Western Ibo Society and its Resistance to British Rule

The Ekumeku Movement 1898–1911

Bibliographic Data

ID8977413
AuthorsPhilip A Igbafe (Obafemi Awolowo University, corresponding author)
Year1971
Volume12
Issue3
Pages441-459
Publication date1971-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of African History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8537 • E-ISSN: 1469-5138
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0021853700010872
OpenAlexW1978993170
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited5

When the Royal Niger Company attempted to establish its authority in the Asaba hinterland in the 1880s, the existing town societies in the area provided the foundations of a resistance movement which became known as the Ekumeku. In 1900 the area came under the direct administration of the British government. British rule led to regulations against aspects of the people's religious and political practices and to the establishment of native courts, and provided a shelter under which missionary activities flourished. All these were considered by the people as inimical to their traditional way of life. This situation provoked a consolidation of the Ekumeku forces and galvanized the movement into action. Between 1902 and 1910 the Ekumeku offered a courageous and prolonged resistance to British rule in the Asaba hinterland. In spite of this enduring consistency in opposing the establishment of European rule, the Ekumeku movement was not investigated along relevant lines primarily because it was much misunderstood in official circles, which took its external manifestations for its essence. This paper attempts, from oral and written sources, a study of the actual nature of the Ekumeku as a resistance movement, its organization, its responses to the challenges posed by European encroachment on the Asaba hinterland and its sources of strength which gave it its resilience. In addition to administrative measures, legal enactments, special town laws and prosecution in the native courts, it is shown that the colonial administration relied heavily on the use of armed force to destroy the movement

Administration (probate law · Colonial rule · Colonialism · Consolidation (business · Government (linguistics · Home rule · Indirect rule · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · History · Law