By Grace Amadi
In 1891, the British made contact with the Akwaete people, only to mysteriously leave in 1902. Some locals claim that the Akwaete people drove out the British. Others — including the British — cite different reasons for why British envoys and troops departed at that time. The reason for their exit has been a subject of debate in the local area for the past century, and the question since then has been “What drove the British out of Akwaete?” Drawing on local interviews and historical records, this piece will examine the reasons the people of the area give for this event.
The city of Akwaete is the headquarters of the Ukwa East area of Abia State in Nigeria. This industrious community belongs to an ethnic group known as the Ndoki group of people. The city is situated on the northern bank of the river Imo, where the river meanders into Nkoro in Opobo to finally join the Atlantic Ocean. It was a focal point of interest to the British, who arrived in an effort to finally stop the slave trade, and introduce legitimate trade.
The British Exit from Akwaete: By Dibia healer charm, strategy, or both?
The British urgently needed a place like Akwaete to checkmate the slave trade, which they realized had originated in some parts of Igbo lands in order to introduce legitimate trade. To completely abolish this inhumane practice, the British government had to reach Igbo land and tackle it from its roots, which was one of the reasons they came to Akwaete. By the terms of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) this territory belonged to the British Government under the mandate of The Royal Niger Company, which later became part of Unilever.
In 1890, agents of The Royal Niger Company, led by Harold Anseley, made contact with Akwaete. These agents were excessively exploitative. For example, these agents refused to pay the prices agreed for buying palm oil and also rejected the terms for paying excise duties to the community. They were infamously known as the “forty thieves” as stated by A.E Afigbo in his book "Ropes of Sand: History of Igbo Culture “(1981)”. For these reasons amongst others, the local population forced them to leave shortly after they arrived.
In 1892, a second delegation led by Cairns Armstrong returned with a more friendly attitude toward the indigenous people. The Community leased a piece of land to them for which they paid an annual tax (ekwumiri) of twenty pounds (oral interview, C . Nkworie, a farmer).
Even though the British were there to disrupt the slave trade, their trading
practices ultimately were seen as incompatible by the people who lived there. Understanding the military might of the British and their own inability to expel them by force, the people of Akwaete turned to known, traditional means to achieve this feat. They consulted a powerful Dibia who prepared a charm for them. According to the teacher Mazi Appiah (Oral interview), the charm was effective, bringing a swarm of toads and millipedes into the camp of the British. The presence of these unsettling creatures caused the British to flee Akwaete in 1902, at least according to the understanding of the people of Akwaete.
However, the British attributed their departure from Akwaete in 1902 to their discovery of the city to the north, Aba, during the Aro-British war in 1901, which offered more advantages to them than Akwaete. The fact that these two factors collided in 1902 raises questions. What was responsible for the exit of the British from Akwaete in 1902? Was it due to the local charms or the strategic foresight of the British?
Life in Akwaete Before the Arrival of the British (1890)
The British intervention in the history of the African people was entirely for the interest and development of the British economy and the Akwaete people are just a part of those who suffered in the process.
According to oral history, the name “Akwaete”originated from a slave named “Okwu,” who was adopted from Orlu. “Okwu” became known for his skill of climbing the oil palm trees using the rope known as “Ete,”which was unfamiliar to the locals (the Ndoki people) but was known in other parts of Igboland, including his hometown. As a result, he became known as “Okwu na Ete” which means the one who climbs with the Ete. Over time, Okwu and his descendants became known by the name “Okwu na Ete.” But when the British arrived, they altered this name to Akwaete. Before the British came, the people of Akwaete led a very simple life as much as their riverine environment offered them.
Religion
The people of Akwaete were adherents of African Traditional Religion. Their object of worship was a goddess called Nwa-Iyieke, to whom they offered propitiatory prayers for the fertility of crops and reproductive prowess. Like other Igbo people, the Akwaete people had four market days which make up one week and worship was observed on Afo market day. Like with other communities in South Eastern Nigeria, The New Yam Festival was set aside as a special occasion for thanking the goddess for providing a bumper harvest. Though they held their own beliefs as superior, the Akwaete people had no issues with the christian missionaries. Their teachings were new to them and some of them were genuinely curious to learn about the christian good news. Over time, some gradually embraced Christian teachings, even though others still practice their traditional worship today.
Agriculture
Agriculture was the backbone of the pre-colonial Igbo economy. However, farming wasn’t particularly popular in Akwaete. This does not mean that the people never engaged in agriculture; it just wasn’t what made them popular in Nigeria. There is no doubt that the level of agriculture was subsistent, providing goods like yam, vegetables, local beans, and poultry products. Some of these were exchanged for salt, fish, and second-hand clothes that came all the way from Europe across the Atlantic. Akwaete’s fame primarily came from weaving.
Weaving
Weaving was the most common of all economic activities of the Akwaete people. This industry produced the Akwaete cloth known the world over. Despite its global recognition, this venture has not advanced beyond its traditional practices due to secrecy and the ways these practices are taught in the industry. It was a difficult thing to get the women of Akwaete to discuss the origin of this business with any stranger; it is believed that whoever revealed the secret will succumb to untimely death. ( Oral interview: Teacher M. Akparanta). If you can get practitioners to speak about its origins, they will tell you it was a spirit that revealed this type of weaving to a woman called Dada Nwakata, warning her not to share the secret with her neighbours. But Dada Nwakata had a daughter who could not speak and thus pass on the secrets, and for this reason, she conducted her secret weaving in her daughter’s presence.
However, when Dada Nwakata left the house for an errand, her daughter
gathered their women neighbours and demonstrated the weaving techniques. Within a short time, the cat was out of the bag, and every woman in Akwaete and of Akwaete origin knew how to weave. Weaving, therefore, became the main occupation of Akwaete people, with women organising themselves in cooperative units, from which they contributed immensely towards the community’s development efforts. ( A weaver, L. Nkwonta, oral interview.)
British Activities in Akwaete
The British intervention in the history of Akwaete was like a footprint on wet sand. It triggered a series of changes that transformed the community and continues to influence it up to this day.
Commercial Control
Although it appeared the British had initially arrived with the goal of abolishing the slave trade for noble reasons, their true motive was to establish a legitimate trade, which the slaving trade was disrupting. They sought farmers to supply raw materials like cocoa and wanted a market for their own goods, ultimately aiming to control Akwaete’s trade for their own commercial interest. They were determined to remove any obstacle to their objective of controlling the territory commercially. The local gin industry of Akwaete was one of such obstacles. The local gin, a favourite at community festivities that was cherished by the locals and its neighbouring communities, was banned by the British. Producers and consumers were imprisoned, which created a monopoly for British gin. The popular Akwaete cloth also suffered the same fate. The British faked this product and called it “English Akwaete”, which nearly wiped away the local textile industry, giving more market space for that of the British.
Religious and Cultural Shifts
The religious belief of the community was not left out in this wave of change. The indigenous worship of Nwa-iyieke was challenged by the introduction of Christianity. With time, the shrine of Nwa-iyieke was destroyed and a church was built on its ground. In 1915, the church started a primary school on its premises and the family of Vincent Akparanta was the first to embrace these new religious and educational practices. According to oral interviews, the Akparanta family became the first to produce a teacher and lawyer in the community.
Social Impact and Resistance
Socially, the British naturally interacted with the indigenes, but their attention was drawn more to the female gender. They went after the women of Akwaete not minding whether they were married or single, to the dismay of the locals (Oral interview: M. Nkwonta, a farmer). According to the people who lived there, this was the last straw that broke the camel's back. As a result, the indigenes felt that their visitors had overstayed their welcome and desired their exit from their domain.
It is important to note that Akwaete is significant in the History of Igbo land. It was the springboard for British penetration into many parts of Igbo land. The British legal system first took root here, along with Christianity and the British school system, before spreading to other parts of the region. They also built the first modern road connecting Akwaete and Obegu, which is known as the “Civilization Road”. Though it wasn’t tarred, the road had the imprint of a planned road, not a path. Some old buildings in Akwaete still carry a distinct style betraying their connection to the colonial past. In 1895, the British ventured into the ancient kingdom of Obegu where the interface between them and the Aro oligarchy resulted in the Aro - British War of 1901, but that is a topic for another time.
Takeaway
While the Akwaete people continue to hold on to the fact that it was their forefathers’ charm that chased the British away, the fact remains that the British left for a place (Aba) that offered more advantages over this riverine community.
From Nigeria, Grace Amadi is a passionate writer who brings the past to life through compelling narratives.
Additional Reading
Afigbo, A.E. Ropes of Sand: A Study of Igbo History and Culture (1981). Internet Archive.
Lisa, Aronson. Weaving and The British Presence in South-Eastern Nigeria After 1900 (1991). Online paper.
Akwete: One Hundred and Two Years After the Amalgamation of the Southern and Northern Protectorate in Nigeria, 1914. Online resource.
Otosirieze, “The Women Weavers of Akwaete,” Open Country Mag (August 21, 2023). Online Magazine.
Nwaubani, Adaobi Tricia, “My great-grandfather, the Nigerian Slave Trader,” The New Yorker, July 15, 2018.
ORAL INTEVIEWS
1. Asobie Roland (a dentist)
Oral interview at Akwete
2. Appiah Michael, a farmer. Oral interview, Akwete
3. Akparanta Matthew, a teacher. Oral interview, Akwete
4. Nwakonta Louisa. (She was the only one who agreed to talk about how weaving originated in Akwaete) Oral interview, Akwete.
5. Nwakorie Chile, a Farmer.
6. Michael Nwakonta
Author’s Note: These interviewees were very old at the time of the interview.
Questions asked:
(1) Why is Akwaete important in the British quest in the abolition of slave trade in the hinterland of the Niger Delta?
(2) When did the British reach Akwaete for the first time.
(3) How much did the British pay for the piece of land they purchased from Akwaete.
(4) From whom did the weaving industry in Akwaete originate?
(5) Which was the first family to adopt Christianity and Western education in Akwaete?
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