Sir Adeyemo Alakija (1884-1952)

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Placido Adeyemo Assumpçao was born to Ribeiro and Maximiliana Assumpçao on 25th May 1884. He was a son of one of the “Brazilian” families of Lagos: black repatriates from Brazil, using Brazilian (Portuguese) names but usually remembering their African ancestry, which was often Yoruba. The groups were sometimes called Amaros or Aguda. The Alakija family for a while were the most prominent Amaros in Nigeria. His family was of Egba origin. He had a famous brother Olayinka and his sister Tejumade married Alake Ademola II of Abeokuta.


Placido Assumpçao’s family were Catholics like other “Brazilians”, but after going to the famous Catholic school in Lagos, St Gregory’s, he went on to the CMS Grammar School (Anglican). On leaving school he entered the government service as a clerical worker in 1900; he spent ten years in that service, mainly with the Posts. He married Christina Ayodele George in 1907.

In 1910 he began legal studies at the Middle Temple in London, where he was called to the Bar in 1913. In that year he abandoned his Portuguese name for a Yoruba one, Alakija. His brother Olayinka did the same and also qualified as a lawyer. He was heavily influenced by the tidal waves of cultural nationalism in Nigeria during the early twentieth century. It was this self-assertiveness that led his family to abandon their assimilated Portuguese name in favour of a native one.

Alakija studied at Oxford University in the early 1930s, and became an ardent proponent for the provision of tertiary education to Nigerians during the colonial period.

Adeyemo Alakija practiced successfully as a lawyer and also went into politics, but with less success. At first a close colleague of Herbert Macaulay, he broke with him over the issue of the British Government’s action against the Oba of Lagos (Eleko), a major issue in Lagos politics in the 1920s.

Mr (later Sir) Adeyemo Alakija described Eshugbayi Eleko as a pathetic figure who though he had no actual ruling function as a chief, occupied a position of fundamental influence in Lagos. This imposed responsibilities on him with which he was incapable of dealing, especially as the problems became progressively more complex with the growth of the metropolis of Lagos. He was not fit, either by temperaments or gifts, to be Oba. Worse still, he listened to evil counsellors, i.e. Herbert Macaulay, members of the Ilu Committee and the Jamat Muslims.


In 1923 and again in 1926 he stood for election to the Legislative Council (Legco) as an independent, without success. His brother was a prominent elected member of Legco later. Adeyemo also joined it, but only as an appointed member, representing Egba Division from 1933 to 1941. Some Egbas protesting to the government against the nomination of Adeyemo Alakija as legislative councillor for Egbaland, sent a copy of their petition to Falolu (Oba of Lagos), presumably to use Falolu’s influence in the furtherance of their cause.

In 1926 he made his most famous contribution to history by playing an active part in the foundation of the Daily Times, which, for many decades, was Nigeria’s leading newspaper. He planned it with Ernest Ikoli an already successful young editor and Richard Barrow, agent of Jurgen’s Colonial Products Limited and chairman of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce. A new daily newspaper was planned to take Reuters and radio reports among other news coverage. The idea was supported by Barrow’s expatriate business colleagues and approved by the government. Thus the Nigerian Printing and Publishing Company (NPPC) was formed, with a nominal share capital of £3,000, to start the Daily Times and take over Ikoli’s African Messenger. The new newspaper started on 1 June 1926 with Ikoli as editor.

Alakija was chairman of the Board of the NPPC. It succeeded in bringing out a popular newspaper using modern techniques, with the help of advertising by the European firms. Its success was in spite of a pro-government policy not unusual among Nigerian editors at that time apart from Alakija’s friend, Sir Kitoye Ajasa. In 1936 the NPPC was merged with West Africa Newspapers Limited of London and Liverpool, publishers of West Africa and the West African Review. Later, in 1948, the International Publishing Corporation of London took over the Daily Times enterprise.


Alakija won the traditional titles of Bariyun of AKE (Abeokuta) in 1932 and Woje Ileri of Ife in 1935. The British government also honoured one of its most steadfast Nigerian friends. He won the Jubilee Medal, the Coronation Medal and in 1939 the CBE. He attended King George VI’s coronation in 1937. In 1942, having ceased the previous year to be an appointed Legco member, he was appointed to the Executive Council. In 1945 he was Knighted, with the KBE. He went to Britain in 1949 to receive the knighthood from George VI. Oba Adele who, succeeded Falolu in 1949, made Sir Adeyemo Alakija, one of his most powerful supporters in the struggle for the succession, the Baba Eko (father of Lagos).

He was a prominent Freemason, first Nigerian to become Grand Master of the Nigerian Freemasons, who were influential among the Lagos elite. He embraced some traditional elements of Yoruba socio-political and religious history when he co-founded the reformed Ogboni society and became the Olori Oluwo, or Lord of the Lords, of the brotherhood. As a member of the Ogboni confraternity, he introduced the use of masonic symbols inside the organization, such as the unblinking eye on an inverted V and three vertical shapes.



He was the keenest enthusiast for horse racing all his life, owning horses and becoming well known for regular attendance, in his white panama hat, at Lagos race meetings. He had sent all his family to Britain by the 1930s, so that his children could receive education there. In 1938, his first wife having died, he married a second with exactly the same name, Ayodele George, but unrelated to the other. They moved, in 1951, to a new house, said to be the finest private house in Lagos, Ake House at Obalende.


Sir Adeyemo was not prominent in party politics but he contributed greatly to their start by organising, in 1945, the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, of which he became the first president; this Yoruba Organisation (“League of the Sons of Oduduwa”) became the nucleus of the Action Group. He was also president of the Nigerian Youth Movement.

Sir Adeyemo Alakija died on 10 May 1952. His widow, Lady Alakija, was for years afterwards an active director of the Daily Times of Nigeria Limited and a living link with its early days under her husband

Alhaji Alhassan Dantata

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(1877-Aug 17th 1955). The wealthiest man in West Africa. 

 

Alhaji Alhassan Dantata was a Nigerian businessman who was the wealthiest man in West Africa at the time of his death.

 

                                             Ancestors and Heritage  

Dantata's father was Abdullahi, a man from the village of Danshayi, near Kano. Dantata was born in Bebeji in 1877, one of several children of Abdullahi and his wife, both of whom were traders and caravan leaders.

Bebeji was on the Kano to Gonja (now in northern Ghana) and Kano to Lagos routes. The people of Bebeji, at least those from the Zango (campsite) were great traders. Bebeji was considered a miniature Kano. There was a saying which went “If Kano has 10 kolas, Bebeji has 20 halves" or in Hausa: "Birni tana da goro goma, ke Bebeji kina da bari 20".  The town attracted many people of different backgrounds in the 19th century, such as the Yorubas, Nupes, Agalawas, etc. It was controlled by the Sarki (chief) of Bebeji who was responsible for the protection of Kano from attack from the southwest. 

 

 Alhassan was born into an Agalawa trading family. His father was a wealthy trader and caravan leader; Madugu Abdullahi while his mother was also a trader of importance in her own right enjoying the title of Maduga - Amarya. Abdullahi, in his turn, was a son of another prosperous merchant, Baba Talatin. It was he who brought
the family from Katsina, probably at the beginning of the nineteenth century, following the death of his father, Ali.

Abdullahi already had a reputation of some wealth from his ventures with his father and therefore inherited his father’s position as a recognized and respected madugu. Like his father, he preferred the Nupe and Gonja routes. He specialized in the exchange of Kano dyed cloth, cattle, slaves and so on for the kola of the Akan forest. Surprisingly, he had added cowries brought to the coast by European traders to the items he carried back to Kano. 

 

Abdullahi continued to operate from Madobi until 1877, one of our few fixed dates when having just set out for a journey to Gonja, his wife delivered in the Zango (campsite) of Bebeji. The child was a boy and after the usual seven days, he was named Alhassan. Abdullahi purchased a house in the town and left his nursing wife and child to await his return from Gonja. On his return, he decided to abandon Madobi and moved to Bebeji. Some say that the house that contains his tomb is still held by the family. The date of his death is unknown, but it was probably about 1885 when Alhassan was between seven and eight years of age. By then he had brothers and sisters – Shuaibu, Malam Jaji, Malam Bala, Malam Sidi and others.

 

 

 

                                                                             Early life

The children were too young to succeed to their father’s position and to manage his considerable wealth. They all received their portion according to Islamic law. Maduga Amarya, like her mother in law, was a trader of wealth in her own right. Indeed she was known to be such a forceful character that nobody in the Zango would take her to wife. She therefore decided to leave the children in Bebeji, in the care of an old slave woman, while she moved to Accra where she became one of the wealthier Hausa traders. 

 

The slave was known as "Tata" from which circumstance young Alhassan became known as Alhassan Dantata because of her role as his ‘mother’ (" Dantata" means "son of Tata”).

Alhassan was sent to a Qur'anic school (madrasah) in Bebeji and as his share of his father’s wealth (as so often happens), seemed to have vanished, he had to support himself. The life of the almajiri (Qur’anic student) is difficult, as he has to find food and clothing for himself and also for his malam (teacher) and at the same time read. Some simply beg while others seek paid work. Alhassan worked and even succeeded at the insistence of Tata in saving. His asusu, “money box” (a pottery vessel) purchased by Tata and set in the wall of the house can still be seen.

 

When he was about 15 years of age, Alhassan joined a Gonja bound caravan to see his mother. He purchased some items from Bebeji, sold half of them on the way and the rest in Accra. When he saw his mother, he was very delighted hoping she would allow him to live without doing any work since she was one of the wealthier local traders. After only a rest of one day, she took him to another malam and asked him to stay there until he was ready to return to Kano and he worked harder in Accra than he did in Bebeji. After the usual reading of the Qur’an, Alhassan Dantata had to go and beg for food for his malam, and himself. When he worked for money on Thursdays and Fridays, Alhassan Dantata would not be allowed to spend the money for himself alone, his malam always took the lion’s share (this is normal in Hausa society). After the visit, his mother sent him back to Bebeji where he continued his studies. Even though now a teenager, Tata continued to insist that he must save something everyday.

 

 

                                      Upheavals and slavery 

When he was still a teenager, great upheavals occurred in the Kano Emirate. This included the Kano Civil War (1893-1894) and the British invasion of the emirate. During the Kano Civil war, Alhassan and his brothers were captured and sold as slaves, but they were able to buy back their freedom and return to Bebeji shortly afterwards.

 

                                       Business career 

Alhassan remained in Bebeji until matters had settled down and the roads were secure, only then did he set out for Accra, by way of Ibadan and Lagos (Ikko) and then by sea to Accra and then to Kumasi, Sekondi and back to Lagos. Alhassan was one of the pioneers of this route. For several years, he carried his kola by sea, using steamers; to Lagos where he usually sold it to Kano bound merchants. By this time, he was relatively wealthy. In 1906, he began broadening his interests by trading in beads, necklaces, European cloth, etc. His mother, who had never remarried, died in Accra around 1908 and he thereafter generally restricted his operations to Lagos and Kano, although he continued to visit Accra.

 

 

Thus far in his career, with most of his fellow long distance traders, he continued to live in one of the towns some distance from Kano City, only visiting the Birni for business purposes. Before Alhassan settled in Kano permanently, he visited Kano City only occasionally to either purchase or sell his wares. He did not own a house there, but was satisfied with the accommodation given to him by his patoma (land lord.). It was during the time of the first British appointed Emir of Kano; Abbas (1903-1919) that Alhassan decided to establish a home in Kano. He purchased his first house in the Sarari area (an extension of Koki). At that time there were no houses from the house of Baban Jaki (at the end of Koki) up to Kofar Mazugal. In fact the area was called Sarari because it was empty and nobody wanted that land. Alhassan built his first house on that land and was able thereafter to extend it freely.

 

 

In 1912, when the Europeans started to show an interest in the export of groundnut, they contacted the already established Kano merchants through the Emir, Abbas and their chief agent, Adamu Jakada. Some established merchants of Kano like Umaru Sharubutu, Maikano Agogo and others were approached and accepted the offer.

 

Later in 1918, Alhassan was approached by the Niger Company to help purchase groundnuts for them. He was already familiar with the manner by which people made fortunes by buying cocoa for Europeans in the Gold Coast. He responded and participated in the enterprise with enthusiasm, he had several advantages over other Kano business men: he could speak some English because of his contact with the people on the coast, thus he could negotiate more directly with the European traders for better prices. He also had accumulated a large capital and unlike other established Kano merchants, had only a small family to maintain, as he was still a relatively young man. Alhassan had excellent financial management, was frugal and unostentatious. He knew some accounting and with the help of Alhaji Garba Maisikeli, his financial controller for 38 years, every kobo was accounted for every day. Not only that, Alhassan was hard working and always around to provide personal supervision of his workers. As soon as he entered the groundnut purchasing business, he came to dominate the field. In fact by 1922 he became the wealthiest businessman in Kano. Umaru Sharubutu and Maikano Agogo were relegated to the second and the third positions respectively. When the British Bank of West Africa was opened in Kano in 1929, he became the first Kano businessman to utilize a bank account when he deposited twenty camel loads of silver coins. Shortly before his death, he pointed to sixty “groundnut pyramids” in Kano and said, “These are all mine”.

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Alhassan became the chief produce buyer especially of groundnuts for the Niger Company (later U.A.C). It is said that he used to purchase about half of all the nuts purchased by U.A.C in northern Nigeria. Because of this, he applied for a license to purchase and export groundnuts in 1940 just like the U.A.C. However, because of the great depression and the war situation, it was not granted. Even Saul Raccah lost his license to export and import about this time because he did not belong to the Association of West African Merchants. In 1953-4 he became a licensed buying agent (L.B.A) that is, a buyer who sells direct to the marketing board instead of to another firm. However, Alhassan had many business connections both in Nigeria and in other West African countries, particularly the Gold Coast. He dealt, not only in groundnuts, but also in other merchandise. He traded in cattle, kola, cloth, beads, precious stones, grains, rope and other things. His role in the purchase of kola nuts from forest areas of Nigeria for sale in the North was so great, that eventually whole “kola trains” from the Western Region were filled with his nuts alone.

 

When Alhassan finally settled in Kano, he maintained agents, mainly his relations, in other places. For instance Alhaji Bala, his brother, was sent to Lagos. Alhassan employed people, mainly Igbos and Yoruba's and the indigenous Hausas, as wage earners. They worked as clerks, drivers, and labourers. Some of his employees, especially the Hausas, stayed in his house. He was responsible for their marriage expenses. They did not pay rent and in fact, were regarded as members of his extended family. He sometimes provided official houses to some of his workers.

 

People’s opinion of Alhassan Dantata differed. To some people, he was a mutumin kirki (complete gentleman) who was highly disciplined and made money through hard work and honesty. He always served as an enemy to, or a breaker of hoarding. For instance, he would purchase items, especially grains, during the harvest time, when it was abundant at low prices. He would wait until the rainy season, (July or august) when there was limited supply in the markets or when grain merchants started to inflate prices. He then moved to fill the markets with his surplus grains and asked a price lower than the current price in the markets by between 50 – 70%. In this way, he forced down prices. His anti- hoarding activities did not stop at grains and other consumer goods, but even to such items as faifai, igiya, babarma (Mat), dyed cloth, shuni, potash, and so on. However on the other hand, according to information collected in Koki, Dala, Qul-qul, Madabo, Yan Maruci e.t.c Alhassan was viewed as a mugun mutum (wicked person). This was because some people expressed the view that Dantata undercut their prices simply to cripple his fellow merchants.

 

He founded, with other merchants (attajirai), the Kano Citizens’ Trading Company, for industrial undertakings. In 1949, he contributed property valued at  ₤10,200 (ten thousand, two hundred pounds) to the proposed Kano citizens trading company for the establishment of the first indigenous textile mill in Northern Nigeria. Near the end of his life he was appointed a director of the Railway Corporation.

 

 

Real estate

He started to acquire urban land as early as 1917 in the non- European trading site (Syrian quarters) when he acquired two plots at an annual fee of ₤20. All his houses were occupied by his own people; relations, sons, servants, workers and so on. He never built a hotel for whatever purpose in his life and advised his children to do like wise. His numerous large warehouses in and around Kano metropolis were not for rent, rather he kept his own wares in them. 

 

 

Business with women

Because of his Islamic beliefs, Alhassan never transacted business with a woman of whatever age. His wife, Hajiya Umma Zaria, (mother of Aminu) was his chief agent among the women folk. The women did not have to visit her house. She established agents all over Kano city and visited them in turn. When she visited her agents, it was the duty of the agents to ask what the women in the ward wanted. Amina Umma Zaria would then leave the items for them. All her agents were old married women and she warned her agents to desist from conducting business with newly wedded girls. Umma Zaria dealt in the smallest household items, which would cost 2.5 d to sophisticated jewels worth thousands of pounds.

 

 

The manners of Alhassan Dantata

Though Alhassan became the wealthiest man in the British West African colonies, he lived a simple life. He fed on the same foodstuffs as any other individual, such as tuwon dawa da furar gero. He dressed simply in a white gown, a pair of white trousers (da itori), and underwear (yar ciki), a pair of ordinary local sandals, and sewn white cap, white turban and occasionally a malfa (local hat). He was said never to own more than three sets of personal clothing at a time. He never stayed inside his house all day and was always out doing something. He moved about among his workers joking with them, encouraging and occasionally giving a helping hand. He ate his meal outside and always with his senior workers like Garba Maisikeli and Alhaji Mustapha Adakawa. Alhassan met fully established wealthy Kano merchants when he moved to Kano from the Kauye, like Maikano Agogo, Umaru Sharubutu, Salga and so on. He lived with them peacefully and always respected them. Occasionally he visited the senior of them all Umaru Sharubutu to greet him. The eldest son of Umaru Sharubutu became an important employee in his commercial enterprise. He avoided clashes with other influential people in Kano. He hated court litigation. He was in court only once, but before the final judgment the case was settled outside a Lagos court (it was a ₤10,000 civil suit instituted by one Haruna against him). He lived peacefully with the local authorities. Whenever he offended the authorities he would go quietly to solve the problems with the official concerned.

 

 

Health

Alhassan enjoyed good health and was never totally indisposed throughout his active life. However, occasionally he might develop malaria fever and whenever he was sick, he would go to the S.I.M clinic for treatment. Because of his simple eating habits, ordinary Hausa food two or three times a day and his always active mode of life, he never developed obesity. He remained slim and strong throughout his life. Alhassan had no physical defects and enjoyed good eye sight.

 

 

Religion

Alhassan was a devout Muslim. He was one of the first northerners to visit Mecca via England by mail boat in the early 1920’s. He loved reading the Qur’an and Hadith. He had a personal mosque in his house and established a qur’anic school for his children. He maintained a full time Islamic scholar called Alhaji Abubakar (father of Malam Lawan Kalarawi, a renowned Kano public preacher).

He paid zakkat annually according to Islamic injunction and gave alms to the poor every Friday. He belonged to the Qadiriyya brotherhood.

 

 

Pilgrimage and presentation to the King

Soon after the First World War he went on the pilgrimage to Mecca, via Britain, where he was presented to King George V.

 

Education

Alhassan Dantata respected people with qur’anic and other branches of Islamic learning, and helped them occasionally. He established a qur’anic school for his children and other people of the neighbourhood. He insisted that all his children must be well educated in the Islamic way. He appreciated also, functional western education, just enough to transact business (some arithmetic, simple accounting, Hausa reading and writing and spoken English).

 Alhassan backed the establishment of a western style school in the Dala area for Hausas (i.e. non-Fulani) traders’ children in the 1930’s. The existence of a school in Bebeji (the only non-district headquarters in Kano to have one in the 1930’s) was probably due to his influence, although he could neither read nor write English. Alhassan could write beautiful Ajami, but could not speak or write Arabic, although he could read the Qur’an and other religious books with ease (this is very common in Hausa society). Most of the qur’anic reciter's could read very well, but could not understand Arabic. Alhassan Dantata knew some arithmetic-addition and subtraction and could use a ready reckoner. He also encouraged his children to learn enough western education to transact business, the need of his time. He established his own Arabic and English school in 1944, Dantata Arabic and English school.

 

Politics

 He never became a politician in the true sense of the term. However, because of his enormous wealth, he was always very close to the government. He had to be in both the colonial government’s good books and maintain a position very close to the emirs of Kano. He was nominated to represent commoners in the reformed local administration of Kano and in 1950 was made a councillor in the emir’s council- the first non- royal individual to have a seat at the council. Other members of the council then were: Madakin Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Inuwa, Walin Kano, Malam Abubakar Tsangaya, Sarkin Shanu, Alhaji Muhammadu Sani, Wazirin Kano Alhaji Abubakar, Makaman Kano Alhaji Bello Alhaji Usman Gwarzo, and the leader Alhaji Abdulllahi Bayero. Alhassan therefore was a member of the highest governing body of Kano in his time. He was also appointed to mediate between NEPU and NPC in Kano in 1954 together with Mallam Nasiru Kabara and other members. He joined no political party, but it is clear that he sympathised with the NPC.

Death

In 1955, Alhassan fell ill and because of the seriousness of the illness, he summoned his chief financial controller, Garba Maisikeli and his children. He told them that his days were approaching their end and advised them to live together. He was particularly concerned about the company he had established (Alhassan Dantata & Son’s). He asked them not to allow the company to collapse. He implored them to continue to marry within the family as much as possible. He urged them to avoid clashes with other wealthy Kano merchants. They should take care of their relatives, especially the poor among them. Three days later he passed away in his sleep on Wednesday 17th august, 1955. He was buried the same day in his house in Sarari ward, Kano. When he died in August 1955, he was the wealthiest man of any race in West Africa.

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Heirs

It was and is rare for business organizations to survive the death of their founders in Hausa society. Hausa tradition is full of stories of former successful business families who later lost everything. In Kano city alone names like: Kundila of Makwarari, the wealthiest man at the end of nineteenth century, Maikano Agogo of Koki Ward, Umaru Sharubutu also of Koki Ward, Baban Jaji, Abdu Sarki of Zaitawa Ward, Madugu Indo of Adakawa, and others too numerous to mention here, were some of them. The question is, why this sorry state of affairs?

M.G Smith suggested that three reasons were responsible as follows: the amount of money spent by the wealthy Hausa man on religious and social obligations was so great that only large fortunes could survive. Secondly, he was, after the introduction of the colonial economy, dependent for credit facilities on good relations with expatriate firms and stable groups of reliable agents and thirdly, under Islamic law, his estate was subdivided on inheritance.

He further suggested that only Alhassan of Kano was likely to leave able heirs to continue his business in a grand way. This observation was made in 1949 before Alhassan’s death. The reasons for this, Smith argued, was that his heirs were interested in keeping the family name going and the employment of modern methods of book keeping, the only local merchant to do so at that time. Another observer, Tahir (1919-75) has the opinion that business ventures in Hausa society often collapsed upon the death or retirement of the founder because the heirs were not trained before the death or retirement of the founder. Alhassan Dantata’s entire estate was subdivided according to Islamic law among the eighteen children who survived him. Alhassan’s descendants include Dr Aminu Dantata (son), Sanusi Dantata (son), Abdulkadir Sanusi Dantata (grandson), Dr Mariya Sanusi Dangote (granddaughter), Alhaji Aliko Dangote (great-grandson), Alhaji Tajudeen Aminu Dantata (great-grandson) and Alhaji Sayyu Dantata (great-great grandson).


Click here to read about the Dantata/Dangote dynasty https://www.nairaland.com/891985/dantata-dangote-story-how-create

Sir Louis Phillipe Odumegwu Ojukwu, KBE, (1909-1966)

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Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was an extremely successful Nigerian businessman and politician from the Ojukwu family of Nwakanwa Quarters Obiuno Umudim Nnewi south east of Onitsha in modern Anambra State. One of the most illustrious citizens of Nigeria, he had remarkable success as a businessman and also rendered distinguished public service in several fields. He was also associated with several philanthropic and cultural organisations to which he made generous material and tacit contributions.

He was born in 1909 in Nnewi and attended a primary school in Asaba and the Hope Waddell Institute. After formal schooling he joined the Produce Inspection Service as produce examiner in 1928 and later worked as a clerk with the large West African trading company of John Holt. It was here that the self made man who later became one of Nigeria’s foremost business tycoons and a multi-millionaire developed his business interest. He incorporated a textile company in Onitsha to supplement his income during this period, already exhibiting a little bit of his entrepreneurial spirit. While at John Holt, he noticed the severe strain a lack of adequate transportation had on Eastern textile traders He resigned from John Holt in 1934 to start a transport business with one second-hand truck that later grew into a vast transport enterprise. As a transporter he was a tireless worker and meticulous to detail; he was usually the first to inspect his transport vehicles for oil and leakages. His transport company (Ojukwu"s Transport Company) was the first major transport company to move the easterners to Lagos from the Asaba end of the Niger river after they might have crossed over from Onitsha on a boat.

He entered politics in 1951 as a member of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) which included him in the delegation to the London Constitutional Conference in 1951. Four years later Odumegwu Ojukwu was elected to the Federal House of Representatives in Lagos, but resigned in 1956 to become chairman of the Eastern Region Development Corporation.

Apart from his work ethic, his success was also oiled by the economic boom after World War II, working with the West African Railway Company and the newly inaugurated produce boards, he provided his fleet for commodity transportation and for other traders use. During the 1950s, he diversified his interest, bought some industries and invested heavily in the real estate sector.

His success, drive and ability led him to a host of other business appointments as chairman of the Eastern Nigerian Marketing Board, chairman of the Nigerian Shipping Line, chairman of the Nigerian Cement Company, first and founding President of The Nigerian Stock Exchange and director of a number of business concerns including Shell-BP. He was also a member of the board of Nigerian Coal Corporation. His last public engagement was as chairman of the Eastern Nigeria Marketing Board. He resigned from this position and also from office as chairman of the African Continental Bank, in May 1966 as a result of ill health.

His own company, founded on the Ojukwu Transport Company in 1934, had at the time of his death in 1966 spread its activities into construction and other areas, growing into a multi-million-naira group and employing thousands of workers.

In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal; he was knighted in 1960. In 1963 the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law, becoming the first to be so honoured by that university. He died on September 13th 1966 at Nkalagu in his home state, at the age of 57.

Ojukwu’s death came a few months after the first Nigerian civilian government was ended by a military coup d’etat which saw his son, Lieutenant-Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, ascend to office as Military Governor of Eastern Nigeria. Lieutenant-Colonel Ojukwu later declared the region, which he renamed Biafra, independent of the Federation of Nigeria, but secession was ended after a three-year bitter civil war in 1970.

Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun (1926-78 )

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Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun was a prominent Nigerian businessman and one of the country's dynamic indigenous entrepreneurs who promoted West Africa's economic integration.

He was born in Ile-Oluji in Ondo State, Nigeria on July 14 1926. Between 1932 and 1936 he attended St Peter’s School in his birthplace and later St Luke’s School in Oke-Igbo, from 1937 to 1940. He had his secondary education at C.M.S Grammar School, Lagos and Ondo Boys’ High School.

In April 1944, Fajemirokun enlisted in the old Royal West African Frontier Force and in 1945 served with the 2nd Echelon at Jhansi GHQ in India. After army service in 1946, he pursued an accountancy career, joining the post and telecommunications division of the colonial civil service. He was elected president of the Post and Telecommunications Ex-servicemen’s Union in 1948 and later became president-general of the Nigerian Civil Service Union until 1956, when he left to start a business career, which at the time of his death in March 1978 spanned a whole spectrum of ventures from insurance and engineering to shipping, centred around Henry Stephens and Sons.

He started business in the 1950s by exporting hides and skin, rubber, coffee and shea nuts. In the 1960s he started a massive importation of cement from Egypt and Poland. He received funding for this particular venture from a credit facility that had been provided to him by a British bank in London. He also ventured into commodity brokerage and in 1969 he bought and held a seat on the London Stock Exchange.

Later in the decade, as the chairman and largest shareholder of the Henry Stephens group of companies, he became a major shareholder in some leading companies in Nigeria. Following a decision to withdraw the wealth of the country from foreign nationals that was taken in 1972, an “indigenisation” decree was promulgated by the Federal Government. Henry Stephens capitalized on the euphoria of the contemporary nationalism of the period and acquired or represented major foreign operations in the country. It became the sole distributor for Xerox after the Daily Times, a company Fajemirokun had failed to acquire a stake in, left negotiations. Henry Stephens also acquired stakes in Johnson Wax and Fan Milk. The company was a pioneer in the Nigerian maritime industry and was one of the first Nigerian companies to own an interest in a shipping line

In 1970 he was appointed president of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry; in 1972 he became president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Mines; the same year he was elected the first president of the Federation of West African Chambers of Commerce, followed in 1974 with the vice presidency of the Federation of Commonwealth Chambers of Commerce. Henry Fajemirokun was one of the two co-presidents of the Nigeria-British Chamber of Commerce and also a member of the Board of Governors of the Nigerian-American Chamber of Commerce.


Henry Fajemirokun was not only a successful businessman; he was also a respected man in Nigeria. In 1968, in appreciation of his own contributions to the development of his province, the Jegun of Ile-Oluji conferred the chieftaincy title of Yegbato of Ile-Oluji on him. In 1971 he was given the title of Asiwaju of Okeigbo and the University of Ife conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Science. A few days before his death – in Abidjan, while leading a trade mission to the Ivory Coast – he presented a cheque for N 15,000 to help build a town hall in Ile-Ife.

Others include Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Chief MKO Abiola, Yinka Folawiyo, Isiyaku Rabiu, Chief Sonny Odogwu, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, Dehinde Fernandez, Chief Onwuka Kalu, Arthur Nzeribe, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Alhaji Dan Kabbo, Chief Razak Okoya, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, Adedapo Tejuosho, Chief Cletus Ibeto, Chief Augustine Ilodibe, Chief Arthur Eze, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, Alhaji A.G.S Bamma, Alhaji Grema Mohammed, etc.

End of part 2.

naptu2: Hahahahaahahahahaha!

Tiger's American manager told him not to stage the match in Nigeria because "it's too hot and the natives won't understand our kind of english".

Tiger replied that Nigerians are not cannibals and do not live in trees.

Tiger Woods or Dick Tiger?

O right, must be Dick Tiger ()

Ishilove:
Tiger Woods or Dick Tiger?

O right, must be Dick Tiger ()

Dick Tiger.

naptu2:

He's still trying to break the record for the oldest world champion. He tried to get funding from President Obasanjo to stage the fight in Nigeria. Obasanjo bought the idea at first, but pulled out after Bash Ali performed badly in a warm up fight (he didn't want to sponsor a suicide attempt).

Presidents Yar'Adua and Jonathan ignored him, so he turned to Ghaddafi for funding. He was in Libya when the crisis started and was one of the Nigerians that were evacuated by the Federal Government.

Lmao!!!! I'm quite sure they all made the right decision

Wow

I'm really speechless.

Great Job.

larride: Wow

I'm really speechless.

Great Job.

Thanks

I don't mean to sound like an ethnic bigot , and correct me if I'm wrong but it seems the Hausa people back then were more hardworking than this present generation of Hausas. Less beggars, less almajiris. Either that or the economy back then was better.

So Sir Alakija was a bloody cultist?? Hmm... He was very educated and enlightened so he can't say he didn't know what the eye within the inverted triangle represented. A mason and a member of the Iluminati. Wow! Who knows how many others are out there.

Naptu2, you have done it again. You didn't disappoint in this second part and I hope Part3 knocks us out COMPLETELY. This is by far the most infotaining thread on NL. More power to your elbow.

Big kudos to you ma niqqa. *big hug*

Ishilove: I don't mean to sound like an ethnic bigot , and correct me if I'm wrong but it seems the Hausa people back then were more hardworking than this present generation of Hausas. Less beggars, less almajiris. Either that or the economy back then was better.

The problems are

1) Unitary system of government since beginning of military rule.

2) Over bloated public service

3) Crude oil revenue to finance this large government.

Ishilove: Naptu2, you have done it again. You didn't disappoint in this second part and I hope Part3 knocks us out COMPLETELY. This is by far the most infotaining thread on NL. More power to your elbow.

Big kudos to you ma niqqa. *big hug*

Thanks dear. I'm humbled. *big hug*.

Part 3

King's Square, Benin City

Falomo Roundabout at christmas.

naptu2: Falomo Roundabout at christmas.

You can like to show Boundary market in AJ city too

Ishilove:
You can like to show Boundary market in AJ city too

Absolutely! Remember, it's "Nigeria: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly."

The cool thing about this section is that it shows the land, the sights, everyday life, things you might see everyday, etc. So everybody can contribute.

Most of the pics in the previous sections were pics of stars and famous people. In this 3rd and final section you'll find pics of everyday people, landmarks, cityscapes, landscapes, etc. Remember, it's Nigeria: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly.

King's Square, Benin City.

Falomo Roundabout at christmas.

naptu2:

Absolutely! Remember, it's "Nigeria: the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly."

The cool thing about this section is that it shows the land, the sights, everyday life, things you might see everyday, etc. So everybody can contribute.

Most of the pics in the previous sections were pics of stars and famous people. In this 3rd and final section you'll find pics of everyday people, landmarks, cityscapes, landscapes, etc. [/i]

Aarrgh! This part is likely going to re-activate the wanderlust I have been trying to tame

Ishilove:
Aarrgh! This part is likely to re-activate the wanderlust I have been trying to tame

Falomo Roundabout at Ramadan

Construction of the Kano-Lagos railway in progress near Kaduna in 1910

On The History of Nigeria Railways - The Lagos Steam Tramway 1902 - 1913


www.nairaland.com/attachments/706148_Lagos20Steam20Tramway20Engine_jpgb10ede4ddc0f65d53fbe682746976a96

In 1895 the Lagos Government Railway began to force its way from Iddo, on the mainland, to Ibadan, and was opened six years later on March 4, 1901. Carter Bridge was completed the same year, construction having commenced in 1896, to connect Lagos with the mainland. Because of the mistake of terminating the railway at Iddo, Lagos, the administrative capital and port of the Colony of Nigeria, was without any public (or indeed, at that time, wheeled) transport to connect it with the railhead.

That this had been in the minds of the Administration is evidenced by mention of a tramway in the Colonial Report for 1899. By 1901 it had been decided to build a 2ft. 6in.-gauge line over Carter Bridge and construction commenced. The opening of the Lagos Steam Tramway took place on May 23, 1902.

The original line ran north-west along the waterfront, from a point near Government House and the European residential area around the Race course, to Customs Wharf, where it turned north-east towards Ereko Market and Idumata. A 95ft,-radius curve took the line north-westwards again, through Ebute Ero and over Carter bridge to the railway station at Iddo.

There was a run-in outside the station building, a short siding to the parcels office, sidings to the goods transit shed, five roads into the engine and car sheds and a run-round which encircled these sheds. The track was single, with seven passing loops en route. At the Post Office there was a double junction incorporated with the passing loop, connection to the Public Works Department stores, and a straight run-through from the PWD wharf to the generating station for direct coal transfer. At Kokomaiko, the terminus, there was a run-round siding, a 20ft.-diameter turntable, and a water tank.

The sleeping track was of 2ft. 6in. gauge with a route mileage of 2 miles 58 chains, partly laid on (not in) the streets and partly on roadside reservations. The running time was 21 minutes, giving an average speed of 7 ¾ mph. Fares were 3d. “all the way”, PWD to Iddo 2d., and Ereko Market to Iddo, 1d. The headway was 45 min., later improved to 30 min., with the first tram at 6.30 hr. to connect with the 7.00 hr. mainline train from Iddo to Ibadan. There was no running after dark (this timed the last tram at about 19.00 hr.) Freight services were operated 0 it was, in fact, the only link at this time between Customs Wharf for moving imports up-country and for evacuating produce from railhead to lighter. The tramway was operated by the Lagos Government Railway.

Rolling stock consisted of ten passenger trailers with longitudinal back-to-back seats, built by the Ashbury Railway Carriage & Wagon Company, of Manchester. They were 19ft. long by 7ft. 2in. wide, double ended and fitted with tramcar-type hand brakes. The bodies were constructed from tubes, with open sides and canvas screens for wet weather. The cars were four-wheeled, the axle-boxes being provided with coil springs. There were about 20 un-braked goods wagon, each 12 ft. long and 5ft. 6in. wide, all made by the same company.

Motive power was originally provided by three locomotives of a type unique among street tramway engines. They were designed by the Crown Agents for the Colonies and manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd., of Leeds, bearing maker’s Nos. 751-3, and LGR Nos. 101-3. Delivery was made in September 1901.

 

www.nairaland.com/attachments/693155_a20lagos20tramway_jpg4f498f5cfb5c2685d82bf440efcb4c32

(Map) - Route of the Lagos Tramway

 

A curious design

I will skip this for the sake of brevity and for its technicalities.

Box-car mystery

When writing the book “Lagos Steam Tramway”, extensive inquiries were made as to why these locomotives were designed in the form of an articulated combination vehicle. No solution could be obtained from the Crown Agents, the makers, the Nigerian Railway, or from aged Africans (Nigerians). Flexibility is one factor (the sharpest curve was 80ft. radius) but a conventional four-wheeled tram engine would have satisfied this requirement. A more important aspect was the 5-ton weight limit imposed over the Carter Bridge. The additional bogie enabled the locomotive to comply with this but it does not explain the box-car at the rear.

One purpose of this, we are led to believe, was the conveyance of His Excellency the Governor and other senior Europeans. There is no evidence that the box-car was used in general service and, while passenger cars were used by the African population, it would not have been deemed suitable at the time for senior Europeans to travel with the general public! Fixed to the rear bulkhead was shelving, which suggests that another use was the carrying of coinage and valuables between the Treasury, Iddo Station and the wharf, in conditions of security. More certain is the transfer of mail and parcels from Customs Wharf and the GPO to Iddo. This is borne out by the short siding which was provided near the parcels office – just long about enough to accommodate the Hunslet articulated engine.

The design must have served its purpose because a repeat order for a further two such engines was placed and they were delivered in Lagos in 1910, becoming LGR Nos. 104 and 105, works numbers 1016 and 1017. Identical in design, except for improvements to the motion and two 45-gal. tanks instead of 30 gal. ones, they cost £718 each f.o.b. Liverpool! It should be noted that it was not practicable to run these locomotives in reverse service, and this accounts for the turning circle at Iddo, the turntable at Kokomaiko, and the double junctions at the Public Works Department and the Post Office, where turning could be effected.

In spite of the success of the improved services and after much track laying and a deficit of only £248 in 1913, the Government took a very short-sighted view and decided to close down the passenger service, principally because the original rolling stock needed renewal. Closure was effected on January 1, 1914.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/693156_a20lagos20tramway202_jpg202ee9d5935a7d295ac308e927dd3d72


The Lagos Sanitary Tramway, built in 1906 (see The Railway Magazine, July 1964, page 581), which ran from Dejection Jetty to a junction with the Lagos Steam Tramway at Ereko Market, continued to operate over its mid-town route, via Strachan Street, Glover Street and Faji Market, until 1933. With its closure, the island of Lagos lost its only remaining railway.

(Culled from The Railway Magazine, February 1966)

Interesting, isn’t it, that Lagos, and indeed Nigeria, actually had a tramway system as far back as the earlier part of the last century?

It is also interesting to know that apart from the Lagos Steam Tramway, 23 May 1902 - 31 Dec 1913,  the British also built the following:

Bauchi Light Railway, Zaria-Jos-Bukuru (229km), opened in sections 1912-1914, Jos-Bukuru (16km) widened to 1.067m in 1927, rest closed 30 Sep 1957. Several locos and coaches are preserved near the zoo at Jos.

Wushishi Tramway, Zungeru-Wushishi-Bari Juko (35km), opened in sections Dec 1901-1902, closed 1910

Lagos Sanitary Tramway 1906-30 June 1933. Extended to a wharf and was used to carry "nightsoil".

(Source: Durrant, A.E., A.A. Jorgensen, C.P. Lewis.” Steam in Africa”, London, 1981, Hamlyn)

Gone are those days. What was left for us by the British as a legacy of colonialism, we found it difficult to build on, not to talk of sustaining and improving it, contrary to such in other parts of the world. That is the way Nigeria has gone, to the dogs, ruled and managed by inept, corrupt, incompetent, selfish, indolent and clueless idiots since the British left.

I do hope you have found this historical journey interesting, intriguing, fascinating and reflective. I have. And there’s more on the Lagos Sanitary Tramway and others to come.

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/on-the-history-of-nigeria-railways-the-lagos-steam-tramway-1902-1913.html

The Doctor starting his morning rounds by railroad. Ilorin, October 1912

Bolekaja
www.nairaland.com/attachments/753104_bolekaja_jpgcf899b990909f9e3bf37c588bc814525

“There was no significant change until the 1960s when many operators went into the transport business. This resulted in the emergence of the Bolekaja, which literally means “come down and let’s fight” in Yoruba. As there was never enough room in the packed vehicle for a decent sitting arrangement resulting often in fisticuffs; they would tell each other to “come down and let’s fight.” Bolekaja has since been phased out, and they are now used to carry foodstuff in rural communities”.

“Molues, it was learnt, took over when government banned the use of Bolekaja, an average sized wood axial bus, which got its name from the manner passengers usually disembark. With only one wooden door at the back, passengers often had a hell of time entering and disembarking from the single exit point and conducting the bus from that position usually had its own problems, which often times led to free for all, making passengers to give the name bolekaja which means (disembark and let’s fight)”.

Molue


“Until the last one decade, they were the kings of Lagos roads. Those who have lived in the sprawling megacity for upwards of two decades hardly knew any other cheaper means of transportation. They are the moving yellow contraption known in the local parlance as Molue, the effervescent machine that hauls commuters from one part of the city to the other”.

Though many Lagosians are at a loss about the meaning or the etymology of the name, it is thought that Molue is the corruption of “Maul Him”, a description given to the vehicle by the city’s elite who are piqued by the incessant manner the large bodied buses tear clothes and even flesh of passengers while either entering or disembarking as they reach their destinations. Molues are kings of the roads. They are found everywhere, a private sector response to the yearning need for a safe means of mass transportation for the teeming population.


From Ojota to Ketu or Ikorodu and from there to Iddo, a major terminus made popular by the now comatose railway system, to Oyingbo, a bustling transportation haven to Oshodi, Costain, to Obalende, and from there to Apapa, then Orile, Iganmu to Mile 2 and further still to Okokomaiko, on the ever-busy Badagry highway and on the southern fringes of Iyana-Ipaja, Pen Cinema, Egbeda, to Idimu and Ijegun, and other emerging satellite towns of the state, such as Alimosho, the Lagos Molue at a time, captured the terrain, becoming an opium of the commuting masses.


So popular were these buses, that they at a time were printed on postcards and favoured as the face of a developing city state of Lagos.

From wherever you boarded them, a ride in a Molue was an admixture of fun and tears. There, you might be unlucky to have your pocket picked by one of the extremely smart street urchins regarded as area boys, who deliberately crowded the two entrances, making ingress and egress a headache to passengers.


There was no decency inside the Molue. After filling all the seats, the spill over passengers were made to hang on a rail in what was usually called ‘standing’ in the buses. Passengers were so tightly packed that they made nonsense of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s mimickery of their plight in the song, Suffering and Smiling.The air inside the Molue most times are stale, passengers have to cope with the body odours until fresh air permeates the vehicle. Most Molues don’t have windows and passengers have to sit on bare planks which are crudely welded to iron bars by local smithes. A ride inside Molue during the rain can spell disaster if a special outing is in view, as one may end up drenched.


Apart from the steering wheel, the dash boards of most Molues are often barren of any functioning gadgets, the drivers who are often boxed in with a wired mesh, could be found dripping with sweat as they battle with the steering wheel. With no view finder and side mirrors, the typical Molue driver relies on his mates, better known locally as bus conductors to marshal the roads, and these barks instructions to him intermittently.

"O wa legbe e o, (there is a vehicle by your side), Wole wa, (enter this side of the road), O nbo le (a passenger is dropping) or more lewd ones like; Wole pelu senji e o, (enter this bus with the correct fare), O loyun o ponmo o (this passenger, obviously a woman is pregnant and carrying a baby), are few of the jargons of the Molue conductor.
The driver is ever in a hurry. Apart from when it takes off from its major park, Molue never stops. Whether you are dropping off the vehicle or boarding, you have to develop a running feet, as you practically jump off, or rush in, on motion. This act which has become the archilles heels of many hapless commuters have somewhat become the defining mode of recognising who just migrated to Lagos and who is a resident.


The Molue could be a market too. Itinerant merchants often make a kill inside Molue, hawking all manners of wares from the usual drugs to the cure-all herbs that take care of a thousand ailments. Standing at one corner of the bus, the agent projects his voice by usually cupping his hands round his mouth, clears his/her throat and begins by assisting the passengers to call out the many bus stops along the routes, before leading the passengers into prayers which often he/she uses to hoodwink them before bringing out his or her wares. Molues are also a veritable ground for peripatetic preachers. Many young pastors used the Molue as sound bites, from where they work on their confidence to handle microphone and address larger audience in the Church. It could also be a leveler of sorts, a melting pot for the upcoming middle class usually in his razor sharp edged shirts and tie and their female counterpart in their skirt suits, mingling and struggling for space with the pepper retailers, and the mechanics in their grease-blackened aprons.


Because it carries more passengers, fares on Molue are often times cheaper than the smaller commuter buses.


Wale Adeduro recounts this little story “I had asked my father why the largely ugly commercial buses plying Obalende-Oshodi route were dubbed 'Molue' in Lagos. I think my reserved father explained that he was not sure of the origin of the tag 'Molue'. He however adduced a reason for the name. In his opinion the first batch of such vehicles were 911 models of Mercedes Benz trucks without carriers. Some welders in the outskirts of Lagos had the expertise of building cabins on such trucks. Through their efforts, they were able to convert the trucks to passenger vehicles. No thanks to the recklessness of 'Danfo' buses (smaller commuter buses especially the Volkwagen types) conductors on the converted buses often admonished their drivers to 'Molue' (a corruption of the word remould) the smaller buses when they obstruct the larger ones. From that moment on the term 'Molue' became associated with the big bully nature of the 911 model of commercial vehicles in urban Lagos”.


“Molue and the Danfo buses, which rolled into Lagos in the seventies replaced “Bolekaja”. Molue is a Mercedes truck, which is reconstructed, locally, into a bus which seats about 44 passengers. The Danfo initially started with a Volkswagen model which seats only 12”.