Early Foundation Of Imperialist Injustice Against Ani Ahaba People

A narrative of quotes of the British-Asaba Trade Wars at Asaba of 1878.

"At Asaba, the natives of Benin come to trade by land, they have no canoes. The Eggarah people bring their produce of the interior.

Those from Aboh bring European goods when they have them or salt. The dryland people from the hills behind Adamugu or Damoogoo or Abele bring horses. These people congregate at Asaba for the periodic Olia markets"

- Captain William Allen and T.R.H. Thompson in the book, "Narrative of the expedition sent to river Niger in 1841 under Captain H.D. Trotter"

By 1878 British and French merchants were having internal trade wars on the Niger. The capitalist British, controlling the upper Niger with the more compassionate French, the lower. Each skimmed to edge out the other.

Lord Lugard in retrospect said,
"Let it be admitted at the outset that European brains, capital and energy have not been and will never be expended in developing the resources of Africa from motives of pure philanthropy; that Europe is in Africa for the mutual benefit of her own industrial classes" - Lord Lugard in his book, Dual Mandate .

Prices went higher and higher and the Asaba people felt exploited.

By the middle of 1878 it was decided that open confrontation would be avoided. The Asaba people imposed a trade embargo and decreed that there would henceforth be no commercial dealings with the Europeans (British) until the latter reviewed their prices they paid the former for goods and services. 

As the community was a homogeneous and integrated society and decrees and prohibitions were always effective by the force or sanctions of the general community spirit, this prohibition affected trade and even the subsistence of both the British merchants and missionaries who remained on the banks of the Niger.

At the peak of the Trade embargo Bishop Samuel A. Crowther of the Church Mission Society (CMS), went to see OBI Igweli of Asaba to plead to him to relax the Trade Embargo. The Bishop wrote,
"I saw Chief OBI Igweli a short time before his death to represent to him the injustice of including the missionary agents with the merchants when the latter were denied purchases of provisions for their subsistence because they would not give presents according to their wishes therefore to compel them to do so, they closed the trade of every kind, provisions also. OBI Igweli gave reason why all of them, (foreigners) must be included in the embargo."

- Bishop S.A. Crowther.
That refusal produced instant hostile reaction from Bishop Crowther, who refused to give the gift of medicine to OBI Igweli giving excuse that it was an incurable illness, which he admitted he did not let the OBI know.

Rather he published in the Report of Mission Stations, 1878 (Niger mission archives C.A. 3/04 - S.A. Crowther) some uncharitable disease the OBI suffered which was later refuted by Chief Obi Okonkwo Osadebe who knew OBI Igweli personally. (born in 1866, his mother Ofunne was the daughter of Ugo, second son of Obi Igweli. As a boy he lived with the Igweli family).

Between 1879 and 1882, the British not finding a diplomatic way out of the embargo resulted to bombing Asaba and other towns on the Niger where such an embargo existed. 

Church Mission Society (CMS), admonishes the British Merchants (Royal Niger Company) for babarity against Asaba People.

In 1888, some carriers travelling with officials of the RNC from Asaba to Ibusa refused to go further.

One of the British officers in frustation of some recent laws of chieftains of Asaba ordered the reluctant natives to be summarily executed leading to a tongue lashing and report from the CMS. 

This incident was described in a letter dated March 22 1888 by Rev. H. Johnson to Bishop Crowther (*note Bishop Crowther is a black foreigner): "...but maybe those who have taken such a terrible vengeance, have begun to see that the indiscriminate slaughter of a number of defenceless persons -putting aside the moral aspect of the question - is at least bad policy.  The moral turpitude of the action is most flagrant whichever way considered, and I shall be more than surprised if either the Supreme Judicial Officer at Asaba, or the council of the Royal Niger Company or government in London approve of an act of which nothing could be more infamous even in a country where babarities of every kind and degree are commonly pepertrated"
Ref. Dispatch #47 of 1888.