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7 Labor, Wages, and Riots
- Indiana University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Nigerians in the service of colonial authorities described themselves as “workers.” Even though they might work for the colonial government or foreign-owned companies, they distanced themselves from the idea that they were stakeholders in the colonial regime. Rather, the word “workers” had begun to suggest to many Nigerians a spirit of nationalism and the opportunity to convert labor power into political power. By the 1930s, many workers were beginning to be drawn into political parties; and by the 1940s, many more had become part of the critical mass on which the nationalists relied to overthrow the colonial government. The colonial state could no longer count on the loyalty of many of those who worked for it. One can be paid by the government and at the same time be critical of one’s position, one’s bosses, and the existing political institutions. The major employers between 1900 and 1945 were the colonial administration , about thirteen Levantine Wrms, and European mining and trading Wrms, notably the UAC, John Holt, G. B. Ollivant, Paterson Zochonis, the Compagnie Française de l’Afrique Occidentale, the Société de l’Ouest Africain, the Union Trading Company (UTC), and Thomopoulus. After 1940, other companies joined these ranks, including European commercial banks, insurance companies, oil-prospecting companies, and a host of manufacturers. As radicalism developed among Nigerian workers and their unions, political rhetoric promoted the idea of violence. Angered by the fact that the government and the companies that employed them were foreign, workers believed that the government was an exploiter interested only in using Nigeria’s resources to develop Britain and that all foreign companies were proWt seekers that were bleeding labor and the country for their own narrow goals. 152 7 Labor, Wages, and Riots Workers’ paramount concern was wages, as indeed it should have been, given the nature of the Nigerian economy. From their point of view, the failure of the government to provide for them was a form of violence. The politicization and radicalization that precipitated the violence of the 1940s reveal not just the development of the unions but the development of a politics of decolonization that made a new generation of Nigerians more assertive and aggressive than their predecessors. The role of workers and labor unions became important in the 1940s, which were characterized by three major labor crises: the General Strike of 1945, the Burutu Workers Strike of 1947, and the Enugu Colliery Strike of 1949. These three strikes reveal the face of postwar radicalism in Nigeria. The purpose of this chapter is not to discuss the broad canvas of unionism and politics, but to isolate the communication of anger, riots, and aggressive responses to the colonial state. Workers’ use of violent language and union leaders’ ability to mobilize their members for strikes show the important role of labor in political activism and the movement toward independence . A number of labor leaders were unafraid of the colonial state, the colonial army, and the colonial police. In 1945, labor leaders ignored messages of intimidation from the governor. As the General Strike succeeded , it revealed that militancy could pay o¤ in the long run if the people could be organized. Indeed, a small number of people were even talking about violence and strikes designed to end the colonial regime. Thus, we see a merger between the interests of politicians and those of organized labor. The former group was demanding constitutional changes, and the latter demanding improved wages and conditions of service, but both sets of demands led in one direction: nationalist expression. The merger created its own problems, between so-called moderates and so-called radicals in the various trade union organizations. The moderates tended to be suspicious of politicians, and they argued that the workers should Wght for their own cause rather than for the concerns of politicians. In the eyes of the radicals, the future of the workers and the future of Nigeria were intertwined , and they should, therefore, merge workers’ concerns with those of the nationalist politicians. The circumstances behind most labor-related aggression and violence were no di¤erent from those that shaped the events and the radicalism discussed in chapter 6. The recession, uncontrolled inXation, scarcity of essential imported items, and high rate of unemployment of veterans after the Second World War all triggered a response by labor. Unsatisfactory constitutional changes that were slow in transferring power to Nigerians angered both politicians and union leaders aspiring for power. In addition Labor, Wages, and Riots 153...