Article Citation: Ojieh Chukwumeka Ojiione (2019). Ukwuani Resistance to British Occupation – The Case of Ezionum Community, 1896-1904. DEGEL: The Journal of the Faculty of Arts and Islamic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1. ISSN 0794-9316
UKWUANI RESISTANCE TO BRITISH OCCUPATION – THE CASE OF
EZIONUM COMMUNITY, 1896-1904
By
Ojieh Chukwuemeka Ojione
Department of History and International Studies
Delta State University, Abraka
Abstract
There is a near general contention that the Ukwuani were more or less
passive to European Imperial activities in their country. In this regard, one
scholar avers that “the patrol [a British military force to conquer the Ukwuani
country] . . . successfully, brought Ukwuani under British control for the
first time and . . . the territory appeared to have ‘willingly’ accepted the
Government.” Speaking of the same 1904 patrol that “was to bring the [Ukwuani]
country under effective [colonial] control”, a colonial account talks of same
to have “completed its purpose with no great opposition.” Contentions like
these tend to belittle evidence of indigenous people’s routing of European
imperial forces. This article is an invalidation of this kind of contention. It
uses the Ezionum resistance against the imposition of British rule as a case
study.
Introduction
Who are the Ukwuani? The Western Niger Delta region of Nigeria
approximately lying within longitude 6061 and 6042’ East and latitude 6031’ and
5025’ North (Okolugbo 1982:1), is inhabited by the Ukwuani and the Ndosumili.
Today, both groups inhabit Ukwuani, Ndokwa West and Ndokwa East Local
Government Areas of Delta State. While the Ukwuani inhabits the first two Local
Government Areas, (that is, Ndokwa West and Ukwuani) the Ndosumili occupy
Ndokwa East. Again, while the Ndosumili (or Aboh) are riverine dwellers, the
Ukwuani occupy the hinterland section of this region and are thus “Ukwu-Ani” or
“up-landers” or “up-country dwellers”. Specifically, the area occupied by the
Ukwuani covers between the Ethiope, Adofi and Ase Rivers. Much earlier writings
have either termed the Ukwuani as Southern Ika or (the name Ukwuani corrupted
too) Kwale (Forde and Jones 1967:46 & 48, Ekeh 2000). The Ukwuani country
is made up of fifteen clans – Abbi, Akoku, Amai, Ebedei, Emu, Eziokpor,
Ezionum, Obiaruku, Ogume, Onicha-Ukwuani, Umuebu, Umukwata, Umutu, Utagba-Ogbe,
and Utagba-Uno. The Ukwuani are “reputed to be among the earliest indigenous
people to settle in the Niger Delta” (Ekeh 2000).
The very limited aspects of Ukwuani written history have tended to focus
more on accounts of traditions of origin and socio-political organizations with
very little attention to aspects of Ukwuani colonial experience. Indeed, Anene
(1966), Isichei (1970), Asiegbu (1984), and others have in separate works
mentioned aspects of the circumstances leading to the overthrow of indigenous
authority and the imposition of colonial rule in the Ukwuani country as well as
Ukwuani reactions to the imposition of colonial rule. The fact remains that
these treatments have not been very detailed since they appear only as part of
more general discussions of a larger region under which the Ukwuani have only
received passing mentions. While the foregoing would not necessarily detract
from the relevance of those works in the reconstruction of Ukwuani history of
this era, I seek in this work however, to attempt a more elaborate and specific
treatment of Ukwuani colonial experience rather than the general approach of
casually mentioning Ukwuani, say, as part of Southern Nigeria (Anene 1966:187,
221-222) or among the Ibos (Isichei 1970:137-38). I shall, therefore, attempt
in this article to treat this all-important aspect of Ukwuani history.
Succinctly put, this work is on the Ukwuani relations with the European with
emphasis on early contacts, the overthrow of indigenous authority and Ukwuani
resistance to the imposition of colonial rule. The case study for this analysis
(that is, of Ukwuani anti-colonial resistance) is the Ezionum resistance of
1905. This is notwithstanding the fact that other evidence (for instance, Etua
1904, Abbi 1914) subsist.
The Ukwuani and the Europeans: Early Contacts
The earliest contact between the Europeans and the Western Niger Delta
peoples is marked with “the arrival of the Portuguese in the region in the
1940s” (Ekeh 2000). Some Ukwuani neighbours such as Benin in 1481, the Itsekiri
in 1597 (whose ruler Olu Atuwatse I was baptized Don Domingo and received
University education in Coimbra University, Portugal before he reigned
1625-1643) and Aboh in 1830, were among some of the earliest peoples south of
the Niger to encounter the Europeans. Asaba, another Ukwuani neighbour had had
contacts with the Europeans when on November 5, 1830, the Lander Brothers came
to Asaba in the course of their famous voyage down the River Niger.
By 1895, British imperial agents had made contacts with most of these
people [the neighbours of the Ukwuani]. Indeed, the Atlantic ethnic
nationalities of the Ijaw and the Itsekiri had trading experiences with the
English, as with other European trading nations, dating back to several
centuries. The British had similar experiences with the Benin whose king had
exercised enormous power and influence in many areas of the western Niger
Delta. Then in the latter half of the 1880s, the British Royal Niger Company
established contacts with the Urhobos in their waterways. The Urhobo and Isoko
fell to British colonialism, beginning with a series of “Treaties of
Protection,” from 1891 to 1894. However, up to the first half of the 1890s, the
Ukwuani were largely untouched by this flurry of British imperial expansion in
the western Niger Delta (Ekeh 2000).
Thus “the Ukwuani were the last of the ethnic nationalities to be brought
under British colonial rule in the western Niger Delta” (Ekeh 2000).
While the aforementioned Ukwuani neighbours dealt with the Europeans, the
Ukwuani and the British were not to meet until the late 19th century just as
“no missionary moved beyond Aboh to the hinterland [Ukwuani] towns and
neighbouring villages throughout the 19th century” (Okolugbo 2004:52 and
1984:13). Moreover, the European traders had no desire to visit the interior
Isichei (1970:87) and Ikime suggests that the rapid decline of the slave trade
in the first half of the 19th century made Britain, the leading European power
in the area, not to be interested in the hinterland country of the Ukwuani
among others (Ikime 1984:263). It is also on record that concerted efforts were
made by the coastal chieftains to deny the Europeans access to the hinterland
in a bid to guarantee their position as middlemen in the commercial relations
between the Europeans and the hinterland countries and thus, secure trade
monopoly. The Obi Ossai of Aboh, for instance, was said to have monopolized the
trade along the Niger valley using his war canoes fitted with brass and iron
cannons (Dike 1956:26-27). Also, Chief Nana Olomu of the Benin River was
accused by British merchants of trade monopoly and blockades as from 1886 when
he was said to have ordered a stoppage of trade between his officials and the
British.
When later in the 19th century European imperial quests intensified and
Britain sought to break up the monopolistic trends of these coastal peoples and
advance into the hinterland, conflicts resulted. In consequence of these, most
of these aforementioned chieftains were sacked. Such included Nana the Itsekiri
king in 1894, Obi Ossai of Aboh in 1896 and Oba Ovonranwen of Benin in 1897.
However, Britain had started to formalize and strengthen consular
administration, so that in 1891, there existed, two coordinate British
authorities in the present south-southern and eastern sections of Nigeria.
While Macdonald headed the Protectorate administration, the Royal Niger Company
represented the other authority and within the boundary of their authorities
putting the hinterland countries of Urhobo, Isoko and Ukwuani within the sphere
of influence of the latter. Earlier, Macdonald had written the Foreign Office
discrediting the extension of Company Rule in the area as “the opposition which
the extension would meet . . . would more than counterbalance any advantage to
be derived” (Anene 1966:130-131). He concluded by recommending a Crown Colony
government for the Oil Rivers protectorate.
While treaties for protectorate rule were being concluded with the
coastal chieftains of the Niger Delta cognizance was lost of the fact that the
hinterland countries that were later to fall within this jurisdiction had not
been briefed yet Lord Salisbury approved a Crown Colony government for
Macdonald whose greatest challenge became the extension of British authority to
the immediate hinterland of the coast and beyond. But the penetration of the
interior continued to pose great difficulty. There was the difficulty of
accessing the creeks of the Niger Delta to the interior and the continued
hostility of local chieftains among others. There was also the check posed by
the presence of a rival authority in the Royal Niger Company. Indeed, British
efforts at the pacification of the Western Niger Delta hinterland had started
yielding fruits with the pacification of the Urhobo hinterland in November 1891
when Vice-consul Gallway established a constabulary post in Sapele but the
further hinterland had remained intact.
Even by 1895 when his tenure ended, the administrative arrangement
proposed by Macdonald and which divided the protectorate into three districts
each under a Consul assisted by a District Commission and an Assistant District
Commissioner ran thus;
a. Eastern Headquarters district which embraced the Cross, the Calabar
and Quo-Eboe Rivers
b. The Western district which constituted of the vice consulates of Warri
and Sapele, that is the portion of the protectorate west of the Niger Delta.
c. The Central district which consisted of the Opobo, Bonny, New Calabar
and Brass vice-consulates (Anene 1966:175)
The Ukwuani would have fallen within the Western district but the
Europeans were yet to pacify the Ukwuani country. Moreso, the Europeans were
yet to over-run the Isoko country a closer neighbour of the Urhobo of Sapele
(who were already under European influence) than the Ukwuani. “The British
capture of Benin and the fugitive chiefs [in 1897] had not brought about the
submission [to Britain] of the Ishan, Kukuruku and Ibo groups [including the
Ukwuani] formally dominated by Benin City” (Anene 1966:219).
This development has been attributed in some quarters to Macdonald’s
approach to pacification with emphasis on dialogue. No wonder his successor
Ralph Moor observed that “the territories between Benin City and the Niger
river [including the Ukwuani, Ika and the Enuani] required, firm measure to
bring them under government [British] control” (Anene 1966:218). When he acted
for Macdonald in 1892 and 1894, Ralph Moor had been infuriated by the
restrictions which the boundary between protectorate and company administrations
of 1891 placed on his officials. Thus, when in 1899 the Royal Niger Company
lost its charter and having succeeded Macdonald in January 1896, Ralph Moor
received a blank cheque to pillage the coastal interior countries guided by his
impatience and eagerness for the immediate result which led to his adoption of
large-scale military operations such as shelling and destroying of towns and
villages. Thus, the push into the Urhobo towns, Isoko and Ukwuani countries had
begun in earnest in 1900 and went on till 1914 (Ikime 1977:4).
The foregoing is although towards the end of 1896, the Acting Vice-consul
in Sapele, Mr Kenneth Campbell had made his first visit to the Ukwuani country
during which “he concluded a treaty with Amai but it did little to quieten the
country” (Mallinson 1934). The point must, however, be made, that earlier in
1896, on taking stock of his achievements, Ralf Moor recognized the futility of
coercion in pacifying the people thus, abandoned it for dialogue only to
re-adopt force again as from 1900. The circumstance of this scenario is
explained thus. When during 1896 the Consul-General recognized that little or
no progress had been achieved in the pacification of the interior peoples he
abandoned the use of force for dialogue through native political agents. It was
in the wake of this strategy that one Tom Fallodo, a Yoruba European agent was
charged with the pacification and supervision of the Eastern Urhobo (referred
to in the preceding paragraph as “farther Urhobo towns” and “Isoko”) and Kwale
or Ukwuani countries (Anene 1966:187). Fallado’s responsibilities were to
explain British intensions to the hinterland communities and encourage the
latter to promote trade as well as the tacit mandate of spying on the
activities of the village communities with regards to slavery, and other so
called inhuman activities as well as weighing their military readiness.
Though, Ukwuani elders cannot immediately recall the activities of this
man that is, Fallado, they note that if the white man’s account talks of his
activities around here without the people’s objection, it would have been as a
result of the fact that he was a Blackman and thus “one of us” (Ogwezi 1988).
Moreso, there was no need offering active opposition to British colonial agents
who brought them no war and soon left them to relapse to their ways of life as
if nothing had happened. At the end of the day, dialogue (even through agents
like Tom Fallodo) had yielded minimal gains so that, the use of force was
re-enacted. The loss of Charter in 1899 by the Royal Niger Company had put the
Ukwuani and their Asaba neighbours under the central division of Ralph Moor’s
new administrative structure. Using military patrols, the pillaging of the
interior became unrestricted.
European Occupation and Ukwuani Resistance – The Ezionum Episode
The first British imperial expedition into the Ukwuani (“Kwale”) country
was in April 1896. This was in the journey of the Assistant District
Commissioner at Sapele, Hugh Leeky assisted by Captain Ringer.
This journey was undertaken . . . to open up friendly communications with
the natives and assist in settling difficulties among them which were damaging
trade. It was also anticipated that the source of the Jamiesen River [a
tributary of Ethiope River] might be discovered (Ekeh 2000 Quoted).
This need had become more poignant given that trade being of “paramount
interest to British expansion in the 1890s”, “the Ukwuani region had not been
directly engaged in trade with the British uptil then” (Ekeh 2000). Thus, for
the Ukwuani country, the earliest evidence of a European military invasion
would have been in 1901 when punitive expeditions were directed to be launched
against the Ishan and Kwale (Ukwuani) districts of the central division who
were disaffected with colonial government and killed a chief who wished to be
friendly with the white man (Anene 1966:221). “Military patrols were to scour
the districts of Uromi, Kwale [Ukwuani] and the Aseh creek” (Anene 1966:222).
Evidence does not exist as to whether this 1901 directive (that is, of a military
patrol), was implemented up to the Ukwuani country so that a European
subjugation of the Ukwuani by 1901 is a moot issue. Its implementation might
have awaited 1904.
The foregoing is as it is recalled again that though, “attempts were made
by various officers to enter the [Ukwuani] country, it was found impossible to
get into touch with the people” (Mallinson 1934). This was the situation until
“1904 [when] a patrol was sent to bring the Ukwuani country under effective
control” (Mallinson 1934). However, between the Uromi and Kwale countries lay
the Ika country and the Ika must have earlier, encountered the British and
against whom they had instituted an astute resistance as in the Ekumeku
movement which became very popular in 1904.
The significance of this anti-colonial movement (that is, the Ekumeku)
rests in the fact that the percolation of its activities into the Ukwuani
country provided further grounds for the intensification of British incursions
into the area. Before 1899, the area had been under the jurisdiction of the
Royal Niger Company which sought to penetrate the rest of the western Igbo
communities in search of trade and to rule the people. In resentment, the
league of young men in the various village groups came together and formed the
Ekumeku secret organization – an underground movement of resistance to the
British trader, missionary and administrator alike (Afigbo 1973:14-17).
The Ukwuani were not involved in the Ekumeku at this time because being
further inland there were no dealings between them and the Europeans of the
Royal Niger Company. It was in the second phase of the Ekumeku which became
intensified in 1904 following the aggressive imperialism of Ralph Moor on the
collapse of the Royal Niger Company that was to provide a role for the Ukwuani.
Even at that, the extent of Ukwuani involvement in the Ekumeku needs to be
established. The Ukwuani never got initiated into this (Ekumeku) “cult” neither
did they develop its equivalent. They were still farther inland so that, their
territory was to provide refuge for fleeing Ekumeku leaders who were beginning
to submit to the superior firepower of Britain. Two such leaders Idegu of
Ubulu-Uku and Dunku were caught at Ejeme on the border of the Ukwuani country
(Asiegbu 1984:273) There was, therefore, the need to invade it (the Ukwuani
country) to fish out possible remnants of the Ekumeku dissidents.
The factor of the provision of refuge for fleeing Ekumeku leaders and
their subsequent capture around the Ukwuani country further fueled the
accusation against the Ukwuani of being “disaffected with the [colonial]
government”. To the British officials, the Ukwuani country was the section of
the Central Division that “has always shown the greatest disinclination to come
in touch with [British] officials and has always pursued its own course,
retaining all its native habits and customs in spite of the many warnings
received at frequent intervals” (Anene 1966:248). This observation had earlier
been made in 1901. For the Ukwuani, the influence of the Ekumeku rests not only
in the factor of refuge for Ekumeku leaders but also in the adoption by the
Ukwuani (when they eventually came in contact with the colonialists) of some
Ekumeku anti-colonial strategies such as burning of churches, refusal to
dialogue with colonial agents, killing of indigenes who fraternized with the
British, etc. The activities of Ekumeku dissidents which percolated the Ukwuani
country likely exacerbated the disturbances because according to the Divisional
Commissioner Copland Crawford, after all active [Ekumeku] opposition was
practically quelled most of the Ekumeku leaders had been arrested, and all that
remained to be accomplished was to capture the few remaining leaders, secure
the outstanding fines. . . (Asiegbu 1984:273-74)
By the middle of March 1904, he found justification in sending an
expedition upon the Kwale i.e. Ukwuani “when things had reached a certain
point” (Asiegbu 1984:274).
The British resolved to intensify its check on the further insurgency in
the Ukwuani country and this gave rise to the popular Kwale (Ukwuani) patrol as
from 1904. Administrative officers who accompanied these patrols were to
explain to the people the intensions – to put down crime and maintain law and
order, promotion of trade and non-interference in their domestic affairs,
Native courts were to be established to guarantee these and “jujus” were to be
destroyed. Where opposition was offered the troop was to stay until submission
was obtained. Thus, for the Ukwuani, “when colonial rule became an experienced
reality, rather than a dimly comprehended possibility” fierce oppositions were
offered resulting in severe military clashes between British and Ukwuani troops
as exemplified in the Etua war of 1904, Ezionum 1905 and Abbi 1914 wars.
The Ezionum episode which is the case study here like the other instances
provides a subtle and nuance invalidation of such contentions as that of
Mallinson (1934) that in 1904, a patrol sent to bring the Ukwuani country under
effective control “completed its purpose with no great opposition.” Ironically,
Mallinson himself was to acknowledge that; towards the end of 1905, an
attempt was made to establish permanent headquarters at Amai and a native
Court. The attempt was a failure owing to the attitude of the Ezionum people
who compelled a withdrawal to Sapele. A patrol was sent from Sapele to deal
with Ezionum but was not strong enough to subdue the town (Mallinson 1934).
The Ukwuani people of the little town of Ezionum with an estimated
population of between two and three thousand had risen against the District
Commissioner and his patrol team which attacked Ezionum on 12th October 1905
(Isichei 1970:137-38). The people were said to have fiercely resisted this
incursion to the extent that the patrol suffered severe reversal – three
Europeans were wounded; of the rank and file, one was killed and thirteen
severely wounded (Isichie 1970:138). The British patrol troop retreated to
neighbouring Abraka town and then to Sapele in the Urhobo country from where
the British force received reinforcement manned by two companies of the Lagos
Battalion and one company of the Southern Nigeria Regiment. Armed with three
maxims and a millimetre gun, the attack on Ezionum was re-launched, the people
proved inconsequential, the town of Ezionum was sacked and fined.
Conclusion
Ezionum resistance to British colonial aggression might have proved
un-enduring particularly in the face of superior European weaponry. All of
Africa’s anti-colonial resistance was. The Ezionum episode is in no way
inferior to the Benin episode where Oba Ovonranwem’s supposed breach of the
European/Benin treaty of 1888 had necessitated Vice-consul Phillips’ punitive
expedition against Benin. The Bini resisted like the Ezionum of the Ukwuani
country examined above. Consul Phillips and five of his men were killed and the
remnant of his two hundred-man force retreated. A reinforced British troop
brought Benin down in the infamous Benin massacre. Thus, the pattern is the
same. African peoples never really withstood a rampaging European force
especially one on a vengeance mission. Hence the Ezionum resistance collapsed.
The submission of this article is that if an insurgent Ukwuani troop (like the
Ezionum case represented) could compel a British column “sent to bring the
country under effective control” to do a retreat upon suffering severe
casualty, and only reinforce to take the country, such an effort (of the
insurgents) qualifies as an effective African resistance to European
aggression.
References
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Ogwezi Okonye (Age circa 68 years) An Ogbu-Iji title holder and farmer.
Interviewed 18/12/88 for an earlier study at his residence in Eweshi,
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