In late 1929, women across Eastern Nigeria launched one of the most formidable mass protests in West African colonial history. Commonly known as the Aba Women’s War, the uprising began in the Bende area near Oloko and spread swiftly across Owerri and Calabar Provinces. What began as local resistance grew into a coordinated regional challenge to British indirect rule.
The protest was not spontaneous chaos. It drew from long established political traditions among Igbo, Ibibio, and other communities in the region. Women mobilised through market networks, kinship ties, and shared economic interests. Their collective action revealed that political authority in colonial Nigeria could not function without the consent of the women who sustained local economies.
Taxation fears and the warrant chief system
At the centre of the uprising were grievances against the warrant chief system and Native Courts established under British indirect rule. Warrant chiefs were appointed by colonial authorities to administer local governance, collect revenue, and enforce policy. In many communities, these chiefs lacked traditional legitimacy and were widely accused of corruption and abuse.
When rumours spread that women would be taxed directly, anxiety intensified. Enumeration exercises and administrative questioning were interpreted as preparations for expanding taxation. Women who dominated trade in local markets feared economic disruption and loss of autonomy. The proposed extension of taxation became the spark that ignited deeper resentment against the colonial administrative structure.
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Women’s methods of protest
Women organised using established forms of collective pressure. One widely recognised practice involved mass gatherings that combined singing, chanting, drumming, dancing, and public ridicule aimed at officials perceived as unjust. These demonstrations could last for days, surrounding administrative buildings or homes of warrant chiefs. The strategy relied on numbers, discipline, and cultural legitimacy rather than weapons.
Market networks played a decisive role. Information travelled rapidly along trade routes, allowing women in different towns to coordinate action. As demonstrations multiplied, Native Courts became primary targets because they symbolised the authority of the warrant chief system. In several locations, court buildings were attacked or forced to shut down.
The escalation and colonial response
As protests spread across divisions within Owerri and Calabar Provinces, colonial authorities moved to suppress the movement. Armed personnel were deployed to disperse gatherings. During the suppression phase, colonial forces fired on women protesters in multiple locations. The death toll is widely cited at approximately 50 to 55 women, with many more wounded.
The shootings marked the most violent stage of the uprising and left a lasting scar on the region. Despite the repression, the scale of mobilisation had already demonstrated that women were a decisive political force within colonial Nigeria.
Reforms and consequences
The Women’s War compelled the colonial administration to reassess aspects of indirect rule. Reforms followed, including adjustments to the warrant chief system and modifications within Native Court administration. The uprising became a turning point, illustrating that governance imposed without broad community legitimacy could provoke widespread resistance.
The events of 1929 also entered the broader history of anti colonial struggle in Nigeria. Long before formal nationalist movements gained momentum, women had organised across ethnic and provincial lines to challenge colonial authority directly.
Ikot Abasi and the remembrance of Madam Udo Udoma
In present day Akwa Ibom State, the Women’s War remains part of public memory. Ikot Abasi preserves this history through memorial culture that honours women who participated in the uprising. Among the names remembered locally is Madam, or Adiaha, Udo Udoma, described as a market woman associated with mobilisation and resistance during the period.
Community narratives portray her as a symbol of courage in the face of colonial authority. Her remembrance reflects the role market women played in organising participation and sustaining the protest movement in the Calabar Province area. Through memorials and storytelling, Ikot Abasi keeps alive the memory of women who confronted the colonial system and defended their communities.
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The enduring legacy
The Women’s War of 1929 stands as one of the largest organised protests led by women in African history. It demonstrated that political power in colonial Nigeria could be challenged from below, and that women were central actors in shaping public life.
The uprising revealed the limits of indirect rule, exposed tensions within the warrant chief system, and forced administrative change. It also affirmed that markets were not merely economic spaces but centres of political coordination and collective identity.
Today, the Women’s War remains a powerful reminder that organised civic action can alter the course of governance. From Oloko to Ikot Abasi, the women of 1929 reshaped colonial policy and secured their place in Nigerian history.
Author’s Note
The Women’s War of 1929 shows that collective action rooted in community structures can confront entrenched power and force meaningful change. The courage of market women across Eastern Nigeria reshaped colonial governance and continues to inspire how communities remember resistance and solidarity.
References
Toyin Falola and Matthew M. Heaton, A History of Nigeria, Cambridge University Press.
Judith Van Allen, “Aba Riots or the Igbo Women’s War? Ideology, Stratification and the Invisibility of Women,” Ufahamu.
Nina Mba, Nigerian Women Mobilised: Women’s Political Activity in Southern Nigeria, 1900–1965, Institute of African Studies.
