Nwanyereuwa: The Woman Behind The Tactical Aba Women’s Protest

Ever heard of the Aba’s women’s Riot? Well, just like “the wives revolt”, when women decide to take action they do not go back on their word, the Aba women’s riot is an instance of this. There are actors to this riot and Nwayereuwa, the brainbox behind the Aba women’s riot of 1929, is who we are highlighting.

The movement was sparked by the necessity to stop the oppression of women through the tax system, the abuse of the warrant chiefs, and other ways. A revolt that affected the women of Calabar, Ogoni, and Opobo was started by the headcount to determine the amount of tax that each home would be required to pay as part of the taxation system.
The revelation that women would be added to the chain on top of already having to contend with poverty and an enforced tax system was the final straw. We believe it was very personal for Nwayereuwa because she asked Emereuwa, who had come to tax her in accordance with British law, “Was your mother counted?”

When the protest originally started at Oloko in Aba, Nwayereuwa had allies who supported the colonial resistance. These women were known as the Oloko trios (Ikonnia, Nwannedie, and Nwugo), leaders of the ogu umunwanyi.
The Oloko trios bravely demanded what should be as it threatened to thwart the norms and traditions of the Igbo system.

During this uprising, over 25,000 women are thought to have experienced cruelty, which resulted in at least over 50 women being killed. In addition, Okugo, the Oloko district’s warrant chief, received a prison term, and women were assigned to serve time in court.

Locally called The Women’s War, the British labelled it the “Aba’s Riot” to silence the role of women and change the narrative.

The Aba riot, the women’s war, Ogu Umunwanyi whichever appeals to you, is not just any war, but is the first historical public display of feminism in Nigeria. It is, consequently, the hallmark of the feminist struggle in Nigeria, and possibly West Africa.

Affirmatively, they not only spoke for women but for men whose poverty was partly influenced by the tax system.
The Aba women’s protest was one of struggle; it was a demonstration that not only elevated the position of women as active participants in domestic affairs but also as master strategists in times of uprising. It was a symbol that women are capable of more than what society has condemned them to.

Additionally, it served as the basis for Ben N. Azikiwe’s (later Nnamdi Azikiwe’s) letter in The Crisis from 1930, “Murdering Women in Nigeria,” which discussed the “recent massacre of Opobo women by British commanded soldiers.” As president of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe proposed a tax system for the men, when women intercepted and matched up to his office in Enugu during which a compromise was made and the talk of taxing was put to rest.
Consequently, the protest is remembered for resisting colonialism and acts as the pointer to the beginning of feminism.

The Women’s War will also leave an impression on 15-year-old Margret Ekpo such that by the time she was older, she formed the Aba market association in 1946.

Unfortunately, one whose name will be forgotten by the history books is Princess Nnete Okorie-Egbe of Akwete, the inspiration behind the Aba women protest.