Nigeria’s independence movement gathered strength in the 1940s through organised constitutional agitation and mass based protest. Political leaders in Lagos built national platforms to demand reform, while women in Abeokuta transformed local grievances into a movement that challenged both colonial administration and Native Authority governance.
These developments unfolded within the same decade and widened the meaning of political participation in colonial Nigeria.
The Political Climate of the 1940s
The Second World War reshaped political expectations across British West Africa. Nigerians contributed to the war effort and followed global debates about freedom and self determination. At the same time, constitutional reforms proposed by colonial authorities were viewed by many nationalists as insufficient and overly controlled from above.
Urban political associations, trade unions, student groups, and professional bodies began pushing for a unified platform capable of presenting constitutional demands on a national scale. Newspapers amplified these discussions, turning elite debate into popular political conversation.
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The Inauguration of the NCNC in 1944
On 26 August 1944, the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC, was inaugurated in Lagos. The organisation emerged as a coalition of nationalist groups seeking greater African representation and a structured path toward self government.
Herbert Macaulay became the first President of the council, while Nnamdi Azikiwe served as Secretary General. Azikiwe, already prominent for his political journalism, played a central role in mobilising public opinion and expanding nationalist reach beyond Lagos.
The NCNC pressed for increased Nigerian participation in legislative councils, constitutional reforms that would move the country toward responsible government, protection of civil liberties, and an end to discriminatory practices within the colonial system.
The inclusion of “the Cameroons” reflected Britain’s administration of Southern Cameroons under international mandate and trusteeship arrangements. The council positioned itself as representing political aspirations across both Nigeria and the British Cameroons territories.
After Macaulay’s death in 1946, Azikiwe assumed leadership. As constitutional developments expanded electoral politics, the NCNC evolved into a major political party. In 1951, it adopted the name National Council of Nigerian Citizens while retaining the acronym NCNC. Through the 1950s, it became one of the dominant political forces in Nigeria and participated in constitutional negotiations leading to independence on 1 October 1960.
Following independence, Azikiwe became Governor General in 1960 and later Nigeria’s first ceremonial President in 1963.
The Emergence of the Abeokuta Women’s Union
In 1944, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti founded the Abeokuta Ladies’ Club. Initially focused on literacy, welfare, and civic improvement among educated women, the organisation gradually expanded its scope as economic pressures and administrative practices affected women traders in Abeokuta.
As membership broadened to include market women and working class participants, the organisation evolved into the Abeokuta Women’s Union, AWU. The transformation marked a shift from social association to organised political mobilisation.
Taxation, Native Authority, and Women’s Protest
Under the colonial system of indirect rule, Native Authorities exercised administrative and fiscal powers. In Abeokuta, women traders faced taxation and regulatory burdens while lacking representation in governance structures. Wartime economic conditions intensified hardship, especially for market women whose livelihoods were tied to fluctuating prices and local regulations.
The AWU mobilised around grievances connected to taxation, financial management within the Native Authority, and administrative practices perceived as unfair. The union organised petitions, public demonstrations, and collective actions designed to demand accountability.
Meetings drew large crowds, and speeches connected educated women with traders and rural participants. The movement brought women into visible political space and linked economic concerns to broader questions of governance.
The Abdication of Oba Ademola II
By 1947 and 1948, protests intensified and focused attention on the Alake of Abeokuta, Oba Ademola II, whose authority operated within the Native Authority system.
In January 1949, Ademola II abdicated amid sustained protest and political crisis. The women’s movement played a decisive role in sustaining pressure, while colonial administrative processes also shaped the outcome. After reforms and adjustments within the Native Authority system, the Alake later returned to office.
The episode demonstrated the power of organised women to influence political authority and to challenge established systems through coordinated action.
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Expanding Political Participation
The NCNC advanced constitutional nationalism at a national level, turning representation and self government into organised political demands. The Abeokuta Women’s Union demonstrated that grassroots mobilisation, especially among women traders, could force attention to taxation and administrative reform.
Together, these developments broadened Nigeria’s political landscape. Constitutional advocacy, party organisation, public debate, and mass protest all became part of the anti colonial struggle. The 1940s marked a decade when nationalism expanded beyond elite circles and entered everyday life, shaping the momentum that would culminate in independence.
Author’s Note
Nigeria’s path to independence was shaped by organised constitutional advocacy and by ordinary women who defended their livelihoods and demanded accountability, and the 1940s reveal how both meeting halls and market squares became arenas of political change.
References
Coleman, James S., Nigeria, Background to Nationalism, University of California Press, 1958.
Johnson Odim, Cheryl and Nina Emma Mba, For Women and the Nation, Funmilayo Ransome Kuti of Nigeria, University of Illinois Press, 1997.Sklar, Richard L., Nigerian Political Parties, Power in an Emergent African Nation, Princeton University Press, 1963.
