If you’re reading this and would like to join the Nigerian Army, here are some of the essential requirements that you need to know:
You must be a Nigerian.
According to Section 29 of the Nigerian Constitution, a Nigerian is born in Nigeria, whose parents were also held in Nigeria, and belongs to an indigenous group. If you don’t meet this, there is no army for you.
No children or teenagers allowed
Only adults from ages 22-28 are eligible to join the army.
Must be a certain height
Specifically, this is 1.68m (Male) and 1.65m (female).
Criminals are not eligible.
Anyone convicted in a court of law shouldn’t be part of an organisation that fights terrorism and saves lives.
Must be educated and completed NYSC
One must possess a minimum of first or not less than second class lower division from a recognised university. A HND from a recognised polytechnic and lower credit is also acknowledged.
The individual must also finish the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program. This is a scheme set up by the Nigerian government since the end of the Civil War. Its purpose is to involve Nigerian graduates in nation-building.
Must show proof of identity
This includes a valid birth certificate, certificate of state of origin, and recommendations from two recognised referees who must attest to your character and Integrity.
How does one apply?
Now that you know what it takes to be a soldier in the Nigerian Army, what are the next steps?
You can visit www.recruitment.army.mil.ng and click on DSSC and SSC whenever applications are open. These will be announced on radio, newspapers and television.
For this week’s Abroad Life, we tell the story of the Sudan conflict through a timeline of events — its origins, how it affects Nigerians in the diaspora, and what actions have been taken by the government to help.
Over the last few weeks, Sudan has been nothing but chaos. And Nigerians are caught in the thick of the heat.
Clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have brewed for months, resulting in the current conflict.
Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, sit atop a tank in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 20, 2023. [AFP]
But how did it begin? How does this affect Nigerians? What is the Nigerian government doing about its citizens?
December 2018: Citizens protest in Atbara city against rising food prices, widespread corruption and unemployment as Sudan faces a worsening economic crisis.
Sudan Protest of 2018 [TRT World]
Protests quickly spread to other parts of the country, finally reaching the capital Khartoum. Security responded with tear gas and gunfire, and protesters demanded that the country’s 26-year ruler, Omar al-Bashir step down.
April 2019: The people of Khartoum do not quit. They stage a sit-in at the army headquarters in Khartoum. This led to the army ousting and detaining Bashir, ending his 30-year grip on power.
However, the army quickly gains control, suspending the constitution and imposing a three-month state of emergency.
Sudan protests at the Army headquarters in Khartoum [BBC]
A transitional military government is formed, but protests continue with calls for civilian power. But attempts to break the impasse between the country’s military and protesters collapse.
A period of peace?
August 2019: Following mediation between the African Union and Ethiopia, civilian leaders and the navy agree to share political power for a three-year transition period. Elections will hold in 2023. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok leads a new council of ministers.
Ahmed al-Rabie, from the Alliance for Freedom and Change (R) and Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, from the military council, after the signing of the power-sharing, August 17, 2019. [EBRAHIM HAMID / AFP]
On August 17, a “constitutional declaration” was signed, which brings months of upheaval to an end. But this came with a clause. It said that the first 21 months of the transitional length would be led by means of the navy and then observed with the aid of civilian rule. The deal faces criticism from protesters who worry the navy will not keep its word.
December 2019: On December 14, Bashir, the country’s overthrown ruler, is convicted of corruption and sentenced to two years in a correctional centre.
Chaos in the COVID-19 Pandemic
March-July 2020: Hamdok, Sudan’s transitional high minister, survives an assassination strike on March 9.
Inflation in Sudan is greater than one hundred per cent. The Covid-19 pandemic results in monetary wahala for the country. The authorities see the need to announce a foreign exchange devaluation.
Protests persisted in June, with calls for justice for the individuals killed under Bashir’s rule.
On July 21, Bashir faces trial on the charges of the 1989 coup that introduced him to power.
Sudan’s deposed ruler Omar al-Bashir faces trial over corruption. [AMT]
Treaties and negotiations
October 2020: Sudan’s authorities and some rebellion organisations from the restive Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan provinces sign an important peace deal that could cease many years of combat. However, two of the biggest riot organisations do not sign the treaty.
Sudan’s Sovereign Council Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L), South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir (C), and Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok lift copies of a signed peace agreement with Sudan’s five key rebel groups in Juba, South Sudan, August 31, 2020. [Reuters]
December 2020-January 2021: Sudan seeks to normalise ties with Israel. In return, they’d be eliminated from the US terrorism list, get $1 billion from the World Bank to write off the country’s debts, and motivate overseas investment.
This works for Sudan, as the US ended Sudan’s designation as a country sponsor of terrorism on December 14. On January 6, the transitional authorities signed the Abraham Accords, which makes them a member of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco due to them officially recognising Israel.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (L) and Sudanese Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari signed the Abraham Accords in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on January 6, 2021.[Facebook]
The cracks begin to unfold
February 2021: Seven ministers from former rebellion groups form a coalition, but developing fractures with the fragile civilian alliance shortly emerge.
September-October 2021: A coup on September 21 is unsuccessful through navy figures under Bashir’s influence.
In October, a faction of the civilian protesters call for the army to take power and rule the country. Other civilian factions go on the streets to demonstrate their need for a civilian government.
On October 25, Sudanese armed forces arrested five ministers from the transitional cabinet, which includes Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
The coup was led with the aid of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. He was assisted by the deputy head of Sudan’s ruling council and chief of the RSF, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. He is also known as Hemeti.
Protesters march in Khartoum after Sudan’s military launches coup [The Guardian]
November 2021: Mass protests towards the coup result in Hamdok being reinstated as prime minister.
Fighting erupts
January 2022: Hamdok, unable to cope with the pressures of the coup, resigns from office.
Hamdok speaks at a press conference for Sudan’s Council of Ministers [AFP]
June 2022: The UN World Food Programme says more than a third of Sudan’s population faces food insecurity and blames this on the country’s ongoing political, economic and climate shocks
Anti-coup protesters take cover as riot police try to disperse them with water cannons during a demonstration against military rule in the centre of Sudan’s capital Khartoum on June 30, 2022 (AFP)
October 2022: Huge crowds take to the streets of Sudan in anti-military demonstrations marking the first anniversary of the coup.
December 2022: An agreement is signed by civilian groups sidelined by the military in the 2021 coup. A new two-year political transitional period starts.
April 2023: A power struggle between interim head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagolo (also known as Hemedti) breaks into the open.
Hemedti and Burhan [Vanguard Newspapers]
In a statement, Sudan’s military warns of the mobilisation of troops by the RSF in the capital Khartoum and other cities without its approval. They also warned of possible armed confrontations.
April 15: Khartoum becomes a war zone, with clashes from the SAF and RSF near the airport and army headquarters. The death count of Sudanese is over 400, with hundreds of people injured.
Heavy smoke bellows above buildings in the vicinity of Khartoum’s airport on April 15, 2023, amid clashes in the Sudanese capital [CNN/AFP/Getty Images]
The Nigerian student situation
April 24, 2023: Nearly 3,000 Nigerian nationals, mostly students, are evacuated from Sudan. According to Onimode Bandele, special duties director for Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), this was. This includes families of embassy staff.
Onimode Bandele [The Witness Newspaper]
The government response
April 24, 2023: Chairman of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, announces that Air Peace is willing to evacuate Nigerian students free of charge
One of the Nigerian students reaches out to the BBC to say that some drivers were not paid. They refused to drive any further, thus trapping passengers in the desert.
The Buses evacuating Nigerian students and non-student were stopped in the middle of the Sahara, and the drivers refused to continue the journey because they were not PAID. @abikedabiri@nemanigeria @FMHDSD @nidcom_gov@NigeriaMFA
Abike later reassures Nigerians in a follow-up tweet that she has spoken to NEMA director-general, and the matter has been resolved.
I have just spoken to @nemanigeria dg. He confirmed the buses have continued their Journey and said whatever issues have been resolved https://t.co/mgSRHCUGy1
However, one of the students blasts Dabiri on Twitter to dispute her claim. According to @imranjameel2002, students had to give their passports to the drivers until payment.
April 28, 2023: The first set of students is expected to arrive in Nigeria, according to Abike Dabiri.
If you asked a Nigerian in the 15th to 19th centuries to describe their version of “oil money”, two words come to mind — slave trade.
British traders were at the heart of the slave trade before the UK government abolished the trade [BBC/Getty Images].
Popularly known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade or Euro-American slave trade, this involved selling enslaved Africans to the Americas and Europe, usually by other Africans.
Captive Africans being transferred to ships along the Slave Coast for the transatlantic slave trade, c. 1880. [Photos.com/Getty Images]
Despite these deaths, these amounted to exponential economic growth for the nations involved.
The USA grew to provide 60% of the world’s cotton and some 70% of the cotton consumed by the British textile industry.
Profits made in the slave trade provided money for investment in British industry, with banks and insurance companies offering services to slave merchants.
Local chiefs enriched themselves with guns, mirrors, and other profitable income due to the trade-offs with these Western powers.
All this happened until the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 with the Slave Trade Actby William Wilberforce.
The official medallion of the British Anti-slavery Society [Wikimedia Commons]
Once slavery was abolished, Britain needed a legitimate means of exploiting resources conducting business. One of the largest slave ports came to mind — Lagos.
This is where the story of Oba Akintoye and Prince Kosoko comes to light.
The Akintoye-Kosoko power tussle
Obas Akintoye and Kosoko.
After abolishment, slavery didn’t just disappear from Africa until 1852, especially in coastal places like Lagos.
Trading at that point was so bad that the British Royal Navy had to establish a Task Force called the West Africa Squadron to pursue Portuguese, American and French slave ships and prevent local chiefs from selling more people.
This affected local politics as some chiefs and kings wanted to keep trading, while some thought quitting was reasonable.
A West Africa Squadron ship, HMS Black Joke fires on the Spanish Slaver, El Almirante [HistoryUK].
Prince Kosoko was pro-slave-trade, making him popular with the chiefs and slave traders. However, Akintoye was a populist, a friend to the British and anti-slave trade, which made him unpopular with the local leaders.
Kosoko grew in wealth, with the ability to purchase guns, velvet robes, umbrellas, gunpowder and other valuable items from the proceeds of the slave trade.
With all this going on, Lagos looked more like a lost cause for the British anti-slave trade movement despite negotiations with Kosoko, and they didn’t like this.
They sought counsel on their next steps from a formerly enslaved person and first Black Bishop, Samuel Ajayi Crowther.
The Revenge of Bishop Samuel Ajayi [Adjai] Crowther
Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther [Guardian Nigeria]
Samuel Ajayi [Adjai] Crowther is a familiar name in Nigerian history.
Many of us know him as a child from Osogun sold into slavery at 13 and traded several times before being rescued by the Royal Navy West African Squadron in Sierra Leone.
We also know him as the first Black Anglican Bishop and the first person to translate the Bible from English to Yoruba.
How was he then involved in the Lagos tussle?
Samuel Ajayi Crowther, 1890 [Slavery Images]
Eight years after being admitted to the ministry as a priest by the Bishop of London, Crowther was received by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in November 1851.
Both the Queen and the Prince studied a map showing Lagos and Abeokuta and displayed great interest in the country’s trade. Ajayi described his enslavement and the state of slavery in Lagos at the time.
When Queen Victoria asked what the solution could be for slavery on the West African coast, Ajayi replied, “Seize Lagos by fire and by force”. He also argued that if Lagos were under Akitoye instead of Kosoko, the British commercial interest would be guaranteed and the slave trade suppressed.
On November 20, 1851, a team consisting of the British consul in Lagos, Lord Beecroft, and other officers negotiated with Prince Kosoko one last time to end the slave trade, but he refused.
And with that, Beecroft sent the word to the senior officer of the Bights Division, Commander Forbes, to expel Kosoko and wage war on Lagos.
Preparation for war
“British Men o’ War Attacked by the King of Lagos” [James George Philip, 1851]
One month later, in December 1851, the British Naval Forces travelled to Lagos for warfare.
On the part of the Lagosians, they had two concerns — the safety of their gunpowder, which was essential for fighting, and the effectiveness of the artillery forces, which were cannons, rockets and muskets.
For the British, their problems lay with the lagoon’s shallow waters. This made movement more difficult for their larger warships (HMS Penelope and Samson). Therefore, they had to make do with the smaller warships, HMS Bloodhound and Taser.
This was good news for the Lagos Army Commander, Oshodi Tapa. The Lagosians would not have been able to withstand 32-calibre cannons firing at them per minute. But that didn’t mean they were going to take chances.
Obituary poster for war chief, Oshodi Tapa [Sahara Weekly]
Two rows of spiked coconut tree stems were placed underwater as an engineering technique to prevent the big warships from moving towards the shore. Then they placed long cannons on piles above sea level.
Now, the Lagosians were ready for the British.
A bloody Christmas
1851 Bombardment of Lagos by the British Naval Forces [Guardian Nigeria]
On December 25, 1851, Oshodi Tapa attacked British ships that had gathered at the ports for weeks in disguise of a truce. Tapa planned to lure them into the traps they had set as soon as possible.
The British fleet, which had 306 soldiers under Commander Forbes, sailed inward the following morning, and the Lagosians fled.
However, this was a decoy, as the British were ambushed by Lagosians who murdered one officer and 13 soldiers and wounded four officers and 60 soldiers, including Lieutenant Corbett. They also captured one of their warships.
But the British retaliated
The Royal Navy were furious with the battle’s outcome and retaliated on December 27, 1851. They decided to go the route of an artillery storm because they knew they’d lose with infantry combat.
Captain Jones led the attack party consisting of HMS Bloodhound, HMS Teaser, and a flotilla of boats, including The Victoria and The Harlequin, equipped with overwhelming firepower.
They engaged Kosoko’s army in a battle lasting three days. Kosoko put up a stiff resistance, but the Royal Navy’s superior firepower won the day. Kosoko and his leading chiefs fled Lagos for Epe on December 28, 1851.
The aftermath
A group of Lagosians managed to escape the blaze of the war and ran to the city’s northern outskirts.
They created a community called Agindigbi, which signifies the deafening sound of the cannons. This still exists as an area in the now Ikeja part of Lagos.
Modern day Agindigbi in Ikeja [PropertyPro]
The British chased away the remaining indigenes to spread the word upon arrival.
They found 48 letters in Kosoko’s palace corresponding with Kosoko and European slave traders. These can now be found in the British National Archives.
On December 29, the British installed Oba Akintoye as the Oba of Lagos. After Akintoye’s death on September 2, 1853, his son, Dosunmu, succeeded him as king.
King Dosunmu, King of Lagos [Alubarika]
Under Dosunmu, the slave trade was revived briefly until the British convinced him to exchange the ports of Lagos for a yearly pension of 1,200 cowries (equivalent to £1,000). This was known as the Treaty of Cession in 1861.
From then on, Lagos was annexed to become a colony under the British.
The impact
An aerial view of CMS in modern-day Lagos [Council on Foreign Relations]
Britain’s conquest of Lagos and its commercial activities made Lagos an economic hub. By 1872, Lagos was a cosmopolitan trading centre with a population over 60,000.
Since then, it has become one of the largest cities in West Africa, with an estimated metropolitan population of over 15.9 million people in 2023. Lagos is also the most profitable state in Nigeria, with a $136.6 billion GDP.
The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.
For this week’s Abroad Life, we’ve decided to give potential Canadian residents the do’s and don’ts on navigating their financial life in Canada, so you don’t have to.
Nigeria is not the easiest country to live in. Traffic jams, irregular power supply, unemployment, poverty etc are some of the many stumbling blocks in the average Nigerian’s way — which is why they are desperate to leave.
Canada, amongst other countries, is one of the promised lands for a japa aspirant. But it’s not enough to travel there. How do you navigate important aspects like finances?
We decided to explain a tweet that broke it down for you, so you don’t have to:
Setting up the BEST bank account
To set up a regular bank account, you’d need a visa or passport, immigration papers, Social Insurance Number (SIN) (if you have one) and address verification.
This consists of a temporary residency permit, your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), or your work or study permit.
However, you must know the rates involved to set up the best bank account.
Using newcomer rates from any bank is risky because there is a tendency to pay higher interest ratesonce the deal expires.
To avoid this, use the website ratehub.ca to find banks that can give the best rates after your first-timer deal expires.
Build up good credits
Unlike Nigeria, Western countries are very particular about credits and how one manages them.
Credit is a flexible form of finance that allows you to access a certain amount of money loaned (known as your credit limit) according to your needs, at any given time.
Credits are maintained when the user makes timely payments and doesn’t exceed the credit limit. Credits are necessary to buy a home, rent an apartment, or get a car loan.
Get a secured credit card from your bank, and understand credit before using it.
Always file your taxes
Unlike Nigeria, Canadians take accounts of government taxes very seriously. But as a newcomer, it could be difficult wrapping your head around the math.
Most new immigrants to Canada tend to take the first available job without research — which is not entirely the best.
Understand the Canadian job market, network with people, and get recognised certifications. Take a job that pays what you deserve. You can visit the website here for more steps to get a good-paying job in Canada.
From victims of revenge porn to young girls having their breasts flattened, Citizen has reported several sexual assault cases over the last few weeks.
This is important in documenting abuse patterns on women and children in Nigeria.
Like today’s sad sexual assault case on child rape — only that this time, justice got served.
The offender, a 40-year-old man named Kehinde Gabriel, ambushed a 3-year-old girl [whose name has been retracted] in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
Gabriel, the victim’s neighbour, lured her to his apartment with an offer of bread, beans and a drink before raping her. According to her mother, the girl came home crying, adding that blood was found in her private parts.
She said, “She went to the mosque with her other sisters that day. After some minutes of crying, she returned home with a bottle of drink and bread.
“I asked her what was wrong, and she said Uncle Kehinde (Gabriel) had given the items to her. She was running a temperature. While her father and I checked her body, we saw blood in her private parts.”
Gabriel’s response to this was one of denial. He said he had only interacted with the little girl because she “was crying from hunger.”
He was arrested and later taken to the Ikeja Magistrate Court on August 28, 2017, for trial. According to Police Prosecutor Inspector Simeon Imhonwa, the accused had broken Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
What does this Law say?
According to the Criminal Law of Lagos State, “any person who has sexual intercourse with a child (under 18 years) commits a felony and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.”
How bad is child rape in Nigeria?
Very bad — and also very disturbing. According to the “Violence Against Children Survey”, a 2014 National Population Commission report, one in four young girls experience sexual violence.
Sadly, many sex assault cases tend to remain in court without resolution. In March 2022, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Pauline Tallen, reported 646 cases of sexual violence, with 327 offenders convicted and 327 cases still in court.
HumAngle also reported in 2022 that only 10 out of 36 states in Nigeria keep sex offender registers. The sex offender register is a database of all convicted sex offenders in a state, with the offender’s address, physical appearance, and criminal history.
These cases are not frequently updated. If a sex offender was released from jail, he could commit sexual crimes without getting caught.
Justice Ramon A. Oshodi presided over this court and found him guilty of the one-count charge of defilement. He described him as “a person of no truth who has no remorse for what he did”.
How to support child rape victims
Even though the little girl avenged her rape legally, many rape victims are not lucky and still need your support.
To support victims of child rape, please contact the Lagos Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency at 08000333333. You can email them – info@lagosdsva.org.
You can visit the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) for national complaints. View their website to find the branch closest to you, or call +234 708 849 6115
Welcome to Citizen History, your weekly time machine to Nigeria’s political past. It’s all about the facts: where we’ve gone wrong and how we can fix it today.
And they did get control of these resources— mostly through force. This brute force was applied across the protectorates and colony later known as Nigeria.
This is the story of how one tribal group resisted the British army, in a way they had never seen before.
From the Rev. R.H. Stone’s memoir ‘‘In Afric’s Forest and Jungle, 1899.[Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the New York Public Library]
The rarely documented struggle between the British and a united, underground Igbo resistance group called the Ekumeku lasted for 31 years.
The origins of the Ekumeku Movement
In the late 1880s, shortly after the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 —where European superpowers partitioned African countries— the Royal Niger Company (RNC) —a British firm trading in the Niger area— was expanding their domination from Lagos towards Western Igboland, which included the Niger Delta and Asaba.
While British traders were doing business with locals before the Conference, the power dynamics shifted even further in the coloniser’s favour after the Conference.
They made all the laws, determined trading; with whom to trade, how much to trade, and lived as overlords in places where they were only welcomed through the force of their guns.
There were claims that “RNC exploited its monopoly far in excess of what it could have made in a free-trade situation, and spread terror, visiting the slightest whiff of local dissent with venom.
“In 1888, half of Asaba was decimated, and Obosi (a day’s walk away in what is now Anambra state) was razed to the ground the following year. In both cases the RNC alleged that the Asaba and Obosi people were involved in human sacrifice, hence the high-handed treatment.
“To ‘stop human sacrifice,’ the soldiers lived off the people’s livestock and food crops, and sexually assaulted the women. This led to a lot of resentment.”
Why was the Niger Delta special in the 1800s?
The British were attracted to the Niger Delta —then called the Oil Rivers Protectorate—because of its resource: palm oil. But why was it such an asset?
In the 19th century, Palm Oil was useful for many industrial processes. It was used as an industrial lubricant in tin-plate production, street-lighting, and as the fatty semi-solid for candle making and soap production. Palm oil made certain breakthroughs in soap chemistry and production possible.
Igbo men in the Oil Rivers area of present-day Nigeria bring calabashes full of palm oil to sell to a European buyer, c. 1900 [Jonathan Adagogo Green / The Trustees of the British Museum]
A palm oil factory likely in either Opobo or Bonny of Niger Delta, c. late 19th century [Jonathan Adagogo Green / The Trustees of the British Museum]
Now, let’s get back to the story
Despite their brash treatment of locals, the British were surprised to meet resistance from locals. These were located across the country and far into Igbo land in the east. But the ones that stunned the armed Brits were the Anioma people of present-day Delta State.
The Aniomas had gotten word of how the British established courts, introduced Christianity, and even selected local chiefs against the people’s will in other places. For the Aniomas, this was unacceptable. And they were not going down without a fight. So they went to war.
A British attack on Ndoni village in 1870 and Onicha-Ado in 1897 set the pace for the rest of the war as one of guns and bloodshed. The war would last in two waves: 1883-1902 when the locals first organised and fought back, and from 1904-1914.
The Ekumeku Movement of 1883 [Google Sites]
The Ekumeku movement (meaning “don’t speak about it”) was comprised of the “otu okorobia”. These were young men from various Igbo villages and the nearby Niger Delta communities. They formed the Ekumeku secret organisation, the vigilante group which fought the British.
The name was given due to the stealth which the men used to fight. Unlike the British soldiers and mercenaries, who had great firepower, the locals were limited in the scope of weaponry. They instead devised guerrilla attacking styles: which took the Brits by surprise, leading to a series of defeats.
The strength and downfall of the Ekumeku
The strength of the movement simply lay in unity, skill and numbers. Before 1883, the Aniocha had a dispute with the Igbuzo clan, which had lasted for decades.
But seeing the power of British arms and ammunition, they decided that they could not fight the war individually. The tribes instead decided to make an alliance.
Other kingdoms such as Onicha-Ado (now present day Onitsha), also joined the movement.
Ekumeku Warriors [Opinion Nigeria]
However, Britain’s superiority in firearms would eventually come to play as the war protracted.
In December 1902, the British laid a preemptive strike which destroyed a large number of towns and imprisoned their leaders. As British officers were burning villages accused of taking part in the resistance, the resistance cooled off at this point. This was presumably to regroup.
In 1904, the Ekumeku rose again, but they defended their towns instead of fighting together as they once did. Despite their skills in combat, the British found it easier to destroy their homelands.
European Weapons of Imperialism [Google Arts and Culture]
In 1911, a roundup of Ekumeku leaders led to imprisonments. By 1914 when Nigeria’s Northern and Southern Protectorates and the Colony of Lagos were joined as one country, the Ekumeku fire had only started to die.
There are no official record on locals killed during the resistance, but it was one of the most devastating resistance to British occupation in Nigeria, leading to the death of a commander; H.C. Chapman.
The colonial government’s Collective Punishment Ordinance (CPO) – a law to punish an entire village suspected of entertaining the activities of the Ekumeku, was pivotal to ensuring the resistance did not return a third time.
The impact of the Ekumeku Movement
It served as an inspiration for other countries. Many historians believe that the Ekumeku Movement inspired the Kenyan Mau Mau Rebellion of 1952.
While it is not often spoken of, the Ekumeku Movement proves that the ancestors didn’t take their chains lying down.
This is the harsh reality that female teenagers and even girls as young as eight years old face in Nigeria due to inhumane practices carried out on them just because of one thing — their gender.
And one of these practices is breast ironing.
What is breast ironing?
Also known as breast flattening, it involves using a heated object against a girl’s breast to stop or delay its development. The heated material could be a grinding stone, cast iron, coconut shell, hammer or spatula.
The alternative is to wrap the breasts tightly with a belt or cloth until the breasts are entirely flattened or suppressed. The process could take several weeks.
According to the Africa Health Organisation (AHO), the belief behind breast ironing is that it “saves the female” from rape, harassment and early forced marriage. In other words, make the girl less attractive, and she will not be a victim.
But that has never stopped abusers from attacking women and girls of all ages.
Why breast ironing is counter-productive
It doesn’t stop GBV— rather, GBV numbers rise. The United Nations (UN) data states that breast ironing affects 3.8 million women worldwide. It has been identified as one of the five under-reported crimes relating to GBV.
Official figures from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reveal 31.9% of Nigerian women aged between 15 and 49 years have experienced gender-based violence (GBV) since they were 15.
This number means that breast ironing, like every other violence against the female gender, can lead to deaths, showing the true extent of the problem.
What are its effects?
Asides from death, the practice tends to bring about health problems such as cancer, tissue damage, abscesses, itching, and breast infections, which could interfere with breastfeeding and even the complete disappearance of one or both breasts.
This also affects their mental health negatively. According to mental health experts, child abuse influences the brain and results in psychological challenges. Traumatic experiences affect the child’s mental health. Victims face elevated stress levels, psycho-emotional problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and even suicide attempts.”
How can one stop the practice?
The process of breast ironing is dangerous, and despite the Violence Against Persons Act of 2015 being in existence, gender-based violence crimes like these are still on the rise.
If you know anyone who could be a victim (or potential victim) of breast ironing, please contact the National Council of Women’s Societies (NCWS) at +234 8139750698 or email ncwsnigeria@gmail.com
The Nigerian experience is physical, emotional, and sometimes international. No one knows it better than our features on #TheAbroadLife, a series where we detail and explore Nigerian experiences while living abroad.
This week’s Abroad Life subject decided to quit her banking job in Nigeria and become a permanent resident of Canada in 2004. This was after she had stayed in the country as a visitor for eight months due to a series of fertility treatments. She tells us her motivations for leaving Nigeria, how she got her permanent residency papers in Canada and the ups and downs of residing there.
What was your motivation for moving to Canada?
Two things motivated me — safety and fertility treatments.
Safety was a huge priority for me. The crime rate was increasing, with no one being safe from thieves and armed robbers no matter where they found themselves. In Nigeria, I was a banker who sometimes worked late into the night. I was robbed of my gold jewellery twice, and money at gunpoint while waiting in traffic. From then on, I grew from disliking to hating the Nigerian government. I felt I could lose my life at any time. This is not exclusive of the poverty, corruption, bribery and what-have-you that cripples the country daily.
I also had a series of fertility treatments for eight months, as I had one child and was hoping for another. But during that period, I found out that the immigration system in Canada was friendly, and one could process their papers for permanent residency. I immediately latched onto the opportunity to find a better future for myself and my family in Canada.
Wow! How would you describe the healthcare you received?
The good thing with Canadian doctors is that you can be sure you’re in good hands. Their healthcare is excellent. The doctors also fear lawsuits and wouldn’t like barking up the wrong tree. Everything is so precise and professional. It was even done in a government clinic, not a private one, so I could trust that the doctors would be honest (since they weren’t gaining anything). Usually, you’d need to pay with health insurance, but since I was still considered a foreigner back then, I paid in cash. It wasn’t expensive at all.
Nice! So how did you process your migration?
I was on a temporary visa and didn’t reside permanently in Canada immediately. After undergoing the treatments in 2003, I then asked my employers at the bank for more time on my maternity leave. But they refused to give that extra grace.
Because of that, I resigned.
Since the work pressure was gone, I focused on finding ways to get permanent residency in Canada. I found a lawyer who advised me to process my papers through the “skilled worker” class. At the time, there was a self-test to see if one was eligible for the role, and due to my former role as a banker, I scored high marks in the banking category. This also helped me to get a great score overall on my assessment. I became the principal applicant for my family, and we permanently relocated later that year. I gave birth to my second and last child in the following year, 2004.
Did you experience any culture shocks?
Yes, I did.
Firstly, Canadians are not as warm and friendly as Nigerians. They love to mind their business a lot. It even affected my daughter because she started having an identity crisis — should she act Nigerian or Canadian? One must learn that not greeting or visiting people doesn’t mean they are bad. Some of them are not all bad, but most have this issue. In a way, this trait teaches you about self-sufficiency.
Are there benefits to living in Canada?
Yes, there are. Their education system is great. If you like to self-develop, this is the country for you. In Canada, you never stop learning. You’ll learn until you want to cry.
It’s also easy for you to transition career paths. I transitioned from banking to social work. I feel safer where I live in Ottawa. I can wear a gold chain to a party, I can be in traffic and not be afraid (unlike Nigeria). I can drive late at night, which profits me more because the roads are free. The public transportation system is very clean and cheap. It’s amazing here.
How did you make the switch from banking to social work?
I started working as a social worker in 2007 when I did my Bachelor’s degree in sociology here. In 2015, I decided to have a Master’s degree in Social Work, due to its lucrativeness.
I recently started working for the Ontario Government this month due to my social work service. It has been great so far.
That’s great! Are there any disadvantages to living in Canada?
The only thing I can think of is racism. There is a huge absence of racial diversity here. You can find 70 white students and five blacks in a classroom. The race count is always very disproportionate.
There was this one time during my Master’s that I noticed I was marked down in a particular course because I was black (I always got a B-), while my white counterparts would get an A+ for the same answers. I’d probably have graduated with a bad grade if I hadn’t confronted my lecturer. In the end, she started giving me an A+ after she realised I had caught her in the act.
However, I wouldn’t say it affects your chances of doing well in Canada. So long as you have the skillset and you’ve done your Master’s (they always favour people with a Master’s degree).
Would you ever go back to Nigeria?
Of course, yes. I miss Nigeria daily – the warmth, the parties, and the ability to get cheap local food. However, the only way I’d ever go back is if there is a change in government and a visionary leader. If things remain the status quo, I would rather retire here.
For the average Nigerian, all they want to live is a soft life.
Below are a few noteworthy points from the report that we should care about:
Nigeria is Africa’s third-largest market — with fewer millionaires
According to the report, South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and Morocco make up Africa’s “Big 5” wealth markets, accounting for 56% of the continent’s high-net-worth individuals (millionaires) —this is measured in dollars and not local currency).
But despite this, Nigeria seems to be churning out fewer millionaires. Nigeria only has 9,800 millionaires, and 30% have lost their status over a decade (2012-2023).
According to economists, this drop can be attributed to the depreciation of the naira against the dollar and poor foreign exchange policies in Nigeria.
‘Top 10 Wealthiest Countries’, Africa Wealth Report [Henley & Partners]
Nigeria contributed to a 12% drop in Africa’s total millionaires
‘Growth Trends On the Continent’, Africa Wealth Report [Henley & Partners]
The report claims that the total high net worth individual numbers in Africa have fallen 12% over the past decade (2012 to 2022). The cause? Poor growth in the three largest African markets, South Africa, Egypt — and Nigeria.
Lagos has been listed as Africa’s 4th wealthiest city – with 5400 millionaires
‘Africa’s Wealthiest Cities’, Africa Wealth Report [Henley & Partners]
As the “economic hub” of West Africa, Lagos houses over half of Nigeria’s high net-worth individuals. These include 5,400 millionaires, 16 centi-millionaires, and three billionaires.
It also listed major sectors in Lagos, including raw materials, oil and gas, transport and financial services.
Lagos and the new Blue Rail transport system [The Guardian]
What does this mean for the average Nigerian?
As the rich are reducing and economies suffer, here’s how it affects you as a resident.
There will be lesser job opportunities for the poor
According to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), 3.1 million registered companies have millionaires as their owners. These can easily translate to 3.1 million companies where you can find work instead of a government institution.
If 30% of these millionaires lose status due to economic hardship, companies could take austerity measures by reducing the workforce or folding up and decreasing job opportunities.
If you haven’t already guessed by now, fewer millionaires mean lesser foreign investment in Nigeria’s economy
Sapa increases
Let’s end this report with the most obvious point — the activities and investments of millionaires help economic growth and reduce poverty. If fewer millionaires exist, the well-being of Nigerians cannot survive purely on the government. And you know what that means.
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In May 2022, The Cable reported 391 recorded mob killings in Nigeria in the last four years. The recent lynching of an Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) student has unfortunately increased this tally.
What was his crime?
Okoli Ahinze, a 400-level student, was accused of stealing a phone in the Awolowo Hall of Residence on the school’s premises.
According to a statement by Awo Hall Leadership, Ahinze didn’t just steal the phone but also used the bank app to make transactions and solicit funds from the victim’s contacts.
What happened next?
After hearing the news of the stolen phone, a mob gathered and severely beat the young man. He was then moved to another location for his safety.
According to a Twitter user, Baron Chymaker (@chymaker), it is alleged that the lynching followed an unwritten practice in the school tagged “Maximum Scientific Shishi.”
The term describes a code name for torturing students that commit an offence. Accusations trailed the Awo Hall Chairman Badiora Timilehin and his social director Omiskin Seye who were alleged moderators of the lynching.
Later in the afternoon, he had to be moved to the OAU Teaching Hospital when his health started to decline. But by then, it was too late.
Have legal actions been taken?
So far, none has been taken yet.
The President of the Great Ife Student Union, Folahan Olawiyola, released a statement promising that the union would work with the university authorities and law enforcement agencies to ensure the perpetrators face justice.
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Also, look out for our upcoming Twitter Space on Operation Wetie and a history of election violence in Nigeria. Set a reminder for the space here.
