In 1973, Nigeria entered a defining phase in its post-independence journey with the introduction of a new national currency, the Naira and Kobo, replacing the British-style pound, shilling, and pence system. This currency reform, known as decimalisation, represented more than a technical adjustment: it was a decisive step toward economic self-definition and a conscious break from colonial monetary structures. It was during this pivotal year that the Nigerian Postal Service issued the “Hides and Skins” definitive stamp, part of a broader effort to celebrate the nation’s heritage and showcase industries central to its identity.
To commemorate this national milestone, the Nigerian Posts and Telegraphs Department (P&T) issued a new series of definitive postage stamps titled the 1973–1986 Life and Industry Issue (also known as the Industry and National Pride series). Intended for long-term postal use, the series showcased diverse aspects of Nigerian life, from agriculture and mining to education and crafts, reflecting a country eager to present its identity through the lens of its own productivity.
Among the most evocative of these was the 1 Kobo “Hides and Skins” stamp, a quiet yet powerful emblem of one of Nigeria’s oldest and most enduring trades.
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Design and Production
The Life and Industry definitive series was developed under the artistic direction of Erhabor Emokpae and Austin Onwudimegwu, two pioneers of post-independence Nigerian visual art. Their involvement marked a turning point in national design philosophy, one that replaced the colonial dependence on British engravers with indigenous creativity.
While both artists are credited for the overall series, surviving records from the Nigerian Philatelic Bureau and the West African Philatelic Society do not clearly indicate which of them designed each specific denomination, including the Hides and Skins value. Nonetheless, their collaboration gave Nigerian philately a distinctly local visual identity, combining realism, symbolism, and national pride.
The stamps were printed using both photogravure and lithography, with the earlier issues predominantly photogravure and later reprints lithographed. These variations led to subtle differences in colour tone, paper texture, and gum, distinctions that continue to interest collectors today.
In major philatelic catalogues, the 1 Kobo Hides and Skins stamp is listed as Stanley Gibbons No. 280 and Scott No. 291. Its imagery depicts processed animal hides arranged for sale or export, a composition that symbolises craftsmanship, trade, and economic vitality. The design forms part of a broader narrative that includes other denominations highlighting Nigeria’s key sectors: timber, palm produce, tin mining, and education.
Economic Context: Agriculture and Export Diversity
In the early 1970s, agriculture remained the foundation of Nigeria’s economy, even as crude oil began to dominate export revenues. The Second National Development Plan (1970–1974) placed renewed emphasis on agricultural modernisation and diversification, aiming to balance rural development with the expanding industrial and oil sectors.
Within this policy framework, hides and skins retained their place among Nigeria’s key non-oil exports, alongside cocoa, palm produce, and rubber. The trade had centuries-old roots in the northern regions of the country, where cities such as Kano, Sokoto, Katsina, and Maiduguri served as major hubs for animal husbandry, tanning, and leatherworking. These centres produced both export-quality raw hides and refined leather goods, from footwear and saddles to decorative artefacts that reached global markets.
The industry had long been regulated, first under colonial rule through the Hides and Skins Act of 1942, which introduced quality grading, inspection, and export licensing systems. Post-independence governments retained and adapted this legal framework, ensuring trade consistency and maintaining Nigeria’s reputation for quality hides and leathers.
By 1973, the sector contributed modestly but meaningfully to non-oil exports. Though it could not rival cocoa or palm produce in revenue terms, it provided vital employment across rural communities, supported ancillary industries such as tanning and transport, and preserved artisanal traditions that linked precolonial enterprise with modern commerce.
Cultural and Symbolic Dimensions
The decision to feature hides and skins on a definitive stamp, rather than a short-term commemorative, gave the image enduring symbolic power. Definitive stamps, used daily for years, serve as subtle ambassadors of national identity. The 1 Kobo Hides and Skins stamp circulated widely throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, affixed to letters, documents, and parcels that carried Nigeria’s image across the world.
To many citizens, postage stamps were more than instruments of communication; they were miniature artworks that told the story of a nation. Through the hides and skins motif, the postal image connected Nigerians with one of their oldest crafts, celebrating diligence, self-reliance, and continuity.
Its imagery stood in quiet contrast to the era’s oil boom, which, while lucrative, often overshadowed the traditional industries that had long sustained local economies. The stamp thus embodied a more balanced vision of progress, one rooted in rural enterprise and cultural integrity rather than solely in extractive wealth.
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Colonial Legacies and Post-Independence Transition
The hides and skins trade provides a revealing lens on Nigeria’s broader economic history. Under colonial policy, the export of raw materials was prioritised, while local processing and industrial capacity were deliberately underdeveloped. Leather from northern Nigeria, highly prized in European markets, was exported mostly in semi-processed form.
After independence in 1960, Nigerian policymakers sought to reverse this legacy by promoting domestic processing and industrialisation. The Life and Industry definitive series visually reflected this ambition: it celebrated the productive capacity of the Nigerian people and redefined national progress through indigenous work, not imported symbols.
By featuring both agricultural and industrial imagery, the Hides and Skins stamp served as a visual manifesto for post-independence Nigeria, a country intent on transforming inherited structures into instruments of self-determination.
Legacy and Contemporary Relevance
Half a century later, the Hides and Skins definitive remains a prized artefact among philatelists and historians alike. Collectors value it not only for its design but for what it represents, a moment when Nigeria reimagined itself through symbols of labour, artistry, and trade.
Today, the leather industry continues to contribute to Nigeria’s non-oil export economy. Cities such as Kano and Aba remain major centres of leather processing, footwear production, and artisanal manufacturing. Though the industry faces persistent challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, global competition, and environmental concerns, it continues to embody the resilience and ingenuity captured in the 1973 stamp.
The Hides and Skins issue, therefore, endures as both a historical artefact and a metaphor for Nigeria’s continuing quest to connect tradition with modernity, and craftsmanship with industrial progress.
The 1973 Nigerian “Hides and Skins” stamp stands as more than a philatelic curiosity; it is a visual document of national transformation. Issued at the dawn of the Naira era, it reflected a nation reshaping its economic identity and artistic expression in the wake of independence.
Its imagery, grounded in indigenous artistry and rooted in one of Nigeria’s oldest trades, symbolised the dignity of labour, the endurance of craft, and the aspiration toward self-reliance. Through its circulation, it carried not only letters but the story of a country defining itself through work, artistry, and pride.
Author’s Note
Though small in size, the Hides and Skins definitive remains a powerful emblem of the intersection between art, economy, and identity, a printed testament to Nigeria’s enduring spirit of enterprise.
References:
Stanley Gibbons Commonwealth Catalogue (2023 Edition): Nigeria SG 280–307.
Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue: Nigeria Nos. 291–316.
Laws of the Federation of Nigeria: Hides and Skins Act (1942).
Second National Development Plan (1970–1974), Federal Government of Nigeria.
Lapai Journal of Humanities (2019): “Export Duties and Non-Oil Revenue, 1971–1974.”
Nigerian Philatelic Society Bulletin No. 5 (1975): “Symbolism in the Life and Industry Series.”
UNIDO Leather Value Chain Study: Nigeria (2020).
Naija Stamps Blog — “The 1973–1986 Definitive Issue by Austin Onwudimegwu and Erhabor Emokpae.”
