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PHOTOS: HOW NIGERIA WAS SOLD TO THE BRITISH FOR £865,000 IN 1899

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This is not just the story of colonial conquest. It is the story of the first OIL WAR, a war not fought over petroleum, but over palm oil, in the territories that would later become Nigeria.

Before the first drop of crude was ever drilled in Oloibiri, there was already a fierce battle for control over a different kind of oil: the red gold of the tropics.

In the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution thundered across Britain and Europe, the demand for lubricants to keep machines running was insatiable. And at the heart of that demand was palm oil, a sticky red substance extracted from the fruit of a native African tree. This oil was used to grease machines, produce candles, soaps, etc.

The Niger Delta, then part of the region Europeans called the “Oil Rivers,” was the world’s richest source of this commodity. For centuries, the same Delta had served as a major slave-exporting hub, but by the 1870s, as abolition gained ground, slaves were replaced by palm oil as the primary export. The coast once known for bondage was now valued for commerce. African traders, many of them former slaves or descendants of returnees, became immensely wealthy. One of the most famous among them was King Jaja of Opobo, a self-made merchant-king who built a thriving trade empire on the strength of palm oil and personal diplomacy. These African merchants understood global trade and negotiated directly with European companies.

But African prosperity was never allowed to grow unchecked for long. By the late 1800s, European commercial rivalry was boiling over into political intrigue. British, French, and German merchants vied for dominance in the West African market. In 1879, a Cornishman named George Taubman Goldie began consolidating several British trading firms into a single entity. He formed the United African Company (UAC). With this company, Goldie initially envisioned dominating the palm oil trade on the Niger River. After that, he envisioned something more than trade, he wanted sovereignty.

Through aggressive expansion, Goldie’s company secured treaties with local chiefs along the Niger and Benue Rivers, gaining de facto control of vast inland territories. By 1884, Goldie’s company operated about 30 trading posts and used its economic leverage to argue at the Berlin Conference (the infamous 1884–85 summit where European powers divided Africa among themselves) that Britain should be awarded exclusive rights to the Niger Basin.

The British won the argument. The next year, in 1886, Goldie’s company received a Royal Charter from the British Crown, becoming the Royal Niger Company (RNC), a private corporation with governmental powers, similar to the old British East India Company. It could make treaties, raise its own military force, collect taxes, administer justice, and govern the vast areas along the Niger and Benue Rivers.

In effect, Nigeria was not yet a British colony, it was a private corporate colony ruled by a for-profit company headquartered in London.

To the local chiefs, the new company agents spoke of free trade and mutual prosperity. But behind these assurances were binding English contracts designed to establish monopolies, giving the company exclusive trading rights and ceding sovereignty to the British Crown. This meant the chiefs could only sell palm oil to the Royal Niger Company. Any attempt to export independently was treated as economic rebellion. Many chiefs, including King Jaja of Opobo, resisted.

King Jaja of Opobo was one such rebel. Despite his previous cooperation with the British, he refused to be dictated to. When he began exporting palm oil directly to Liverpool merchants, he was arrested in 1887, exiled to the West Indies, and never saw his kingdom again. He died in 1891 on his way home, allegedly poisoned with a cup of tea.

By the 1890s, resistance was rising. In the kingdom of Nembe, in today’s Bayelsa State, a new monarch, King Koko Mingi VIII, ascended the throne in 1889. Koko was an educated Christian convert and former schoolteacher. But he soon found himself at odds with the Royal Niger Company’s chokehold on trade. Like Jaja before him, he tried to bypass the company’s monopoly by seeking commercial ties with the Germans in Kamerun. But the company retaliated by blockading his kingdom from its traditional markets.

Tired of negotiations and betrayal, King Koko struck back. On 29 January 1895, before dawn, he led over 1,000 warriors in a surprise attack on the Royal Niger Company’s heavily guarded headquarters at Akassa. In what became known as the Brass Raid, Koko’s forces captured the station, seized arms and ammunition, including a Maxim machine gun, and took 60 European hostages. Koko demanded that the British lift their monopoly and allow Nembe to trade freely.

The British government refused to negotiate. In response, King Koko executed about forty of the hostages, an act the British termed cannibalism, a fabrication meant to justify vengeance.

On 20 February 1895, the Royal Navy retaliated under Admiral Frederick Bedford, launching a brutal punitive expedition. They bombarded Nembe town (Brass) and burned it to the ground. Hundreds were killed. Survivors suffered famine and diseases such as smallpox.

King Koko went into hiding. The town of Brass was fined £500, a fortune at the time, and forced to surrender weapons and surviving hostages.

In 1898, King Koko, declared an outlaw and unable to rally sufficient support for further resistance, died by suicide in exile. Around the same time, Oba Ovonramwen of Benin was also deposed following the Benin Punitive Expedition in 1897, signalling the final collapse of powerful indigenous resistance in southern Nigeria.

Back in London, the public outcry over the Brass Massacre and the RNC’s excesses led to parliamentary pressure. The British Parliament opened an inquiry, but rather than punish the Royal Niger Company, the Crown did something far more significant, it decided that a private corporation could no longer be trusted with the government of a people.

In 1899, the British revoked the Royal Charter of the Royal Niger Company. But it did not come for free.
The British bought out the company’s rights, territories, and infrastructure for the sum of £865,000, the equivalent of £108 million today. That was the price Britain paid to acquire the territory that would become Nigeria.

It was not a conquest in the conventional sense, it was a transaction. Nigeria was, quite literally, sold.
And who sold it?

The man at the centre of the deal was Sir George Taubman Goldie, the imperialist who had envisioned and built the corporate company that took over Nigeria’s territories. In many ways, he was Nigeria’s unofficial founder, though he never ruled the colony formally. He sold Nigeria to the British Crown in 1899 for £865,000, and for his services to empire, he was later knighted.

On 1 January 1900, the Southern and Northern Protectorates were formally declared under British rule.
The company was gone. But its legacy of economic exploitation, monopolistic control, and indirect rule would persist.

The company itself didn’t die. It rebranded and evolved. The Royal Niger Company merged into what we know today as Unilever, a multinational that still trades in Africa.

This is not just a footnote in colonial history. It is the story of how an entire country people, kingdoms, resources, rivers, was commodified, negotiated, and sold. It reminds us that empire was not only built with gunboats, but also with contracts, shares, and profits.

Nigeria, long before independence, had already been bought and sold.

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Adekunle Gold embraces Nigerian roots with new album ‘Fuji’

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Nigerian singer Adekunle Gold returns to his roots on Friday with the release of his sixth album, “Fuji”, which he described as a tribute to the ancestral sounds of his home country.

“That sound is the soundtrack of Lagos. It’s everywhere. That sound gave birth to Afrobeats and all the things that we hear right now,” Gold told AFP in Paris.

A descendant of the Kosoko royal family, the Afropop icon draws inspiration from the Indigenous Yoruba community, one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa.

It is “one of the oldest sounds of Nigeria”, the 38-year-old singer said.

Fuji music, a popular genre that evolved from Yoruba Muslim culture, is known for its fast beats, large ensemble of percussion instruments, and lyrics based on key sociopolitical themes.

The genre took off in Nigeria in the 1960s, shortly after the country declared independence.

Late singer-songwriter Ayinde Barrister, widely regarded as the pioneer of Fuji music, named the style after the famous Japanese mountain.

Gold blends traditional elements from Nigeria’s rich musical heritage with the catchy melodies of contemporary R&B.

Like Burna Boy or Davido, he represents this generation of Nigerian artists who have bridged divides between past and present for an international audience.

“You listen to it, and it makes your body move. It’s magical,” the singer said.

“Fuji, Highlife (another traditional genre), every sound from Nigeria makes you feel alive. I feel like that’s why it does well,” he added.

Full of colourful outfits, lively dancing, and flower-covered boats, his “Party No Dey Stop” music video — a viral duet with fellow Nigerian Zinoleesky — has amassed 29 million views on YouTube.

The song is his first major hit in the United States.

Gold, also known as AG Baby, gained fame in Nigeria in 2014 after he covered a song by popular boy band One Direction.

Since then, he has signed with American label Def Jam Recordings and has collaborated on the track “Falling Up” with funk legend Nile Rodgers and musician Pharrell Williams.

Spreading culture

Gold invites listeners to delve deep into the latest album, an emotional journey inspired by significant events from his life.

“I talk about my grief when I lost my father. I talk about my love life, my daughter, about being a family man,” he explained.

While Gold lives in the United States, he said his “heart is in Lagos”.

“I’m spreading the culture, talking about my heritage, talking about tradition,” he said.

However, challenges persist in Nigeria, where nearly 60 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line

“There have been steps in the right direction,” Gold said as he expressed hope for the future of his country.

“It is not enough for the government to do everything,” he added, calling on people to “do what we can as citizens”.

Committed to the fight against sickle cell disease, which he has lived with his entire life, Gold launched a foundation this year to fund treatment and support local charities.

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Lara George: Nigerian Gospel Icon with a Global Voice

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Lara George is a Nigerian gospel singer, songwriter, and producer whose powerful voice and timeless songs have made her one of the most respected figures in African gospel music. Based in the United States, she continues to influence gospel music worldwide through her artistry, leadership, and devotion to worship.

Early Life and Education

Lara George was born into a music-loving family in Lagos State, Nigeria. Her passion for singing was evident from an early age, and she nurtured her talent while growing up in Lagos. She later studied Architecture at the University of Lagos, where she also began to actively pursue her passion for gospel music.

Musical Career and Breakthrough

George rose to prominence as a member of the inspirational music group Kush, active in the early 2000s. The group, made up of gospel-influenced young artists, became popular for its innovative fusion of gospel, hip hop, and contemporary African sounds. Though the group disbanded, it laid the foundation for George’s successful solo career.

Her debut solo album, Forever in My Heart (2008), included the breakout hit “Ijoba Orun.” The song quickly became a gospel anthem in Nigeria, sung in churches and concerts across Africa and beyond. Its success established Lara George as one of the leading gospel voices of her generation.

Following this, she released other notable projects, including Higher (2012), Love Nwantintin (2014), and The Best of Lara George (2017), showcasing her versatility and consistency as a gospel artist.

Achievements and Recognition

Over the years, Lara George has earned numerous accolades. She won Best Female Gospel Artiste at the 2012 Africa Gospel Music Awards, among other honors.

Beyond her music, George has contributed to the industry through leadership. She serves as the Vice President of SoForte Entertainment Distribution Ltd., a pioneering Nigerian company focused on strengthening music distribution across Africa.

In 2021, her global impact was further recognized when she was invited to join the Recording Academy (organizers of the Grammy Awards) as a Voting Member, affirming her status as an international gospel voice.

Personal Life

Lara George is married to Gbenga George, an accomplished legal practitioner. Together they have two children. The family resides in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States, where George balances her family life with her music career and industry work.

Legacy and Influence

Lara George’s music blends heartfelt worship with contemporary gospel sounds, inspiring believers and non-believers alike. Songs like Ijoba Orun remain evergreen classics, while her career continues to highlight the global reach of Nigerian gospel music.

Through her voice, leadership, and consistency, Lara George has left an indelible mark on gospel music, both in Nigeria and internationally.

Sources

Vanguard Nigeria – Lara George: Life as a Gospel Singer (2018)

Africa Gospel Music Awards – Winners List 2012

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Lifestyle

The 1973 Nigerian “Hides and Skins” Postage Stamp: A Window into Economic Identity

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In 1973, Nigeria introduced a new definitive postage stamp series to reflect the country’s transition from the British sterling system to the Naira and Kobo currency. Known as the Industry and National Pride issue, or simply the 1973–1986 Definitive Issue, the series highlighted major sectors that shaped Nigeria’s economy and cultural identity in the post-independence period.

Among the most notable designs in the set was the 1 kobo “Hides and Skins” stamp, which depicted the trade in animal hides and skins. This was not a casual choice. For decades, hides and skins were one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural exports, particularly from the northern region, and they played a major role in the nation’s foreign exchange earnings during the 1960s and 1970s. By placing this industry on a definitive stamp, Nigeria emphasized its economic significance while also projecting a sense of national pride rooted in traditional livelihoods.

The Role of Definitive Stamps

Unlike commemorative stamps, which are printed for specific events or anniversaries, definitive stamps are produced for everyday postal use and often remain in circulation for many years. The “Hides and Skins” stamp, therefore, went beyond a symbolic tribute. It became a practical emblem of Nigerian economic identity, traveling across the country and abroad through the nation’s postal system.

Artistic Contributions

The 1973 series included designs created by Nigerian artists such as Austin Onwudimegwu and Erhabor Emokpae, both of whom contributed to different denominations in the set. While collectors and catalogues acknowledge their involvement in the issue, attribution for specific denominations, including the “Hides and Skins” design, is not always clearly documented. What remains clear, however, is that the series as a whole reflected a conscious effort to use Nigerian artistic talent to celebrate national industry.

A Stamp as History

To philatelists and historians, the “Hides and Skins” stamp is more than just a piece of postal paper. It embodies a snapshot of Nigeria’s economic priorities at a time when agriculture, rather than oil, still dominated the country’s exports. It also reflects the broader post-independence aspiration to craft a distinctly Nigerian visual identity in official symbols.

Today, this stamp is valued not only for its function and design but also for its historical resonance. It offers collectors and researchers a window into how a young nation sought to represent itself to the world—through industry, culture, and pride.

Sources

Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Commonwealth and British Empire Stamps (West Africa listings).

Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue (Nigeria 1973–1986 definitive issues)

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