Written by Tezor Dedam

Nigeria didn’t get its independence because a few people asked nicely in 1960. People protested, mobilised striking workers, and maintained pressure when votes and hope were lost. And now, 66 years later, as we remember the day by taking children to the parade ground, watching the national proceedings on television, or relaxing at home for the much–needed public holiday, we helped you do the homework by listing out some not-so-popular people who were instrumental to Nigeria’s independence. 

Here are four key figures that we may not necessarily associate with independence:

Hajia Gambo Sawaba

Photo: Al Jazeera

Some people may know her as the most jailed female politician of all time. But Hajia Gambo Sawaba’s story started long before her prison visits. In 1933, when Sawaba was born, the British colonialists governed Nigeria with an Indirect Rule system, where subsidiary governments would implement the colonial policies on a local level. 

In Zaria, where Sawaba lived at the time, the Northern Peoples’ Congress (NPC) was the native authority at the time, implementing British rule in Northern Nigeria. So when Malam Aminu Kano created the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), with a philosophy centred on women’s rights and education, Sawaba signed up at 17.

As the leader of the national women’s wing of NEPU, Sawaba maintained pressure on the colonial-backed government of the time. She was a key figure in the NEPU establishment that defied British authority and its local allies, even though she faced a lot of abuse, intimidation, and imprisonment along the way. She would often have her head shaved and was once beaten to a pulp in a bush, and she often faced torture in detention.

She died in 2001 from a protracted illness at the age of 71. Leaving a legacy of pioneering women’s welfare and political self-determination.

Michael Imoudu

Photo: Facebook

Michael Imoudu was a champion of labour unions at a time in Nigeria when these unions were not the vibe. Imoudu was born in 1902 in Edo State, and after losing his parents at the age of 20, he started work in the railways as a linesman. 

He joined the Railway Workers Union (RWU), which marked the beginning of his labour union activities. He became the union president in 1939, and in 1941, he started demanding that the colonial government to improve workers’ working conditions. Much of his work in the following years helped lead to the 1945 General Strike from the railway union, which lasted 45 days and drew in tens of thousands of workers, starting with the railways and spreading to other public services.

Reports show that this strike and other union activities created a sense of a shared national experience through nationwide action that cut across ethnicities and regions, placing further pressure on the colonial government at the time. 

In 1946, Imoudu was nominated to the executive council of the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), a nationalist party founded by Herbert to fight British imperialism and achieve self–government. In this position, he continued to lead the trade and labour union fronts that challenged the working conditions and systems imposed by British rule.

He passed away in 2005, at 102, in Oro, Kwara State, long retired from labour unions.

Remi Fani-Kayode

Photo: femifanikayode.org 

Chief Remi Fani-Kayode was a lawyer and a nationalist politician who was elected the deputy premier of the Western Region of Nigeria in 1963. Fani-Kayode notably moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence in the Federal House of Assembly. 

But even before this, Chief Remi Fani-Kayode was heavily involved in advocacy. In 1954, he was appointed the youth wing leader of the Action Group political party and served as the assistant federal secretary. 

In his time with the Action Group, Fani-Kayode represented ethnic minorities in the Willink Commission of 1957,  a commission set up to address the concerns of ethnic minorities in Northern Nigeria. His time with the Action Group youth wing was also characterised by vibrant and active movements against British rule. He and his comrades would wear black shirts and use the mosquito emblem, which was meant to express their opposition to British colonial rule. He was even detained for it at some point. 

He passed away in Brighton, England, from natural causes at the age of 73.

Margaret Ekpo

Source: Facebook

Margaret Ekpo can be regarded as a fierce mobilizer. She was an activist and politician who rallied women across the country to champion their interests. Ekpo was born in 1914 in Cross River State. She stopped her education at primary six after she lost her father in 1934, then went on to become a pupil-teacher.

Her first involvement in politics came when she represented her husband at meetings discussing the indiscriminate practices of the colonial leadership. Soon enough, she was mobilising market women into unions to push for women’s economic rights and the political rights of low- to middle-class Nigerians. 

Ekpo was a key delegate at the 1953 London Constitutional Conference, which introduced federalism and granted regional autonomy to Nigeria. This conference and others were instrumental in Nigerian independence. From 1958, she became increasingly outspoken in support of Nigeria’s independence from British rule, with a particular focus on women and their role in the struggle for independence. These actions and initiatives were key in the background leading up to the constitutional reforms and political negotiations that secured Nigerian independence.

She passed away at 92 from natural causes at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital. 

At the end of the day…

The interesting thing about these stories is that, on paper, their contributions to independence are less celebrated or documented than those of the Awolowos and Azikiwes. Yet, Independence Day did not arrive in a single speech, political rally, or visit to London.

It was assembled from 45-day strikes, women’s protests in Aba, and a handful of people who wrestled their way into rooms where the future was being written. Not all of them appear on our Naira notes, but all of them are part of the reason there is even a country to celebrate on October 1.