understanding and language of partnership. In Nigeria, institutions, which are to regulate human interactions and which allow participants to mitigate obstacles to collective action and commit to cooperative agreements are weak. This has led to the collapse of Public Private Partnership (PPP) because the corollary of...
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Notice. Imprimer la notice. Britain, leftist nationalists and the transfer of power in nigeria, 1945-1965. Auteur : TIJANI Ibikunle. Prix indicatif 94,64 Ajouter au panier le livre de TIJANIIbikunle. Date de parution : 02-2006 Langue :... more
Notice. Imprimer la notice. Britain, leftist nationalists and the transfer of power in nigeria, 1945-1965. Auteur : TIJANI Ibikunle. Prix indicatif 94,64 Ajouter au panier le livre de TIJANIIbikunle. Date de parution : 02-2006 Langue : ANGLAIS 144p. ...
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Writing about the first labor strike in Nigeria, Anthony Hopkins noted that the predominantly labor-intensive economy of colonial Nigeria implies that scholars must unearth all aspects of the history of colonial experience. The labor... more
Writing about the first labor strike in Nigeria, Anthony Hopkins noted that the predominantly labor-intensive economy of colonial Nigeria implies that scholars must unearth all aspects of the history of colonial experience. The labor strike of 1897 in Lagos was therefore not necessarily a pioneering admonition to scholars, but was a trail-breaking exploration of what would become a phenomenon in “modernization” and decolonization in Nigeria. Like Hopkins, in this chapter I will attempt to rescue from obscurity the history of the last labor strike organized by Nigerians before independence.1
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In this chapter, I analyze the role of some of the most dedicated members of the Nigerian leftist intelligentsia during the decolonization period. While the emphasis is on Samuel Ikoku, the role of other prolific leftists such as Nduka... more
In this chapter, I analyze the role of some of the most dedicated members of the Nigerian leftist intelligentsia during the decolonization period. While the emphasis is on Samuel Ikoku, the role of other prolific leftists such as Nduka Eze, Gogo Chu Nzeribe, and others is put into perspective. Being the son of the renowned leader of the Nigerian Teachers Union Alvan Ikoku, Samuel Grace (Goomu) Ikoku was privileged to know about Western education and its significance in the new colonial dispensation at an early age. He studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, and was one of the pioneer lecturers in economics at the University of Lagos, Akoka, a few years after Nigeria’s independence from Britain. He was a Marxist and never shied away from that ideology throughout his lifetime, advocating tirelessly for the working class and a leftist takeover of the colonial state. Like most veteran members of the leftist intelligentsia, Samuel Grace Ikoku has not been given his due place in the annals of the Nigerian nationalist struggle. A member of the Zikist Movement and an ardent follower of Nduka Eze, Nigeria’s “father of Leftist nationalism,” he founded The Nigerian Socialist Review upon the demise of Eze’s Labour Champion in 1950.
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This chapter focuses on British official and unofficial attempts to shape the development of labor organizations in colonial Nigeria. It emphasized colonial state’s attempts to deprive leftists within the Nigerian labor movement any... more
This chapter focuses on British official and unofficial attempts to shape the development of labor organizations in colonial Nigeria. It emphasized colonial state’s attempts to deprive leftists within the Nigerian labor movement any opportunity to foment antigovernment propaganda or action. The development of “sound industrial relations” was important to successful antileftist measures in all ramifications.1 The chapter presents a historical narrative of the collaboration between the colonial state, officials of the British Trades Union Congress, the Nigerian private sector, pro-British Nigerian nationalists and labor leaders, and the United States of America at the onset of the Cold War in 1945. It argues that the success of various measures taken in the labor sector was not insulated from the general anti-leftist policies implemented between 1945 and 1960.2
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After World War II, Africans stepped up their fight for independence from their European colonizers. The postwar period became one of the defining moments in modern African history, marking the end of European rule. Between 1945 and 1975,... more
After World War II, Africans stepped up their fight for independence from their European colonizers. The postwar period became one of the defining moments in modern African history, marking the end of European rule. Between 1945 and 1975, Africa—with the exception of Ethiopia and Liberia—was transformed from a colonized continent to a largely self-governing continent where only a few residual pockets of colonialism persisted in the southern region.
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In April 1960, the prime minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, stated at the annual conference of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN): It is true that as representatives of workers it is your duty to strive to improve... more
In April 1960, the prime minister of Nigeria, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, stated at the annual conference of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUCN): It is true that as representatives of workers it is your duty to strive to improve the working conditions and living standards of your members. But your duty does not end there. Those of you who have been entrusted with leadership of the trade union movement have another equally important obligation. You should educate your members to appreciate their economic, social and civic responsibilities toward the state and the community.1
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Nigeria’s independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, did not stop either the momentum and interest in labor education or the ongoing general informal education against Communism. The University College at Ibadan (later called... more
Nigeria’s independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, did not stop either the momentum and interest in labor education or the ongoing general informal education against Communism. The University College at Ibadan (later called University of Ibadan) and its Extra-Mural Department continued to be relevant as agents of government in implementing its general education policy, as well as in continuing education programs. At the same time, other regional institutions such as the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; University of Lagos; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; and other postindependent higher education institutions competed for resources and enrollment in their labor and industrial relations courses. However, the University College at Ibadan has been dominant in organizing courses within and outside its campus, and in enrolling more students for these courses. For instance, in 1962 it conducted a three-day industrial relations course in Kano for 17 labor unionists from 12 unions across Nigeria. In the same year, a member of the staff of the UCI gave a talk at Enugu on the “Problems of Industrial Relations in Nigeria.”1 In June 1964, the Extra-Mural Department conducted a 20-week industrial relations course for 40 workers at Port Harcourt.
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This chapter recontextualizes the idea of training and education1 of labor union members and leaders in Nigeria during the decolonization era and after. It reviews previous scholarship and fills in the missing links for a comprehensive... more
This chapter recontextualizes the idea of training and education1 of labor union members and leaders in Nigeria during the decolonization era and after. It reviews previous scholarship and fills in the missing links for a comprehensive history of labor education and training in Nigeria. In the period before 1960, the centrality of colonial government-sponsored workers’ workshops, on-the-job training by both the private and public sectors, and opening of labor training centers in major cities and towns was not solely based on creating “sound industrial relations,” as British officials would have us believe. Nor was it solely aimed at general education for labor leaders, as Edmund Egboh’s 1971 essay implies.2 As the preceding chapters show, labor union matters were not solely a local affair. Neither were industrial relations in the colonies based on the imperial need to develop the labor union groups. At the same time, British educational development of its colonies was not limited to the formal instructional system. Informal education and continuing education, on-the-job training, workshops, and the like were part of the British government’s education of the colonial people. I posit further that the Crown’s formal and informal education of the colonial people was both a preventive and a curative effort to confront the growing threat of Communism worldwide and, in particular, its inroads into the fabric of the Nigerian colonial state.
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Chapter 1 List of Tables and Illustrations Chapter 2 Acknowledgements Chapter 3 Foreword Chapter 4 Abbreviations Chapter 5 1. Reflection on Nigeria's Urban History Chapter 6 2. Human Factor in Urbanization Chapter 7 3. Gender,... more
Chapter 1 List of Tables and Illustrations Chapter 2 Acknowledgements Chapter 3 Foreword Chapter 4 Abbreviations Chapter 5 1. Reflection on Nigeria's Urban History Chapter 6 2. Human Factor in Urbanization Chapter 7 3. Gender, Urbanization, and Socio-Economic Development Chapter 8 4. The Impact of Road Transportation Chapter 9 5. Role of Theater and Drama in Political and Urban Development Chapter 10 6. Prostitution and Urban Social Relations Chapter 11 7. Policing Urban Prostitution Chapter 12 8. Urban Neglect and Underdevelopment of a Border Town Chapter 13 9. Transformation of the Sabongari Chapter 14 10. Colonial and Postcolonial Architecture and Urbanism Chapter 15 11. Legal Aspect of Urban Development Chapter 16 12. Industries as Catalyst of Urban Development: A Microanalysis Chapter 17 13. Urbanism and Traditional Religion Chapter 18 14. Urbanism and Ethnic Crises Since the 1980s Chapter 19 15. Managing Rural and Urban Poverty Chapter 20 16. The Development of a Federal Capital Territory-Abuja Chapter 21 About the Editor and Contributors Chapter 22 Index
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There is no history of sustained Communist influence in British African colonies, although individual union leaders with Communist sympathies appeared from time to time, particularly in West Africa during the colonial period. In Britain’s... more
There is no history of sustained Communist influence in British African colonies, although individual union leaders with Communist sympathies appeared from time to time, particularly in West Africa during the colonial period. In Britain’s East and Central African colonies, any political sympathies were directed by unions toward their respective nationalist groups, particularly in Kenya, where the general secretary of the Federation of Labor (KFOL), Tom Mboya, was also the leader of the African members in the Legislative Council.2 This largely explains why World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) never succeeded in gaining a foothold in British East and Central Africa. In addition, the prohibition of the import of WFTU literature and colonial Africans’ difficulty in obtaining travel documents to travel to Iron Curtain countries. Furthermore, the relative “backwardness” of the Central and East African colonies compared with those of West Africa and the fact that the non-Communist International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) was able to gain a footing in the area since its inception in 1949 and exert its influence among most African union leaders were also reasons for the colonial government’s success in limiting Communist influence.
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There is no history of sustained Communist influence in British African colonies, although individual union leaders with Communist sympathies appeared from time to time, particularly in West Africa during the colonial period. In Britain’s... more
There is no history of sustained Communist influence in British African colonies, although individual union leaders with Communist sympathies appeared from time to time, particularly in West Africa during the colonial period. In Britain’s East and Central African colonies, any political sympathies were directed by unions toward their respective nationalist groups, particularly in Kenya, where the general secretary of the Federation of Labor (KFOL), Tom Mboya, was also the leader of the African members in the Legislative Council.2 This largely explains why World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) never succeeded in gaining a foothold in British East and Central Africa. In addition, the prohibition of the import of WFTU literature and colonial Africans’ difficulty in obtaining travel documents to travel to Iron Curtain countries. Furthermore, the relative “backwardness” of the Central and East African colonies compared with those of West Africa and the fact that the non-Communist International Confederation of Trade Unions (ICFTU) was able to gain a footing in the area since its inception in 1949 and exert its influence among most African union leaders were also reasons for the colonial government’s success in limiting Communist influence.