LABOR MIGRATION FROM SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA TO SPANISH FERNANDO PO, 1900-1968

Anthony C. Oham

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for degree of

Master of Arts

Department of History

Central Michigan U~iv_ersity Mount Pleasant, Michigan

October, 2006

Accepted by the Faculty of the College of Graduate Studies,

Central Michigan University, in partial fulfillment of

the requirement for the Master's degree

Thesis Committee:

Date: hk---c ¢

Committee:

Solomon A. Getahun, Ph.d., Chair.

Maureen N. Eke, Ph.d.

Timothy D. Hall, Ph.d.

John F. Robertson, Ph.d.

Committee Chair

Faculty Member

Faculty Member

Faculty Member

Dean d" College of Graduate Stu Ies

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

While writing this thesis and studying at Central Michigan University, I

encountered many challenges. I had a hard time because my wife was not with me.

Because she was not with me, there were a lot of distractions that affected my academic

progress. Despite this, I succeeded and will not fail to thank the Almighty God for the

special grace and infinite mercies He gave me, especially in completing this work in due

time.

I am very, very grateful to my parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.O. Oham, who encouraged

and supported me financially to study in the U.S.

I thank my wife, Mrs. Godsfavour Akuoma Oham, for the patience, prayers,

encouragement, and love she gave me in order that I could achieve my goals at CMU.

To my advisor, Dr. Solomon A. Getahun-thanks for being so patient and caring.

I learned from you what no textbook could have taught me.

I also would like to recognize the assistance and encouragement of Dr. Chima J.

Korieh, who has been a colleague and father to me. I am also grateful for your support,

especially for making it possible for me to come to CMU to pursue my education. I thank

you also for finding time to edit my work.

My gratitude also goes to Prof. T. Hall, who assisted me in many ways to have a

successful academic career in CMU. I also thank you once more for your assistance in

bringing me here to CMU. I would not have learned as much if I had not come to CMU.

v

To all my instructors and committee members at Central Michigan University,

especially Prof. Stephen P. Scherer, Prof. John F. Robertson, Prof. Maureen N. Eke, Prof.

Thomas Benjamin, Prof. James Schmiechen, Prof. Eric Johnson, and others who have

made it possible in one way or another for me to be successful-thank you for being here

at CMU for me.

I also thank the CMU Writing Center for making time to edit my work, especially

Wesley M. Umstead and Wanda M. Thibodeaux, who contributed in no small measure in

the completion of this thesis.

To all those who contributed in one way or the other and who are not mentioned

above, thank you and God bless.

LABOR MIGRATION FROM SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA TO SPANISH FERNANDO PO, 1900-1968

by Anthony Oharn

The history of African societies has been defined and reshaped by internal and

external factors. The African colonial encounter of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries

reshaped the social and economic processes ofNigerian societies. Some of these

developments were internal (rural-urban) and international (across border) labor

migrations. I am particularly interested in the migration history of southeastern Nigeria

and the socio-economic impact of migration upon the migrants and imperial powers.

This thesis aims to discuss migration from southeastern Nigeria to Fernando Po

during the colonial era from several angles. The study specifically explains the Anglo-

Spanish labor agreement that led to the export of thousands ofNigerian laborers,

particularly from southeastern Nigeria, to Spanish Fernando Po. The research made use

of archival sources, oral sources, and review of related literature available on migration

of Nigerians to Spanish Fernando Po.

This work explores the nature, motive, and impact of this migration on both

imperial powers and Nigerian migrants. The research also investigates the kind of labor

vii

practices and attitudes that existed in the plantations of Fernando Po, particularly the \ives

and experiences of the migrants from their own perspective. The study combines aspects

of social, economic, and political history in colonial Nigeria, an area that has not received

adequate attention.

The study found that the Anglo-Spanish labor agreement was an important

example of colonial cooperation, but one in which the wage, living, and working

conditions of Nigerian laborers were compromised by both colonial powers.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................. x

CHAPTER

I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................... 1

Theoretical Framework ........................................................... 7 History and Geography ......................................................... 12 Methodology and Sources ....................................................... 18 Motivation of the Migrants .................................................... 22 Age and Gender of the Migrants .............................................. 24

II. THE HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-SPANISH AGREEMENT ..................... 27

III. WAGE, LIVING, AND WORKING CONDITIONS ON THE PLANTATIONS ......................................................................... .40

IV. IMP ACT ANALYSIS ............................................................. · ....... 57

Background for Migration Impact Analysis ....................... · ........ 57 Impact on the Migr~ts ...................................................... :·.·.~~ Impact on the Impenal Powers ............................................ .

USION ...... 70 V. SUMMARY AND CONCL ......................................... · .. .

APPENDICES ............................................ · .... · .. · .. ·········· .. ············· ..... 82

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................. ·································· .................. 88

ix

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE PAGE

1. Estimation of Population .................................................................... 18

2. Number of Nigerian Migrants Who Returned To Southeastern Nigeria (Calabar Province, 1947) ................................................................................ 26

3. Export of Cocoa from 1939-1968 .......................................................... 69

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The experiences of African societies have been influenced by external contact,

which includes the European exploration of the fifteenth century, the Atlantic slave trade,

and the European missionary and imperialist activities of the late nineteenth century.

Thus, the nineteenth and twentieth centuries brought fundamental changes to African

societies. In Nigeria, the colonial encounter reshaped the economic and social processes

of local societies. Colonialism increased movement of people within and across

boundaries. Some individuals migrated because they were in search of new opportunities

created by the bureaucracy. Others migrated because they were seeking employment in

the industrial, mining, and commercial farms that developed in the wake of the European

colonialism.

This study examines the type of migration that the European encounter

engendered in local Nigerian societies. It focuses on the migration from southeastern

Nigeria to Spanish Fernando Po between 1900 and 1968-a subject that hitherto has been

neglected. I chose to begin the study in 1900 because it was at this period that Britain

established colonization in Nigeria-the Nigerian relations with Spanish Fernando Po

allowed Britain to be involved in Nigerian labor migration to Spanish Fernando Po.

Additionally, 1968 was the year in which Fernando Po received independence. This

marked the end of the colonial period on the island ofFemando Po that I covered in this

research. This work also utilizes historical facts before 1900 in order to place the present

study in context. The study also examines the impact of the Anglo-Spanish agreement of

1942 that led to the movement ofthousands oflgbo and Ibibio laborers to Spanish cocoa

pl:mtnt•ons on the island of Fernando Po in present-day Equatorial Guinea. The focus is

on the nature. motive. and impact of this migration on the Nigerian migrants, as well as

on the imperial powers. The study pays particular attention to the kind of labor regime

that existed in the plantations of Fernando Po and explores the lives and experiences of

the migrants. The research combines aspects of social, economic, and political history in

the colonial period. The thesis argues that the Anglo-Spanish agreement was a colonial

cooperation, but one in which the conditions of Nigerian laborers were compromised by

both colonial powers.

This study is important for several reasons: It attempts to show that, despite

contestations for areas of influence in Africa, colonial powers often collaborated to

protect their mutual interests. The thesis further attempts to show that local people were

important in shaping colonial societies. It will make a valuable contribution to the history

of Nigerian migration, labor, and colonialism. The research will deepen the

understanding of Nigerian labor migration to Spanish Fernando Po, particularly regarding

the lives and experiences of these migrants under colonial administration. The study also

will deepen the understanding of the nature of migration in West Africa. By examining

the case of Nigerian labor migration, insights and conclusions can be drawn more

accurately about the implications oflabor migration for African societies.

Migration refers to the change in residence involving movement between

communities. R. K. Udo describes migration as a permanent or semi-permanent change

of abode; hence, migration generally is considered to be an economic act, which makes it

a rational act; it is man's reaction to economic differentials between regions. 1 Hill adds

that. in West Africa. the tendency to migrate does not essentially associate at all closely

with population density as demographers and economists so often assume; it may be the

result of a lack of lucrative non-farming occupations, because farming is not regarded as

"work" by some West Africans.2 S. Amin, meanwhile, argues that colonialism

constitutes an important dimension of the labor migration nexus in West Africa. 3 M. Peil

appends that the political stability of the colonial period made possible a great increase in

migration. 4

The substantial migration in Nigeria began in southeastern Nigeria after the

colonization by the British in 1900. Migration had not been evident in this region before

the colonial period; most of the early forms ofmigration were limited in scope and often

were present for a very short period of time. However, the colonial authorities imposed

policies that forced migration to colonies in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As

W.T.S Gould shows, colonial authorities often entered into agreements to promote inter-

territorial movement of this kind in an attempt to balance supply of and demand for labor,

and labor agreements were particularly prevalent during the 1940's and 1950's.5 This

1 R.K. Udo, 'Internal migrants and development', in J.S.Oguntoyinbo et al. (eds.) A Geography of Nigerian Development (lbadan: Heinemann Educational Books, 1978). Cited inS. Ekpenyong. Ikpe Migrants Cocoa Farmers of South-Western Cameroon. African: Journal of the International African Institute 54, no. I (1984): 20-30.

2 Hill, (1978: 25-26) Author's fust name and full bibliographical information not provided. Cited inS. Ekpenyong. Ikpe Migrants Cocoa Farmers of South-Western Cameroon. African: Journal of the International Afi-ican Institute 54, no. I (1984): 20-30.

3 S. Amin, Colonialism in West Africa. New York: Monthy Review Press. Cited in J.A Arthur, "International Labor Migration Pattern in West Africa." African Studies Review 34, no.3 (1991 Dec.): 65-87.

4 M. Peil, The Expulsion of West African Aliens. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 9, no.2 (1971): 205-229.

s W .T.S. Gould, "International Migration in Tropical: A Bibliographical Review." International Migration Review 8, no.3 (1974, Autumn): 347-365.

3

was when the colonial economies were expanding rapidly and when labor supply

problems seemed particularly serious.

The International Labor Organization offered a summary of these agreements in

all African countries and concluded that movements such as these within and between

colonial districts could not be considered as "international" in the strict sense or as

distinct from internal migration: "The factors that justify a distinction between internal

and external migration in more advanced areas are not present to the same degree in

Africa ... What is said ... regarding the causes and results of inter-territorial movement is

therefore equally applicable to the numerically much more important internal

migration."6 D. D. Cordell, J .W. Gregory, and V. Piche observe that, in the conventional

dictionary, colonial migration is generally characterized as "traditional" or "archaic"

migration that does not bring social transformation, but which recreates the original

society in a new setting.7

According to J. A. Arthur, economic and social factors influence the character of

the international migratory flow of labor in West Africa. The vital role of economic

factors is the result of the movement oflabor across the borders of West Africa. He

argues that, because the international movement oflabor in West Africa is caused by

inequalities in economic development and natural resources among countries in the

region, the need of migrants to maximize income and achieve social status through

6 International Labor Organization, "Inter-territorial migration of Africa south of the Sahara." International Labor Review 76( 1957): 292-310.

7 D.O. Cordell, J.W Gregory, & V. Piche, Hoe and Wage: A Social History of a Circular Migration System in West Africa (Colorado: Westview Press.\996), 21.

4

mi~TTat10n thus existed.' Cordell. Gregory, and Piche add that migration in West Africa is

mostly forced. The capitalist sphere could not survive in its present form without the non-

capitalist sphere. which provides labor at an extremely low cost. This means that the non-

capitalist sphere sponsors its capitalist counterpart. Thus, migration is a form of

articulation that connects both spheres as a sole economy.9

J.A. McCain sees the migration of Nigerians as a function of perceived economic

opportunity; this function can be viewed as the perceived opportunities of employment. 10

In addition, J. Osuntokun observes that Nigerian migration was a result of political

oppression, a lack of economic opportunities, and a shortage of land to cultivate crops.

All of these problems led to the mass exodus ofNigerian migrants to Spanish Fernando

Po. II

I. K. Sundiata gives a complete history of Fernando Po, explains the links

between slavery and free contract labor, and confronts the ideas of labor development and

progress in various colonial contexts. Thus, Fernando Po developed a plantation economy

dependent on migrant laborers who worked under conditions similar to slavery. Sundiata

reports that a "contract worker on Sao Tome in 1900 probably approximated various

definitions of 'slave' more than did those persons in 1800 who, while legally slaves, were

left to devote most of their time to the cultivation of small subsistence plots."12

8 J.A Arthur, "International Labor Migration Pattern in West Africa." African Studies Review 34, no.3 (1991 Dec): 65-87.

9 Cordell, Gregory, & Piche. Hoe and Wage, 18. 10J.A. McCain, "Migration Pattern in Nigeria." African Studies Review 15, no.2 (1972): 209-215,

African Studies Association. 11 J. Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH Century to the Present. Papers read

at the Canadian Africa Studies Association Conference. Sherbrooke PQ Canada (1977, Aprii26-May3): 16. 12 I.K. Sundiata, From Slaving to Neo-slavery: The Bight of Bight and Fernando Po in the Era of

Abolition, 1827-1930 (London: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1996), 121. 5

The N1gerian relationship with Fernando Po was based on an economic and

strategic reasoning that existed throughout the colonial times. Fernando Po was close to

the Bights of Benin and Biafra. Because ofthis, many of the Creoles claimed Nigerian

ancestry. D B. Akinyemi, the former Nigerian Minister of External Affairs, further posits

that Fernando Po was an important consideration in Nigeria's foreign policy. The island

of Fernando Po is virtually a neighbor to Nigeria, and many of the laborers on Fernando

Po plantations were Nigerian in birth. 14

According to R.T. Brown, the British government decided to remove the Mixed

Commission Courts and the slave suppression squadron from Sierra Leone to Fernando

Po in 1826. The British government took these actions because the government wanted to

make the humanitarian program of abolition more applicable to the reality ofthe

conditions in Africa. The original campaign of direct attack on the exporters of slaves had

been turned over to the Royal Navy and a system of Mixed Commission Courts. There

were various bilateral treaties signed between Great Britain, Spain, and other powers that

gave the Royal Navy authority to stop slave-carrying ships. Once captured, the slavers

would be punished by imprisonment. 15 The agreements gave the British the authority to

"search and arrest" because the British suspected that Spain was engaging in illegal

human trafficking of Nigerian laborers.

The crop of cocoa was taken from Brazil to Sao Tome in 1822 and later

introduced to Fernando Po. The introduction of cocoa to Fernando Po produced a shift

13 J. Osuntokun, Nigeria- Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed. Nigeria and the World (Ibadan: University ofibadan, 1973), 3.

14 B. Akinyemi, "Nigeria and Fernando Po, 1958-1966: The Politics oflrridentism." Africa Affairs 69, no.276 (1970 July): 236-249.

15 R.T. Brown, "Fernando Po and the Anti-Sierra Leonean Campaign, 1826-1834." The International Journal of African Historical Studies 6, no.2 (1973): 249-264.

6

fwm the palm oil trade to plantation agriculture. 16 The country was unable to meet the

labor need ofthc cocoa plantations. Thus, the decision was made to recruit labor from

neighboring countries, and by the 1940's, Nigerians had became the most populous and

important migrants working in the plantations of Spanish Fernando Po.

Theoretical Framework

Many scholars have propounded a number of models in order to determine what

influences internal and international labor migration. These models are the economic

maximization model, also known as the cost-benefit and human capital model; the

mobility transition model of Zelinsky; the volume, direction, and distance or gravity

models ofZipf, Isard and Bramhall, and Olsson; the ecological model ofRavenstein and

Lee; Mabogunje's system model; the value expectancy model of Dejong and Fawcett;

Byerlee's model, and Todaro's model. In regard to these models, I will discuss and apply

the three models of migration mentioned above that are supported by Arthur; I will

borrow the utility aspect of each model that is congruent with the study. The other

models will not be applied to this study because their features are not related to this

specific migration study.

Arthur's assertion is that Todaro's, Mabogunje's, and Byerlee's models are the

most suitable for studying migration in West Africa, particularly the migration of

individuals from southeastern Nigeria to Fernando Po. Arthur's reasons are as follows:

These models stress the importance of the labor market and economic conditions to the

decision-making of a migrant; they acknowledge the role of family structure, kinship, and

16 I.K. Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." The Journal of African History 15, no. I (1974): 97-112.

7

"''mmunuy organt7ations in the migratory process; they have the potential to examine the

major types of migration in West Africa, such as circular. stepwise, and chain migrations,

without the need to rely on any particular assumptions about human behavior; and they

explain migration as part of a general theory of economic development based upon a

sectoral approach which recognizes the transport of labor from one economic sector to

another. 17

Before applying these models to Nigerian migration to Spanish Fernando Po, I

shall attempt to explain the models based on individual approach, in order to make it

clear what the models are saying and also how they relate to the subject matter. M.

Todaro's model postulates that migration decision-making occurs in response to the

expected income differences between rural and urban locations. 18 The basic hypothesis

in this statement is that the possible migrant chooses a place that maximizes the

anticipated gains from migration. Thus, anticipated gain is measured in real income

differences between the rural and urban employment opportunities and also in the

probability of the potential migrant securing a job at the place of destination. 19

A. L. Mabogunje's approach to migration postulates that rural-urban migration in

Africa is influenced by the interrelationship of ruraVurban control systems, ruraVurban

adjustment mechanisms, and the positive or negative flow of information about

migration. There are four elements ofMabogunje's model. The first element states that a

pool of potential migrants in the rural areas is viewed as a mass resource rather than as

individuals. The second element consists of two systems pertaining to migration flows:

17 Arthur, "International Labor Migration Pattern in West Africa." 18 M. Todaro, "A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed

Countries." The American Economic Review 59, no. I ( 1969): 138-148. 19 Arthur, "International Labor Migration Pattern in West Africa."

8

,,nc centered in the rural area and controlling outflows and one in the urban area

controlling inflows. The third element is a background environment comprised of social

and economic conditions. govemment policies, transportation, and communication

infrastructure. Finally, the fourth element states that the low level of technological

progress and development causes migration. 20 G. Dejong and R. Gardner interpret

Mabogunje's model:

With regards to the push side ofmigration, it is evident that local economic conditions would affect the pool of potential migrants. Thus, if there is much work, fewer persons will enter the migrant pool than if the opposite were true. The pool, however, will also be affected by local social practices pertaining to the family. [On the other hand] the pull side of migration, wage rate and job opportunities emanating from the urban system, would affect whether individuals in the pool of potential migrants in fact migrate.21

D. Byerlee views migration as the outcome of cost-return calculation. 22 Going by

Byerlee's assertion, when the perceived return of migration exceeds the perceived cost of

migration, the decision to migrate will be made. Byerlee sees this model as beyond the

conventional cost-return analysis ofthe human capital approach because it includes

elements of the social system, explicitly identifies determinants of rural and urban

income, and introduces risks and other psychic costs into the migration decision-making

process?3

20 A.L. Mabogunje, "System Approach to a Theory of Rural-urban Migration." Geographical Analysis 2 (1970): 1-17.

11 G. Dejong & R.Gardner, Migration Decision Making. (New York: Pergamon.I981), 153-157 22 D.Byerlee, "Rural-urban Migration in Africa: Theory, Policy and Research."

lmp/ication.lntemational Migration Review 8 (1974): 543-566. 23 Byerlee, "Rural-urban Migration in Africa: Theory, Policy and Research."

9

The question is how these models relate to Nigeria's labor migration to Spanish

Fernando Po during the colonial period. It is here that Todaro's model provides one of the

best exphmations for labor migration in Nigerian society, because it recognizes the

unequal distribution of economic and social development among regions in Nigeria.

The migration ofNigerians to Spanish Fernando Po was determined by economic

reasons. According to the oral investigation I conducted of migrants between the ages of

68-85. Nigerians originally migrated to Spanish Fernando Po because of unavailability of

jobs in southeastern Nigeria. Onwubu notes that "the intimation that 'more job

opportunities' were available outside [Nigeria] would suggest that the British colonial

administration, if anything, had failed to adopt a policy of uniform development of all the

areas ofthis legal-commercial structure which they had created."24 It is the income to be

earned as a migrant laborer that provides the driving force behind the decision to move.

Thus, the Spanish authorities promised liberal payment to Nigerian laborers. Because of

this, the Nigerian migrants were confident that they would have jobs with higher wages

in Fernando Po. This confidence influenced the decision of Nigerians to migrate to

Spanish Fernando Po.

Mabogunje's model stresses the structure and social practices of the community

and how they can facilitate or impede migration. During the period of this study, the Igbo

people were the largest population of the Nigerian migrants in Spanish Fernando Po. One

of the respondents who worked in a cocoa plantation and who is familiar with older lgbo

customs and traditions, Udochukwu, reports that the traditional Igbo society says that it is

a taboo for young unmarried women to migrate. The tradition, therefore, didn't permit

24 C. Onwubu, "Etlmic Identity, Political Integration and National Development: The Igbo Diaspora in Nigeria." The Journal of Modern Africa Studies 13, no.3 ( 1975 Sept): 399-413.

10

Yotmg gtrl~ to migrate to Spanish Fernando Po. Rather, it was married women and

widow~ who migrated to Spanish Fernando Po. However, not all widows migrated. Only

those widows who had the strength to work on plantations and who did not have anyone

to assist them migrated. Mabogunje's model asserts that community has an affect on

migration. Since the tradition held by the Igbo community members impacted whether or

not women migrated, Mabogunje's model applies to Nigerian labor migration to Spanish

Fernando Po.

While Mabogunje's model focuses on the community as a whole, Byerlee's

model emphasizes the role of family in migration decision-making. Although the reasons

for migration change over time, based on the respondents' assertions, the family structure

helped in communicating to the migrants that there were job opportunities available in

Spanish Fernando Po. The government and churches were asking for people to be

recruited to work on Spanish cocoa plantations. The family structure helped to sponsor

the potential migrant to sign some documents presented by the government at Calabar

and also encouraged the potential migrant to migrate in order to increase family earning.

Also, many families and kinship groups played a vital role in preventing their daughters

from migrating to Spanish Fernando Po.25 Byerlee's model provides one explanation of

the impact of family on the migration of Nigerians to Spanish Fernando Po.

It is important to note that, since independence, the migration pattern of West

Africa has undergone--and is still undergoing--changes. For instance, according to D.

Okali, E. Okapara, and J. Olawoye, there is a changing pattern of migration of young

women. In the past (as supported above), young women were restricted in migration.

21 Udochukwu, interview by Anthony Oham, December 20, 2005. 11

Howt:HT. young women now arc migrating in order to acquire education and skills for a

better job. The relaxation of the tradition began during the Nigerian Civil War in 1967

when some unmarried women ran away with soldiers; family members at home became

more accepting of unmarried women leaving when the women who had run away began

to send gifts back home. 26 Furthermore, based on the experiences I had in Nigeria, family

and kinship group does not have as much influence in the migration decision as it did in

the past because of social and economic poverty; some potential migrants make a radical

decision to migrate based on their own circumstances rather than on the decision of their

family and kinship group.

History and Geography

Full comprehension of the migration pattern in the region requires some

knowledge of the historical and geographical context. The generally accepted history and

origin of southeastern Nigeria was that collected through oral tradition by historians,

ethnologists, and others. Going by C.C. Ifemesia's assertion, "it is now believed that

there was an early Igbo homeland on the northern Igbo plateau; that is, in what are today

parts of the A wka, Orlu, Owerri and Okigwi area. From this heartland the people

dispersed at different periods in various directions ... to the south and south-east, towards

the eastern delta and the Cross River area; to the north ... to the west. .. and back again to

the bank."27 Although Ifemesia did not identify the exact location of the heartland, the

account ofH.M. Cole and C. Aniaker is similar: "Early Igbo appear to have first occupied

26 D. Okali, E. Okapara, & J.Olawoye, Rural-Urban Interaction and Livelihood Strategies Series: The case of Aba and its region southeastern Nigeria (London: Human Settlement Program liED, 2001), 28.

2 C.C. Ifemesia, Traditional H11man Living among the /gbo: An H1stoncal Perspective (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing Co.Ltd, 1979), 21-22.

12

th..: Awka-Urlu plateau area. often referred to as the 'lgbo heartland,' four to live

thousand years ago ... lN

lfemesia claims that in "the general expansion outwards from the Igbo heartland,

there is evidence of migration from elsewhere into Igboland, and of external influences

which played upon the Igbo." Some ofthese clans are:

In the south and south-east (Ijo, Ibibio, Efik and other Cross River people), in the north and north-west (Tiv, Idoma and I gala), and in the west (Edo ). In many cases, it is said that original migrations were people moving because of population pressure; or fleeing from justice, or from the powerful arm of an oppressive king; or having off to set up on their own after quarreling with their kinsmen; or wanting to try their luck elsewhere after a series of accidents or misfortunes, the persistent failure of crops, or childlessness of women, in a particular place; or responding to "the lure of the great commercial highway of the river valley," seeking places in the river basin favorable to trade. But natural disasters-like drought and farming, flood and pestilence-and wanderlust might also have induced migration.

Ifemesia observes that the lgbo people and their clans could be traced from oral

sources. "lgbo belongs to the Kwa sub-family of the Niger-Congo family oflanguages.

Also, it has been estimated that the languages ancestral to Niger-Congo family could not

have been spoken more recently than 10,000 years ago."29 Similarly, A. E. Afigbo claims

that "lgbo is one of the languages which linguists designate 'kwa,' a sub-group of the

Niger Congo group ofNegro languages." Historical and linguistic scholars draw their

conclusion from glotto-chronological evidence that the kwa sub-group languages

assumed "their distinctive and individual forms, at least 6,000 years ago."

28 H.M. Cole & C. Aniakor, Igbo Arts: Community and Cosmos. (California: Regents of Universitt,; of California, 1984), I.

9 Ifemesia, Traditional Human Living among the lgbo, 22, 17. 13

As for migration and dispersal oflgbo people to their present location. Afigbo

confim1s that anthropologists and other scholars always have arrived at "the theory that

the Nri-Awka-Orlu complex was probably the earliest center of lgbo settlement in

southern Nigeria. ,,Jo The migrants left the region of early settlement and migrated to other

places that they still occupy today. A. A. Dike added that "it is equally relevant that the

oral traditions of most Igbo groups point to part ofNorthem lgboland as the original

home of their ancestors. Specifically, most scholars point to the Awka and Orlu area as

the original home of the lgbo."31 W.A. Onwuejeogwu gives a similar report that the Igbo

traced their origin from Nri. There is a saying in lgbo history that all roads begin at Nri,

the place named the Holy City.32 On the study oflgbo Ukwu, the Encyclopedia

Britannica reports that "Nri may have been influenced by the Igala and seems in turn to

have exercised considerable influence in earlier times not only on the Igbo but also on the

Igala and other peoples around the Niger-Benue confluence."33

Before the nineteenth century, the present geographical area at the coast and the

hinterland had been settled by the communities of southeastern Nigeria. On the coast

were the Ijo, the Andoni-Ibeno, and the Efik. North of the delta, east of the main Niger

waterway, and west of the Cross River was the hinterland, which was occupied by the

lgbo and Ibibio. East and north of the Cross River were the people of the Ekoi, Yakur,

30 A.E.Afigbo, "lgbo Land Before 1800." In Groundwork of Nigerian History. 73-88. Edited by Obaro Ikime (Heinemenn Educational Books (Nig) Ltd, 1980), 75. Cited in Nwmjih, A Study of the Origins, Characteristics, and Significance of the Traditional Art of Blacksmithing in Southeastern Nigeria, (UMI Dissertation Services, 1993), 30

31 A.A.Dike, The Resilience of lgbo Culture. A Case Study of Awka Town. (Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers Co. Ltd, 1985), 5.

32 W .A.Onwuejeogwu, "Nri, the Holy City" In lgbo World An Anthology of oral Histories and Historical Descriptions, 22-29.Ed. Elizabeth Isichel (London and Basingstoke: Macmillan Education Limted, 1977). Cited in Nworjih, 31.

n Encyclopedia Britannica, eta!, "Igbo Ukwu" www.britannica.com/eb/article-55308 (2006). 14

Agoi. and other groups of the Obubra and Ogoja areas. During the colonial rule in the

twentieth century. southeastern Nigeria was known as the Eastern Province(s), and after

that period was called the Eastern Region or Eastern Nigeria. From 1967 to 1976, the

lands of the Cross River basin were officially called the Southeastern State. In present

day, the area has been geographically designated in the wider Nigerian context as

southeastern Nigeria.34 This title was put in place in order to ensure that power was not

monopolized by one ethnic group or a dominant group within the six zones of Nigeria.

Southeastern Nigeria is inhabited by numerous different groups, but it is inhabited

predominantly by the lgbo-speaking people that are found in Abia, Anarnbra, Ebonyi,

Enugu, lmo and River States; the lbibio people that live in Akwa Thorn State; the Efik

and Ekoi, who live in Cross River State; the Ijaws, who live in Rivers and Bayelsa States;

and the Ogoni people, who also reside in parts of River State.35 The Igbo, lbibio, Ijo, and

Ogoja were politically decentralized. There is no proof that the people formed even a

loosely integrated empire or state of notable shape. The largest political unit ofthe lgbos

is the village-group, while the political unit of the lbibio, Ijo and Ogoja is the village. The

village-group for the lbo and the village for the lbibio, Ijo and Ogoja are loose

organizations of villages, which the colonial authorities referred to as 'clans'; many

social anthropologists called these villages or 'clans' tribes. 36

Southeastern Nigeria lies between the latitudes 4° 20' and 7° OO'N and longitudes

5° 25'and 9° 35'E. The region is bounded on the east by the Republic of Cameroon, on

34 C.C.Ifemesia, Southeastern Nigeria in the nineteenth century: An Introduction Analysis(New York:NOK Publishers, 1978), 1, Vii.

35 Okali, Okpara & 01awoye, Rural-Urban Interaction and Livelihood Strategies, 12. 36 A.E. Afigbo, The Warrant Chiefs: Indirect Rule in Nigeria 1891-1929 (New York: Humanities

Press, Inc, 1972), 7, 17. 15

the south by the Atlantic Ocean (or the Bight of Bonny), and on the west by the River

Niger. Its northern boundary is marked by the states ofKogi, Benue, and Taraba. 37 The

region covers 29.484 square miles and contains 12,394,000 inhabitants.38 Also included

is the land east of the lower Niger, which covers 76,358 km, 2 and the area south of the

Benue valley. 39 Southeastern Nigeria is the second smallest of the four main regions in

Nigeria.40

It encompasses nine out of the thirty-six states, namely the states of Abia,

Akwa, Thorn, Anambra, Cross River, Eungu, Irno, Ebonyi and Rivers. Additionally, the

vegetation of southeastern Nigeria is mangrove and freshwater swamp communities,

rainforest, forest/savanna mosaic, and derived savanna zone. The aforementioned

vegetation is grouped under a forest zone. The climatic condition of this region includes

high rainfall, constantly high temperatures, and high atmospheric humidities.41

The high population of southeastern Nigeria is a fundamental fact of the region's

geography.42

Southeastern Nigeria is one of the most populous regions in the country. Its

population stood at 13,467,328 in the 1963 census. In 1991, the census revealed that

22,000,000 of the approximately 88.5 million people nationwide were living in

southeastern Nigeria.43

The lgboland has the highest population density in the region of

southeastern Nigeria "with an estimated population density of236 persons or higher per

square mile."44

It was noted in 1929 by the Colonial Resident for Onitsha that "land was

37 J. C. Okafor, "Conservation and Use of Traditional Vegetable from Woody Forest Species in

Southeastern Nigeria." www .ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/HTML Publications/500/ch04.htm (2006), I. 38 W.A. Perkins & J.H. Stembridge, Nigeria: A Description Geography (Ibadan: OUP.l966), 101. 39

Okali, Okpara & Olawoye, Rural-Urban Interaction and Livelihood Strategies, 12. 40 Perkins & Srembridge, Nigeria: A Description Geography, 101. 41 Okafor, "Conservation and Use of Traditional Vegetable," I. 42 B. Floyd, Eastern Nigeria: A Geographical Review (New York: Prager.1969), 19. 43 Floyd, Eastern Nigeria: A Geographical Review, 19. 44 See National Archive of Nigeria (hereafter NAE) ONPROF7/15/135,"World Agricultural

Census,"Resident, Onitsha to District Officer Awgu,16 January 1929. Cited in C.J.Korieh, The "Genuine 16

quit~ litmt~d m proportion to the population in many parts of the rcgion."45 The migration

study reflected the high population rate of the Igbo migrants in Spanish Fernando Po. By

the end or 1940. it was reported that I 0,000 Nigerians from Owerri were in Fernando

The total number of individuals who migrated from southeastern Nigeria to

Fernando Po cannot be easily determined because of incomplete data. Nevertheless, the

twenty-one respondents confirmed that a large number of people from southeastern

Nigeria migrated to Spanish Fernando Po. Previous to the Anglo-Spanish agreement, the

number ofNigerian migrants was estimated to be 10,000. The 1942-1955 stipulation of

the Anglo-Spanish agreement permitted 250 laborers from southeastern Nigeria per

month; the 1956-1957 stipulation permitted 800 laborers per month from the same

region; and the last amendment ofthe agreement from 1958-1968 permitted 2000

laborers for each period of three months. Based on this data, I can estimate a total

population of 148,200, assuming that the maximum number of migrants allowed by the

stipulations was met. Table 1 below shows the estimated population that migrated to

Spanish Fernando Po for a period of twenty-six years. It is important to note that the

estimated population does not include the number of illegal migrants, nor does it include

adjustment for those migrants who might have died during the migration period. This is

because there is no available data regarding the number of illegal migrants and the

number of migrants who might have died during migration.

Farmer": Gender and the Dynamics of Agricultural change in lgboland, Southeastem Nigeria,/900-C./970(2001), 16.

45 NAN (hareafterNAE) ONPROF7/15/135. 46G. Clarence-Smith, "The Impact of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War on

Portuguese and Spanish Africa." In World War II and Africa. The Journal of African History, 26, no.4 (1985): 309-326.

17

rahk I. t:stJmatJOn of Population

I Lct X-= 2SO per month. Y = 800 per month, Z --2000 per three months. I I

'r'ear(s) I Number of I Increase of I Migrants Already in I Years Per Migrants by Fernando Po!Total

Calculation Month(s) Increase of Migrants Pre-agreement -- -- I

10,000 j 1942-1955 13 X=250 1 39,000

J 1956-1957 2 Y=BOO 1 19,200

J 1958-1968 10 z =2000 I 80,000

J I Total Migrant Population= 148,200

J

Methodology and Sources

The problem in studying migration in West Africa is the shortage of systematic

data. The shortage of complete data makes it difficult to make a good analysis of the

events or to estimate magnitudes oftime and dates of specific migration flows. Even

though some data exist, it is very hard to join migrants directly with such factors as their

access to land, ownership of assets, occupational factors, marital statuses, ages, and other

variables that are important to understand why specific categories of people migrated.

Moreover, there were serious inadequacies in the census enumeration of volume of

migration and places of origin and destinations. Data regarding characteristics ofthe

migrants was affected not only by these qualitative deficiencies, but also by the nature of

available tabulations. It is necessary to use fragmentary pieces of data, some of which are

sometimes incompatible.

18

l'hl' ml~'nnntilm I used in this study was obtained from archival sources. oml

::~'111'\'l'S. and n:\·icw of related material available on Nigerian migration to Spanish

h·m:mdl' Pl'. St'Condary data also were collected from journals. research reports. and

,,tht•r puhlishcd material. This study conducts a comprehensive review of the existing

st'\.'l'nda.ry sources to place the present study in context. The research location was in

southt'~\Stern Nigeria. The description of the study area has been given above. Most of the

l'r.tl data for this study was collected in areas of southeastern Nigeria such as Amakohia.

llmuguma. Ogwuwgu. Ireta. Mbano. Ak.'Wakuma, Ihiawa, and Orlu-umuaka. Most of

these areas are located in Owerri, the capital city oflrno State. Archival sources also were

collected. This was done at the National Archives Enugu and Regional Archives Calabar

in Nigeria.

This study emphasizes qualitative methods due to the interest I had regarding the

e:\:periences of migrants. As a result_ oral sources form an important source for this work.

The quantitative approach is intended to help people understand the age, sex, and

population of the laborers that migrated from southeastern Nigeria to Fernando Po. It also

facilitates the ability to understand and answer the questions: Why did they migrate?

Where did they migrate? When did they migrate? How did they migrate? The qualitative

data consists of in-depth interviews of former migrants. This helps because no one knows

the reasons for migration to Fernando Po better than the former migrants.

Due to the fact that the migration to Fernando Po occurred 40 or more years ago.

there was difficulty in finding migrants to interview. I therefore was not selective in

regard to the age or gender of the migrants; they needed only to have migrated and

worked on the plantations in Fernando Po. The people who were inten;ewed were

19

sck.-tcd because they were identified by the chief/kinsmen of the aforementioned

n>mmunitics as being individuals who claimed that they had migrated to Fernando Po

and worked in the plantations.

The first phase of the interviews was conducted in April 2004 before my arrival in

the U.S. for the study that commenced in January 2005. During this phase, a total of six

migrants were interviewed. The second phase of the interviews was carried out from 181h

December 2005-41h January 2006. During this phase, 15 migrants were interviewed. It

was necessary to use two phases of_interviews due to the fact that, after conducting the

first six interviews, I initially was denied a visa to enter the United States for my study. I

therefore believed that I would not be able to complete the research regarding Nigerian

migration, but my visa was approved at a later date. The approval of the visa provided

the means by_which I could interview more migrants. A total of only twenty-one migrants

thus were interviewed due to the difficulty in finding migrants and the short period of

time I had to conduct the research. The twenty-one interviews, however, still provided a

general idea of the age and sex of people who migrated to Spanish Fernando Po and

explored their reasons for migration.

Eighteen men and three women (aged 68-85 years) were interviewed. The gender

discrepancy existed because the migrants were difficult to find due to the fact the

migration occurred forty or more years ago. The difference also existed because social

and family structures at the time of migration resulted in few women actually migrating.

The three women I interviewed therefore were women who were available but who had

migrated with their husbands. Most migrants were single men.

20

Nineteen of the twenty-one respondents were healthy and active. Two less active

respondents were nonetheless not so unhealthy or inactive that they could not learn a

yocation. All twenty-one respondents were residing in villages where they engaged in

tmskilled labor, trading, and farming jobs. Appendix A further describes the migrants in

terms of name, age, occupation, date of interview, place of interview, and remarks.

The interviews were conducted in native languages and later were translated into

English. This is because most of the migrants do not speak English. They are more

familiar with their indigenous languages and other languages learned in Fernando Po.

The interview with each of the respondents lasted 45 to 50 minutes. Using the

methodology ofC.J. Korieh, I asked questions in the context of individual experiences

while also looking for a typical pattern for comparative analysis. The guiding questions

were framed to elicit a narrative answer/response, and they were based on the following

themes: experiences, treatment, and conditions while in Fernando Po. Appendix B details

the questions asked during the interviews.

Recording the interviews made some of the respondents very conscious of what

they said. Ten of the twenty-one respondents preferred to give the information without

being recorded. However, I made them understand that the interviews were being

conducted only for academic purposes by presenting my student J.D. card and also by

leaving personaVfamily information with them. I also facilitated the interviews further by

offering to pay the respondents approximately $10 USD (1,400 naira) for their

information, which all of the respondents accepted.

In addition to the oral interviews I conducted, I also used archival sources. I

consulted topic files and reports at the National Archives Enugu and Regional Archives

21

Calahar that dealt with the issue of Nigerian labor migration to Spanish Fernando Po. The

data included labor reports, annual reports, official correspondence, reports and papers as

submitted to the clerk at the House of Commons or Senate during parliamentary sessions,

and government reports. These documents provided useful information such as

stipulations of the Anglo-Spanish agreement of 1942, labor conditions, statistical data of

quarterly returned migrants, and other important information.

Despite the useful information provided by the documents listed above, all these

data were fragmentary pieces of documents; many of these documents were in bits and

pieces. In others, passages were blacked out, and entire pages sometimes were missing.

Korieh emphasizes that archival records are important documents to understand human

subjects and for the establishment of historical accuracy.47 According to Barbara

Cooper's assertion, "African history, perhaps more than other domains of history, has had

to be inventive in its use of sources and eclectic in its approach to evidence ... due to in

large part to the relative paucity of written documentary materials.'"'8 In this regard, the

available documents for historical research were not dependable, but they were utilized in

this study because there were no other data available to me at the time of the research.

Motivation of the Migrants

Migration was occurring in Nigeria prior to the existence of plantations in

Fernando Po due to factors such as trade, etc. Nevertheless, all twenty-one_respondents of

47 C.J. Korieh, The "Genuine Farmer": Gender and the Dynamics of Agricultural change in lgboland. Southeastern Nigeria, 1900-C./970 (2001), 24-43, 48.

48 B.M.Cooper, Oral Sources and the Challenge of Africa History, in John Edward Philips, ed., Writing African History (Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2005), II. Cited in Korieh, The "Genuine Farmer", 51.

22

the ,,ral inYcsllg.atlon report that they specifically were motivated to migrate to Spanish

Fcmando Po due to economic conditions in the region of southeastern Nigeria at the time

,,r their migration. These economic conditions resulted from the lack of employment

opportunities in the region of southeastern Nigeria. These conditions existed because

there was not enough land for the people to farm; those farmers who had no land had to

consider leaving southeastern Nigeria in order to find work. They went further to say that

they were attracted by the employment opportunities at Spanish Fernando Po. The

impression received by the migrants from propaganda and popular opinion was that

anyone who migrated to Fernando Po eventually would get a job and live a better life.

According to Udochukwu, one of the respondents, the returning migrants said that the

government of Fernando Po was paying a large amount of money to those who agreed to

migrate under labor contracts. Because of this, most men decided to migrate in order to

improve their economic condition.49 Udochukwu, Augustine, Chibuike, and Damian

point out that most of the migrants worked in farming jobs with their parents; some were

running little trading businesses, and a few were going to school before they received

information through the government, churches, friends, and relatives that there were a lot

of job opportunities in Spanish Fernando Po. 5° In addition to what was indicated by the

responses of the interviewed migrants, Osuntokun observes that the migrants also were

influenced by political opposition and shortage of land to farm that made them resort to

49 Udochukwu so Udochukwu, Augustine, Chibuike & Damian, interview by Anthony Oham, December 20 & 27,

WOS, Aprill8, 2004. 23

1ni~ration 51 All these factors discussed above by the respondents and Osuntokun appear

to be congruent with the models discussed previously in the theoretical framework.

Age and Gender of the Migrants

Chibuike, Jude, Friday, and Damian, four of the respondents, report that people

less than eighteen years old weren't recruited. The migrants who were recruited at the

Calabar office by the Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency were between eighteen and

forty-five years old. 52 In fact, the stipulated charter ofthe Anglo-Spanish agreement

confirmed that no one less than eighteen years old would be recruited. 53 All twenty-one

respondents point out that the people who migrated were given acceptance forms for

completion. After the form was completed, the migrant endorsed the form with his or her

signature. The parents or relatives of the migrant also signed the form before the migrant

embarked to Spanish Fernando Po.

All twenty-one of the respondents claim that it was mostly men who migrated to

Fernando Po because the family structure in Nigeria, particularly in lgbo communities,

permitted. men to migrate to support their families. In the past, as Sylvanus, one ofthe

respondents, reports, young men were much more likely to migrate than women,

particularly unmarried women. 54 The way family structure affected the migration of

women was shown at Calabar. According to Osuntakun, the Spanish authorities aimed to

maintain a labor force of approximately 14,000 men for the duration of eighteen months

:: Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed, 6 Ch1bmke, Jude, Friday & Damian, interview by Anthony Oham, December 20 & 22, 2005,

April IS, 2004. 53

Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C 16 " Syvanus, interview by Anthony Oham, January 2, 2006. '

24

to (\\'(1 years. Af1cr the expiration of the contract, another group of men had to take the

place of the men whose contracts had expired. Men officially embarked from Ca\abar. 55

During the period of Nigerian migration to Fernando Po, Calabar was the

headquarters of the eastern province of Nigeria and a point of departure and return_to and

from Fernando Po due to the fact that it was possible to reach Fernando Po from Calabar

by sea. Due to its location, the British founded the Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency

there. Anglo-Spanish authorities established the Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency

with the sole responsibility of recruiting Nigerian laborers for the plantations in Spanish

Fernando Po. Additionally, there were Nigerians working for this agency.56

Respondents Udochukwu, Augustine, and Sylvanus claim that the recruiters were

not recruiting many women because of the nature of the jobs in plantations. The jobs in

plantations were hard jobs that needed physical strength. The recruiting agents did not

consider women to be strong enough to recruit them. For this reason, most of the women

who migrated to Fernando Po were following their husbands, and a few others were

widows recruited at the headquarters in Calabar and who had no other means of financial

security except to migrate and to work on the plantations in Fernando Po. 57 Thus, all

twenty-one respondents claim that the majority of people who were recruited to work on

the plantations were men. Furthermore, the fact that the plantations did not utilize any

modernization in terms of farming technology as the years passed meant that the nature

of the jobs on the plantations remained largely the same over time. The gender ratio on

55 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 19-20. 56 See NAN (hereafter NAE) Annual Report of the Federal Ministry of Land-Labor Division of

1966-67. 57 Udochukwu, Augustine & Sylvanus interview by Anthony Oham. December 20 & 27, 2005 &

January 2, 2006. 25

th~ plantations therefore remained the same over multiple years, as well. Data from the

~ational Archive of Nigeria further supports that men were migrating more often than

women (see information for 1947, 1948, and 1949 in different provinces at

ONPROFCA/N0/42, 31 July 1952). Table 2 below is part of the aforementioned data. 58

Table 2. Number of Nigerian Migrants Who Returned to Southeastern Nigeria (Ca1abar Province, 1947)

Areas JanuaiJ February March M w c M w c M w c

ABAK 20 - - 13 1 - 8 - -EKET 28 2 - 12 - - 10 - -CALABR 8 - - 1 - - - - -UYO 4 1 - 9 2 2 3 - -OPOBO 12 2 1 13 2 - 3 2 -IKOTEKPENE 44 1 - 40 3 - 6 - -

M represents Men, W represents women, and C represents children.

58 See National Archive of Nigeria (hereafter NAE) ONPROFCA/N0/42, 31 July 1952. For a

more recent study, see Abe Goldman, "Population Growth and Agricultural Change in Imo State, South­eastern Nigeria," in Population Growth and Agricultural Change in Africa, B. L. Turner II, R. Kates, and G. Hyden, eds. (Gainesville, FL.: University of Florida Press, 1993), 250-301.

26

CHAPTER II

THE HISTORY OF THE ANGLO-SPANISH AGREEMENT

Plantations had been in existence in Spanish Fernando Po before the Anglo-

Spanish agreement of 1942 that triggered the migration of thousands of the lgbo and the

Ibibio laborers of southeastern Nigeria to work in non-African and African plantations in

Spanish Fernando Po. The main crop grown on these plantations was cocoa. There were

I, 142 cocoa plantations of less than ten hectares, 242 of 10 to 30 hectares, 124 of 30 to

I 00 hectares, and 100 larger than 100 hectares. The 1,608 plantations covered twenty-

nine percent of Fernando Po's surface.59

Many of the workers on these plantations were from Liberia and Cameroon, but

there were also illegal Nigerian migrants, particularly from southeastern Nigeria, who

were working on these plantations. Spain utilized the manpower of the migrant workers

on the plantations in order to maximize profit because the Spanish authorities wanted to

export raw goods so that those goods could be used in their factories. The Spanish

authorities continued to make use of these laborers until the Anglo-Spanish accord was

signed that officially ushered in the use of Nigerian laborers to work on the plantations.

It is important to note that Nigerian contacts with Fernando Po started prior to the

establishment of the aforementioned plantations. According to Max Liniger-Goumaz, the

relationship began in 1778 with the Treaty of Pardo, which specified that the entire Niger

Delta, particularly the Rio Gallinas and Bonny River, belonged to Spain. The British

expeditions ignored Fernando Po to conquer Nigeria-Laird, Lander, and Oldfields. Pelion

y Rodriguez later confirmed that, between 1860 and 1875, the Niger Delta was a territory

59 I.K.Sundiata, Equatorial Guinea: Colonialism, State Terror, and the Search for Stability. (Boulder, San Francisco, & Oxford: Westview Press, 1990), 49

27

''"ned hy Sra111. Because of this. during World War II, some Spanish authors (not cited)

rL'nnnmcmkd that Spain should claim Nigeria.'~'

The fact that contact with Fernando Po existed for such a long period of time

contributed to Fernando Po being a significant factor in Nigerian foreign policy.61 The

relationship between Fernando Po and Nigeria was one based on economy and strategy.

These economic and strategic connections existed for the duration of the colonization of

both countries. Hence, "the economic relations, established as a result of Fernando Po's

strategic proximity to the Bights of Benin and Biafra, were added to the demographic

factor of the presence of Creoles many of whom claimed 'Nigerian' ancestry.',c,2 Many

Creoles claimed Nigerian ancestry because they were the descendents of Nigerian freed

slaves. However, some Creoles also descended from migrants from Liberia and Sierra

Leone. These Creoles had communities in Fernando Po, particularly in Santa Isabel and

San Carlos.63

The Spanish had been recruiting people from Nigeria illegally. In particular, the

Spanish had been recruiting the Igbo from southeastern Nigeria because labor was most

copious in that area. This was because the region was highly populated with a high

number of farmers. The land shortage that occurred in southeastern Nigeria resulted in

many of these farmers having no work, thus many farmers sought to work on the

plantations of Spanish Fernando Po.

60 Max Liniger-Gournaz, Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea. African Historical

Dictionaries, No.21 (Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. 2000), 312. 61

Akinyemi, "Nigeria and Fernando Po, 1958-1966: The Politics oflrridentism" :~ Osunt~k~n, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A. BEd, 2.

Max L•mger-Goumaz, Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea, 171 28

Meanwhile. the Spanish were making inflated promises of paying high wages.

rlwse promises ncYcr were fulfilled. but because of the promises, laborers secretly were

migrating to Fcmando Po in order to work in the Spanish plantations.64 Great Britain had

been suspecting Spain of illegal labor trafficking from Nigeria. It might have been

because of this that the Royal Navy ships that were based in Freetown (Sierra Leone)

were shifted to Femando Po to enable Britain to monitor the moves ofSpain.65 The

important fact is that Fernando Po had been heavily dependent on Old Calabar for

workers since 1827; Fernando Po had to maintain this dependent relationship up to the

outbreak of World War I.

To prohibit the illegal human trafficking that was occurring between Nigeria and

Fernando Po, bilateral treaties were signed between Great Britain and other powers that

gave the British Admiralty the authority to "search and arrest" ships that might have been

conveying humans for trade. This was because the Nigerian authorities saw the human

trafficking as a new slave trade.66 Niven notes that, throughout the early years of the

nineteenth century, Great Britain's Royal Navy had been the leading spirit in fighting

against human traffic on the high seas. 67

Sundiata states that some observers (not named) argued that anti-slaving was the

use of a pretense of morality to hide an immoral purpose. 68 This was because Britain had

its own interests in Fernando Po. These interests were so strong that Britain even

22.

64 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 6. 65 Niven, Nigeria: Nations of the Modern World, 22 66 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 6. 67 R. Niven, Nigeria: Nations of the Modern World (New York: FREDERICK. PRAEGER.1967),

68 Sundiata, From Slaving to Neo-slavery, 40. 29

;lt!c·mp!cd to buy the island_"'' The argument thus was that Britain had mounted their anti-

slaYing campaign simply so that their interests would be supported.

The emergence of World War I resulted in tensions between Britain and Spain.

During this time. Britain suspected that Spain was continuing to participate in labor

trafficking. These tensions worsened until finally, in 1914, the British closed down the

German shipping company, the Woermann Line, which had been established in Nigeria.

The British forbade the company's ships from operating.70 The ships that conveyed

laborers from Liberia to Fernando Po belonged to this company. In the two-year period

that followed, Great Britain had sufficient suspicion to claim that Spain was involved in

supplying weapons for the Germans during the hostilities between Germany and

Cameroon. Even after the end of German-Cameroon hostility in 1916, Britain claimed

that the Spanish government persistently gave aid to the German troops that were

defeated by their opponents.

Economically, Germans were interested in Spanish Fernando Po. The Germans

had many companies on the island of Fernando Po, such as the E. H. Moritz Company. 71

The Germans also were in control of the import and export trade on the island. This is

why Britain sensed that Germans ships were used to smuggle illegal Nigerian laborers to

Fernando Po and consequently shut down the Woermann Line. Meanwhile, the Nigerian

Labor Ordinance No.1 of 1929 prohibited Nigerian citizens from being recruited for labor

in any country and particularly from migrating to Spanish Fernando Po. This was

69 R Uwehue. African Today (London, African Book Ltd, 1991),873 70 Osuntokun, Nigeria- Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed, 4. 71 Max Liniger-Goumaz, Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea, 194.

30

b<Yansc the N1gcn:m government was aware (from 1828 onwards) that its citi7.ens had

t'><'<-'11 migrating illegally to Spanish Fernando Po to work in plantations.72

Relations between Nigeria and Fernando Po before the outbreak of World War ll

had not been cordial because of Great Britain's opposition to Spanish illegal recruitment

of Nigerian laborers, particularly the recruitment of people from southeastern Nigeria.

The British-Nigerian relationship with Spanish Fernando Po started to experience even

more serious damage during the outbreak of World War II. This was because Britain

believed that, due to connections between Germany and Spain, Spanish territories such as

Fernando Po had come under Nazi power. Osuntokun observes:

The pro-German attitude of Spain and consequently of Fernando Po complicated relations with Nigeria during the war, and eventually led to a flurry of exchanges between Governor-General Angel Barrera and Sir Frederick Lugard, as well as between the foreign ministers of Britain and Spain, over the suspicious moves of a Spanish vessel between Fernando Po and Calabar.73

During the war, Germany used Fernando Po to run a powerful shortwave radio

station to transmit information to their soldiers who were scattered all over the southern

Atlantic. The aggressive attitude of Spanish authorities on the island ofFernando Po

against the Allied military operation in Cameroon resulted in regular communication

between Lagos and London, and between London, Paris, and Madrid. Also, "Fuehrer,"

whose official name was reported as Joseph Worner, was a leader for the German

72 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 7,16. 73 Osuntokun, Anglo-Spanish relations in West Africa during the First World War. Journal of the

Historicial Society of Nigeria VII, 2(1974 June) 294-295. Cited in Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A. B Ed, 5.

31

National Sonahsl Workers Party in Fernando Po.74 Thus, it was clear to Britain that

Fernando Po was in the hands of an antagonistic power (Spain). which was a thorn in the

side of the British government. 75 Britain therefore feared that Fernando Po would be used

as a base from which the Axis Powers might attack them.

During this same period, the British authorities started to study Spanish labor

migration. This resulted in the Nigerian government sending an administrative officer to

Fernando Po to investigate labor conditions on the island and to cooperate with the

Spanish authorities' measure, which would ensure the welfare ofNigerian laborers.76

This diplomatic mission established the ground for the Anglo-Spanish labor agreement.

The Nigerian relationship with Fernando Po's labor agreement was negotiated in order to

re-establish Spain's relations with Great Britain. The global interests of Great Britain also

contributed to this negotiation.77

The British were prepared to attack Fernando Po if Spain refused to negotiate

with them. The British Admiralty remarked that it would not be a difficult matter for the

naval patrol to invade Fernando Po since the number of troops on the island was only

200. In respect to this statement, on July 6, 1940, the British Naval Commander of the

south Atlantic commanded the H.M.S. Dragon to advance and to vacate every British

national with the exclusion of the Vice-consul.78 The Spanish government was not

notified before the action of the British Naval Commander, but Spanish authorities

decided to augment the defense of the island with 8,500 Moroccan and Spanish troops to

74 See Regional Archive of Nigeria (hereafter RAC583/240 W.A.F.F: Report for half year ending, 31 Dec., 1938.

75 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 7. 76 See National Archive of Nigeria (hereafter NAE) Nigeria Sessional Paper No.38 of 1939. 77 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 16-17. 78 See Regional Archive of Nigeria (hereafter RAC) 371/24526: Cypher telegram from Governor

of Nigeria to S ofS for the colonies. 9 July, 1940. 32

li.lrti fy 200 local ri flcs. 79 In spite of the war, the British went further to negotiate a labor

agreement with the Spanish concerning Nigeria and Fernando Po from 1940-1942 in

order to boycott illegal trafficking of labor. The British authorities emphasized that:

The object of these negotiations with the Spanish government was to regularize what had become a large scale traffic in laborers and to endeavor to eliminate the unscrupulous native 'black birder' who earned a lucrative livelihood by kidnapping the ignorant peasants from the Ibo and Ibibio areas ... 80

The agreement was signed in 1942 between Spain and British authorities for

Nigeria and Fernando Po. The agreement 81 stipulated the supply of manpower. The

duration was one year for unmarried men and two years for married men who migrated

with their wives, but the unmarried men had to return to Nigeria when their contracts

ended. It was stipulated that each laborer must not be less than eighteen years old. The

contract would be signed in Nigeria in front of a labor officer and would include passport

photographs that would be kept in Calabar and Sante Isabel. The laborer had to be

medically examined by a Nigerian government doctor before embarkation, and medical

attention was required to be provided while the laborers remained in Fernando Po.

These laborers were to work in plantations, industry, and forestry on any Spanish

colony. The labor agreement also stipulated that the wages were to be paid regularly to

the laborers with a minimum monthly payment ofthirty-five pesetas (about 15s 9d), 82

which is equivalent to just under or equal to $1 today. The agreement stipulated the

provision of housing for laborers and also the provision of food such as 600 grams of

79 See Regional Archive of Nigeria (hereafter RAC) 371/34771: 22 Jan, 1943. 80 See National Archive of Nigeria (hereafter NAE) 657/54: Annual Report of the Department of

Labor for the year 1944. 81 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed, 6. 81 See NAN (hereafter NAE) Nigeria Sessional Paper No.2! of 1946.

33

riel', 200 !!rams or lish, 65 grams of palm oil, and 20 grams of salt per week. \n addition,

fruits and vegetables were provided every day.KJ Article 12 of the treaty recognized the

fundamental rights of each worker, particularly the right to freedom of worship. The

agreement stipulated that 250 Nigerians laborers would be recruited every month.s4

This Anglo-Spanish agreement was in force from 1942-1950 without any

amendment, and it failed to stop illegal migration or to protect the rights of laborers. ln

the words of Osuntokun, "the lack of revision should not be construed as Spanish

acquiescence in terms of the agreement, for there were constant protests against violation

and breaches of the individual labor contracts." The amendment of the agreement in 1950

revised the compromise to recruit from the British Firm of John Holt in Nigeria and

Company Ltd., as well as from the Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency. This amended

labor agreement provided a clause to repatriate all illegally recruited laborers back to

Nigeria. There was also a section in the amended agreement that made the working

conditions of the laborers compatible with the principles of the International Labor

Organization. Osuntokun argues that:

This in fact was a clear indication that the Spaniards, who used at one time to "kidnap" people and take them to Fernando Po, were quite contented with the available manpower on the island and trying to avoid any cause for friction with the Nigerian authorities.85

A delegate named ChiefS. L. Akintola, the Central Minister ofLabor, visited

Fernando Po in 1953 as the returning migrants were protesting against allegedly ill

treatment of Nigerian laborers. The Honorable Minister reported that there was no

83 Akinyemi, "Nigeria and Fernando Po, 1958-1966: The Politics oflrridentism." 84 See NAN. Nigeria Sessional Paper No.2! of 1946. 85 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A. B Ed, 6.

34

c1·idencc or •II treatment of laborers in Spanish Fernando Po despite the high number of

complaints that indicated labor abuse was a problem. The Central Minister of Labor was

able to advise that the wages of the laborers be increased and that social and educational

amenities for the laborers and their children be improved. This involved the stipulation of

educational and religious amenities. The Minister suggested that the register of all the

Nigerian laborers in Fernando Po be kept safe. All these suggestions were included in the

amended accord of 1954.86 One possible reason for Akintola's actions is that Akinto1a

was struggling to achieve a position of power from Britain. During this time, Britain was

unwilling to acknowledge any claims of labor abuse due to the capitation fee of five

pounds sterling they received on each laborer in Fernando Po (see paragraph below).

Akintola might have denied the claims of labor abuse in order to support the British

stance on migration and thereby support his case for power.

ChiefF.S. Okotieboh headed a delegation to Fernando Po on the request of

Spanish authorities in 1956. The visit provided an agreement of an increase in

recruitments up to 800 laborers per month to work in the plantations sector and earned a

twenty-five percent rise in salary for the Nigerian laborers. Also, the Spanish authorities

paid the Nigerian government a capitation fee of five pounds sterling for each Nigerian

laborer working in Fernando Po. The Federal and Eastern regional governments shared

this money in place of the workers' taxes. Osuntokun argues that "the acceptance of this

capitation fee by the Federal and Eastern regional government in a way made the

Nigerian government an accomplice in the degradation of Nigerian laborers in Fernando

Po since it was a big business for government to keep Nigerian labor in Fernando Po no

80 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19Tfl C, 27-28.

35

1n:lllcr what the situation there was.··~ 7 This shows that the Nigerian government

encouraged the condition of the Nigerian laborers by allowing recruitment of laborers ror

the sake of money.

Another group of investigators was sent in 1957 to visit Fernando Po. These

investigators were led by J.M. Johnson, the federal Minister of Affairs, Labor and

Welfare. and representatives from other groups, including the Eastern Nigerian Minister

of information, the National Council for Nigeria, Cameroon's house of representative

member for Owerri, and the Action Group member for Uyo in the Eastern House of

Assembly. The report of these investigators contained both good and bad reports from the

island of Fernando Po. They pointed out that the Spanish regime on the island had

provided primary school for the children of Nigerian laborers and also had established an

orphanage for Nigerian children. However, the delegates did not give a full, clear,

detailed description of the conditions in the primary schools or the orphanage. Instead,

Johnson and the other delegates focused on the general positive aspects. The delegates

also reported that some good housing was built for the laborers; for example, a large

room was built for married couples or two bachelors with electricity, a swimming-pool,

fresh water, and cottage hospital. However, in some bad housing, eight bachelors or three

married couples shared ·an eight feet by ten feet room.

According to the report of the investigators, there was information on the labor

abuses on plantations, but the report was mixed. They also said that some workers and

their spouses protested that they had been beaten and ill-treated. Some days, the hours of

work were from six in the morning to six in the evening without a break. The delegates

87 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 28-29. 36

aJs,, reported that sick laborers who needed medical service had their medical bills

subtracted from their wages depending on the length of their sickness. They reported that.

,i<;spite the fact that Article 25 of the 1942 agreement listed that some foodstuffs were to

be given to the laborers, only those in the good housing received them, while those in the

bad housing were deprived of these foodstuffs. Even though the results of the

investigation were mixed, the investigators' report absolved the Spanish authorities of

blame in cases of labor abuse. It was said that the Spanish government had sought to

punish its nationals who had violated terms of the labor agreement. The delegates

recommended that more labor officers be stationed on the island.

Akinyemi argues that "critics in Nigeria ignored the favorable aspects of the

report and focused on the malpractices cited in it." The Nigerian Trades Union Congress

headed by Mr Borha suggested that the Nigerian authorities should appoint a permanent

commission on the island to make sure that the provisions of all the agreements would be

implemented in coming years. On the other hand, Chief Awolowo, the political secretary,

condemned the Federal and Eastern governments for allowing recruitment of their

citizens for purposes of labor under the circumstances of the reports of 1957 headed by J.

Johnson. The Government Chief Whip in the Eastern House of Assembly, M.E. Ogon,

advised the Federal Government of Nigeria to launch a protest against the inhuman

treatment of its citizens in Spanish Fernando Po. In spite of serious and continuing

complaints, the Nigerian government signed an additional agreement with Spain on the

basis of recruiting 2,000 additional laborers for the duration of three months.88

88 Akinyemi, "Nigeria and Fernando Po, 1958-1966: The Politics oflrridentism." 37

The Anglo-Spanish agreement triggered thousands of laborers from southeastern

Nigeria to work in different plantations in Spanish Fernando Po. During the negotiation,

10.000 Nigerians were already in Fernando Po. It was estimated that, by 1954-1955, the

total number of Nigerian migrants on the island of Spanish Fernando Po was about

15,800. The mid-1960s recorded approximately 85,000; people from lgbo, lbibio, and

Efik comprised two-thirds of this population. The outflow ofNigerians to Fernando Po

was the result of Spanish officials paying their recruiters substantially, because the

substantial wages paid motivated the recruiters to work hard in terms of the labor

propaganda; the labor advertising, in turn, led to higher numbers of people who migrated.

There were other reasons, such as the pressure to pay taxes in Nigeria, which forced

people to migrate to Spanish Fernando Po. Demographic pressure also contributed to this

outflow. Particularly, labor came from the most densely populated areas of the Eastern

Region. 89

In 1961, the local militia, known as the Juventuds, shot four Nigerian laborers in

Rio Muni, what is now part of Equatorial Guinea along with Fernando Po. The Federal

government immediately launched a protest against Spain. A delegation was sent to

investigate the incident, and further reference was made to the 1956 labor agreement,

which stated that compensation would be paid to the employed laborers or their families

for any seriously injured worker. The visit led to the amelioration of poor labor

conditions on the island, the elimination of the pass law which made it mandatory for the

laborers to carry a pass while moving around on the island, the abolition of long custody

89 I.K.Sundiata, Equatorial Guinea: Colonialism, State Terror, and the Search for Stability. (Boulder, San Francisco, & Oxford: Westview Press, 1990), 47.

38

without trial for Nigerian offenders, and an agreement to pay compensation in cases of

anent disability. pe(111

After signing the amendment to the Anglo-Spanish agreement with the Spanish

authorities in 1963• the Nigerian government cautioned its critics that "further criticisms

of fernando Po were in fact counter-productive, in the sense lthat1 constant emphasis on

.-. ct that Nigerians outnumbered the indigenous Bubi one to five was alienatmg the the la

I. g of the indigenous people and bringing them mto physical friction with

fee Jn . ns ,90 The outbreak of Nigerian Civil War in 1967 prevented the revision of the

]'ligena ·

greement which was due to be amended in 1966. However, by October 1968. J963 a '

do Po and Rio Muni became the independent Republic: of Equatorial Guinea. They Fernan

r. from the Spaniah authorities and elected their f\R\ President. franc:i&CO Macias were 1ree

Nguema.

CHAPTER III

\VAGE. LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS ON THE PLANTATIONS

From 1875- I 880, the palm oil trade was the chief foundation for the economy of

the island of Fernando Po. The palm oil fruits that the Bubis, the indigenous group,

cultivated on the farms were sold to the middlemen. The middlemen were mainly

Europeans and Creole from Sierra Leone.91 Some of these Creole claimed to have

Nigerian ancestry that linked them to the lgbos. This was because the Creole on the

island were free released slaves that had been captured by Britain in different parts of

west Africa during the slave trade-lgboland was one of the areas in west Africa from

which these free Creoles had been captured. These Creoles had a direct impact on the

migration of Nigerians due to the fact that the Creole invested in and promoted

agricultural development in Fernando Po that eventually required large amounts of

workers. The Creole investment in and promotion of agricultural development led Spain

to take economic interests in the island. According to W.G Clarence-Smith, "Social

discrimination against Creole and Bubi was oflittle significance ... the beneficiaries of

land transfers were black as well as white, and a map from around 1913 shows a roughly

even mix of Spanish and Creole landowners. Black and white planters were united in

every aspect of labor which involved relations with the authorities."92

The Spanish government first showed their interests in Fernando Po with the

introduction of cocoa, which resulted in a shift from trade to plantation agriculture.

Cocoa was brought from Brazil to Sao Tome in 1822, and it was introduced on Spanish

91 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed, 2. 92 W. G. Clarence-Smith, "African and European Cocoa Producers on Fernando Po, 1880-1910."

The Joumal of African History 35, no.2 (1994): 179-199

40

Fc·mando Po tlm1y-two years later.q3 People who had profited from the palm oil trade

inn:stcd their capital in cocoa. as they hoped for greater gain in the future. The

Englishmen and Lynslager. a British businessman of Dutch origin, encouraged the

planting of cocoa on a commercial scale.94 European capital flowed into the burgeoning

cocoa industry to such an extent that Fernando Po's economy and society increasingly

became by-products of the cocoa tree. 95

The colonial land policy totally controlled African property rights. It also joined

with intensive missionary Hispanicization of Africans to promote agricultural

cooperatives and the quest for emancipado status. Emancipados could own freehold land

and/or become leading members of cooperatives.96 The colonial regime found it so

difficult to take interest in connecting the capital with other centers of settlement that the

San Carlos, for example, had to take their produce to Santa Isabel by sea because there

were no good roads. 97

As the acreage under cocoa grew, cocoa production surpassed palm oil production

on the island. For instance, "in 1900 the island exported 1,152 tons of cocoa, 33 tons of

palm oil and 16 tons of coffee. Twelve years later, 3,994 tons o(.cocoa accounted for 97

per cent of Fernando Po's exports by value."98 However, the island Jacked the manpower

needed for farming. In order to obtain the essential labor, Spain claimed the northwest

93 Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." 94 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, I. 95 Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." 96 Sundiate, Equatorial Guinea, 49. 97 Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." 98 Clarence-Smith, "African and European Cocoa Producers."

41

,,,mer or French Gabon. Part of the mainland area, known as Rio-Muni, did not have

C!H'll!!h labor. Consequently. the Treaty of Paris ceded Rio Muni to Spain in 1900.99

By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, there was a population

decline in Bubi, the native people of Fernando Po; this was a result of venereal disease

and social displacement. This led to the use of corvee labor and direct taxation, but these

expedients only provoked the demographic and social crisis in the native population_l 00

Furthermore, "in 1903 the colonial administration sought to solve the problem of illegal

migration by imposing a system of forced labor."101 Fernando Po was forced to look to

the mainland for its labor supply at a time when other colonies, particularly British

colonies, were in search of scarce labor resources within the colonial borders.102

At first, Liberians were recruited, and later, Nigerians, particularly people from

southeastern Nigeria were brought in to harvest the cocoa on the island. 103 The people

from southeastern Nigeria conceded to migrate to Fernando Po because Fernando Po was

closer to southeastern Nigeria than other areas where they might have obtained work to

pay for British taxes. The manner in which the plantation workers were brought to and

employed on Fernando Po eventually caused controversy. According to R. Uwehue, ''the

conditions in which Liberians were shipped by force for such labour led to an

international scandal in 1930. Later, Cameroonians and especially Nigerians were

99 Fegley Randall, "The U.N Human Rights Commission: The Equatorial Guinea Case." Human Right Quarterly 3, no.l (1981, Feb): 34-47.

100 Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." 101 1. Marchal, Chronique d' un cercle de l'AOF: Ouahigouga (Haute-Volta), 1880-194l(Paris:

L'ORSTOM, 1980) and S. Coulibaly, "Colonialisme et migration en Haute Volta (1896-1946)." In Demographic et sous-developrnent dans le Tiers-Monde, ed. D. Gauvreau, J.W. Gregory, M. Kernpeneers, & V. Piche. 73-110 (Montreal: McMill University, Centre for Development Area Studies, 1986). Cited in Cordell, Gregory, & Piche. Hoe and Wage, 63.

102 Sundiata, "Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po." 103 Fegley Randall, "The U.N Human Rights Commission: The Equatorial Guinea Case."

42

cmpi<'YL'd. sttll 111 had condition. with brutality and low pay.'' 104 The important point is

that lahor conditions on the island of Spanish Fernando Po made the service discouraging

and unattractive to Nigerians who were jobless. As demonstrated by Osuntokun, "the

Spanish authorities knew that Nigeria was the last obvious source of foreign labour and

they were not prepared to fail, [since] failure would mean the loss of 12,000 tons of cocoa

and 3.000 tons of coffee exported annually from Fernando Po to Spain."105 Despite the

fact that the work appeared discouraging, the Spanish administration succeeded in

recruiting laborers from neighboring countries, particularly people from southeastern

Nigeria, to work in several plantations in Spanish Fernando Po for a wage. The Spanish

authorities were able to achieve this because there was a high population who were

jobless and also because the Anglo-Spanish agreement triggered a higher rate of

migration.

The migrants from southeastern Nigeria were regulated by the labor code of 1906,

which was the only labor code that attempted to normalize the conditions of laborers

before World War II. The labor code was recognized as the Nature Labor Code, or

Reglamento del Trabaja Indigena, which began as a temporary code but which was kept

on the statute record book until 1940. The labor code stipulated a contract of one year's

labor at minimum wage and also renewed the legislation that kept half of the wage with

the laborer office at Calabar in Nigeria. The code had a provision that excluded nursing

mothers and children from heavy work. It also provided provisions for free rations and

housing for laborers. The labor code stipulated the duration of hours of work for men as

ten hours and for women as eight hours daily. The code prevented laborers from leaving

104Uwehue. African Today, 873 105See F.0.371/26908. Cited in Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 10.

43

th,· pLmtalloH>- cxn:pt wtth written pem1ission. 106 Perhaps this stipulation of the code was

put '"''' place because the Spanish authorities did not want the laborers to skip out of

The labor code was applied to the aliens who had come to Fernando Po prior to

the Nigerian migration, but it also was applied to the Bubi population of the island. In

1907. the indigenous population of "Bubi refused forced labor in the plantations."107 This

decision led to a scarcity of laborers in 1908. The Spanish authorities then required the

Bubis who did not own one hectare of land to enter provisional contract in order to solve

the labor problem. The option was forty days hard labor, and these requirements were so

cruelly enforced that, by 1910, the allegedly docile Bubi of the Balache district revolted.

In addition, the African planters were not obeying the laws of the Nature Labor

Code. The Spanish regime in 1915 stressed that the planters were not satisfying their side

of the labor agreement, particularly "the aspect that enjoined on them to pay half the

wage of each laborer to the labor officer as savings." The Spanish regime in 1929 was

annoyed with some planters who made the island_seem inhospitable to outsiders by

mistreating laborers. Because of this, they started to enforce heavy fines for illegal

actions such as beating.

Even after the liberalization of the regime in 1937, the Spanish still failed to pay

compensation for the injured laborers. The properties that the departed laborers had had

previous to migration were forfeited to the colonial authorities, and there was a lack of

interest in work among the laborers. The conditions were so seriously burdened in

106 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Femando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 10 -II & Sundiate, From Slaving to Neo-slave1y, 134.

107 Max Liniger-Goumaz, Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea, 65. 44

~UJ'!'<'rt c>f the planters that .. if a laborer declined to accept the contract placed before him.

he could be treated under the existing Spanish laws as a rogue and a vagabond, offences

punishable by transportation to a plantation for hard work." In fact, the Spanish

authorities were not treating their own subjects in Fernando Po better than the foreigners

who came as contract Iaborers. 108

Eighteen out of the twenty-one respondents point out that the majority of the

Nigerian contract laborers migrated having in mind that they would be able to work in a

factory or in another more lucrative job. However, the migrants found themselves

working in plantations because the jobs that contributed to the reason why they migrated

didn't exist. Some migrants knew that conditions were harsh due to the fact that they

heard of conditions from others who already had migrated. These people still migrated,

however, because there was such enormous pressure to pay the British tax. Furthermore,

the nature of the people of southeastern Nigeria, particularly the lgbo, is to believe based

on their own experience; even if the people had heard bad reports from others, they

would not have believed those reports until they experienced the conditions for

themselves.

All twenty-one of the respondents report that there were various plantations in

Spanish Fernando Po, such as cocoa, banana, rubber, coffee, and timber plantations.

However, the plantations were under the control of the Spanish authorities. All of the

male respondents say that these plantations were individual- and group-owned by some

Spanish and African migrants from Sierra Leone, etc. For instance, two of the

respondents, Cletus and Longinus, point out that a plantation like Afredo Farm was

108 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, II. 45

,,wm-d by Afrcdo Honest_ one of the men in charge of recruiting Nigerians going to

F<:mando Po. Aria go Fann was owned by Richardo Punche and was one of the biggest

single (non-group) plantations in Spanish Fernando Po, with laborers mainly from

southeastern Nigeria. 10" One of the respondents, Christian, adds that Ariago Fann was

between 19 to 21 acres of land. 110

The twenty-one respondents assert that the experiences and living/working

conditions of the Nigerian migrants were the same regardless of the type or size of

plantation on which the migrants worked. Furthermore, all twenty-one respondents report

that the laborers were paid monthly wages, but that these monthly wages were not paid

regularly. The respondents also point out that the wages that were paid were not enough

to take care of their needs. The wages were being paid based on the type of work one was

doing. Additionally, there was a difference in the wage amounts paid. For instance,

Cletus, Sunday, Israel and Damian, who worked in a cocoa plantation, claim that they

were paid five pesetas; Mathias and Ihejieto, who worked in a cocoa plantation, claim

that they were paid ten pesetas; and others who were also working in cocoa and coffee

plantations claim that they earned between 15 and 18 pesetas.

All twenty-one respondents report that the wages were divided into two. Half of

the wages would be paid to laborers, and the other half would be kept at Calabar for the

laborers by the Spanish government. They point out that the part of the wages kept by the

Spanish government at Calabar was to be paid to the laborers at the expiration of the

contract in Nigeria. They say that, in addition to the wages that they were being paid, the

Spanish authorities provided them with food items on a weekly basis. These included

109 Cletus & Longinus, interview by Anthony Oham, December 31, 2005 & January 2, 2006. 11° Christian, interview by Anthony Oham, April I 0, 2004.

46

rice. !ish. plantain. cocoa yarn, and palm oil. The wives of the married laborers prepared

these foods, while unmarried men prepared the food on their own. 111

One of the respondents, Grace, claims that the living conditions of the period

were very good because food was available and provided by the Spanish govemment. 112

However, Sunday and fifteen other respondents argue that the conditions were bad

because one lived on only what the Spanish government provided and also because the

wages earned were too small to meet basic needs. The laborers could not afford anything

or send money to their relatives at home in the way they had hoped to do. 113

All twenty-one respondents report that there were accommodation problems on

the plantations of Spanish Fernando Po. On the arrival day on the island, every person

recruited in Nigeria would lodge in a camp before the recruiters would look for

accommodations for everyone. The houses had electricity, but they were of poor quality

and made with clay. The respondents all claim that they were very overcrowded in the

houses given to them. They state that there were three families crowded into a single

room with their children, while the unmarried were living five to a room. This single

room was their sleeping I cooking place. They also claim that the houses were poorly

built, and that the sticky, humid air could not escape. The houses were back to back with

only one outlet and also had no yard, toilet, good drinking water, or receptacle for refuse.

All twenty-one respondents report that the standard of water supply on the

plantations remained poor. The types of water were the communal standpipes and pond

111 It is not possible at this time to represent a ratio of marital status on the plantations because no records were kept that give an accurate representation of the ratio. Furthermore, the situation is further complicated by the fact that there were also illegal migrants in addition to those who migrated under the labor conn;cts. I intend ~o research this further in my Ph.D work.

Grace, mterv1ew by Anthony Oham, January 2, 2006. 113

Sunday, interview by Anthony Oham, April 8, 2004.

47

water. hut these were not pure for drinking. However, everyone drank from the pipe

water because there were no alternative means of getting good drinking water. They

repon that the poor quality of water resulted in plantation communities suffering a high

rate of water-related diseases such as cholera. One of the respondents, Israel, adds that

the Spanish authorities were unconcerned with safeguarding the public health of the

plantation communities. There were no proper toilet facilities, nor was there a drainage or

sewage system. The toilet provided was a public toilet that every laborer used, and the

Spanish authorities took no precautions or effort to keep it in good repair.

Eighteen out of the twenty-one respondents report that the plantation owners were

hostile and brutal. They claim that they were badly treated and that _they labored as slaves

in the plantations. The laborers were identified by a pass worn around the neck. The labor

code was also ignored. For instance, the eighteen respondents claim that they were forced

to work from six in the morning to six in the evening with only a little food in their

stomachs. This was done despite the fact that the labor code stipulated that men could

work only ten hours per day and that women could work only eight hours per day.

Eighteen out of the twenty-one respondents claim that a Capertise, or Headman,

was in charge of the plantations. There were both white Capterises from Spain and black

Capertises from Nigeria, Fernando Po, and other parts of Africa in which people were

recruited to work on the plantations. One of the respondents, Israel, points out that the

Capertise usually insisted that every laborer finish his own portion of work given to him

each day; the laborer would be punished severely if he did not complete his job. As a

result of this, some people died due to lack of strength, and those who lacked the strength

48

l<' n'ntinue were beaten by the Capertise. 114 One of the respondents, Sylvanus, claims

that any laborer who did not finish his own portion of work at the time designated by the

Capertise would be beaten and locked up in jail, where the police would torture them_l 15

Furthem10re. the eighteen respondents claim that there was a supervisor (only from

Spain) who oversaw all work in the plantation. These supervisors had the power to expel

both the Capertises and the laborers.

Loise, one of the respondents, reports that, because of the work and experiences

on the plantations, some men who did not have the strength to work in the plantations

stopped going to work and sent their wives to "New-Bill,' a public square for

prostitution. The prostitution enabled the family to survive, because once a laborer

stopped going to work, the Spanish government would stop providing some food items as

was stipulated in the labor agreement. 116 Fabian, one of the respondents, claims that many

women were arrested for prostitution because the Spanish authorities were ordered to

arrest any woman who indulged in the act. 117

Women could engage in prostitution because they were not being recruited for

work on the plantations. All twenty-one respondents claim that there were no women

who worked on the plantations. Christian and Israel, two of the respondents, state that it

was only during the harvest of cocoa in August that some of the women helped their

husbands on the plantations. This was because the harvest of cocoa took more time to

complete and also because each laborer was required to finish the amount of work given

to him. Additionally, the society viewed woinen largely as individuals who had to care

114 lsrael 115 Sylvanus 116 Loise, interview by Anthony Oham, December 30, 2005. 117 Fabian

49

l(,r the home and for others. Thus. rather than working in the plantations, the women who

mi!,.>ratcd worked mainly in traditional women's roles as cooks, stewards, and cleaners for

Spanish authorities. 118 These jobs probably required fewer hours of work than the jobs on

plantations due to the fact that women were expected to take time for their traditional

family responsibilities in addition to other responsibilities. This, when combined with the

fact that the Anglo-Spanish Employment Agency did not consider women to be strong

enough for the jobs in the plantations, might explain why the labor code allowed women

to work fewer hours than men.

All twenty-one respondents point out that the circumstances that surrounded the

Nigerian laborers made the Igbos remember that they were one tribe with one origin. This

made the Igbos love themselves, move together, and help one another, which later

resulted in a solidarity union that integrated all the lgbo laborers in Fernando Po with a

king known as "Eze Ndi lgbo." One of the respondents, Israel, mentions that the king,

Eze ndi lgbo, was their spokesman. Any time an incident of labor abuse in plantations

occurred, the laborers that were involved would come and inform Eze ndi lgbo. This was

because the laborers did not have freedom of speech. Thus, Eze ndi Igbo would go and

make a complaint to the Spanish supervisor. The important fact according to Israel was

that the union was active, but that, since it was operating in a strange or foreign land, its

power was very limited. 119 The twenty-one respondents claim that, despite the efforts

made by Eze ndi lgbo to stop labor abuse on plantations, the abuse continued until some

Nigerian laborers were shot in Spanish Fernando Po, which attracted the attention of the

Nigerian government.

118 Christian & Israel 119 Israel

50

Accordmg to Mathias. the respondent, delegates of the Nigerian government came

w Spanish Fernando Po and instructed the laborers that, in the case of any beating,

flogging. or punishment in plantations or any place by the Spanish authorities, they

should fight back. Thus, if the information about a crime of self-defense got to the

Nigerian government, the Nigerian government would demand the custody of the accused

laborer from the Spanish government, so that the Nigerian government would judge and

punish the person. 120 One of the respondents, Cletus, adds that the Nigerian delegates just

were pretending that they would prosecute the offenders in Nigeria and that the Nigerian

government would free the offenders. The Nigerian government probably did this in

order to facilitate the return of the laborers to Nigeria from Fernando Po, because the

government was aware that there was mistreatment by Spanish authorities towards

Nigerian laborers. 121

All twenty-one respondents claim that health conditions were very poor on many

plantations regardless of what crop was being grown, particularly where the laborers

were crowded in barracks for sleeping and exposed to malaria, smallpox, and cold. One

of the respondents, Loise, reports that she and her family lost their baby because of the

cold. The exposure to cold that resulted in the death of the baby was a result of the poor

quality house where they were living. 122

Despite the housing problems that faced the laborers, the twenty-one respondents

all claim that the Spanish regime showed some concern about the laborers' health by

building hospitals and health centers. Missionaries controlled these hospitals and health

120 Mathias, interview by Anthony Oham, April 2, 2004. 121 Cletus, interview by Anthony Oham, December 31, 2005. 122 Loise

51

cc·nt.:..-s. Qualified Spanish doctors treated the migrants. and plantation owners paid the

1n-atmcnt bills. They claim that the laborers were allowed to go for health checkups.

According to Sundiata,

After 1945, once rampant diseases declined in importance, although new ones took their place. Trypanosomiasis was practically eliminated. Whereas at one time forty-three percent of the populace had been listed as infected, by the end of the I 940s the rate was one case per 4000. Mortality from smallpox and yellow fever declined. Unfortunately, malaria, gonorrhea and syphilis remained significant health problems. 123

Sundiata supports the idea that efforts were made in order to alleviate the problem of

diseases. However, most migrants did not have access to good medical care that would

treat and educate them regarding sexually transmitted diseases. In addition, the abuse of

labor in the plantations resulted in prostitution, as described previously in this chapter.

Some of the laborers resorted to sending their wives to prostitute because they did

not have access to adequate wages and because they were not able to live comfortably in

their homes. The prostitution was seen as a way to better their living conditions and the

homes in which they lived, as well as a way by which to better their family back home by

sending money. Furthermore, the fact that laborers were largely uneducated and illiterate

meant that they could not easily gain information for themselves about the health risks

involved with sexually transmitted diseases. Because of this, prostitution continued,

which, in tum, caused gonorrhea and syphilis to remain a problem in plantations in

Spanish Fernando Po.

One of the biggest obstacles to social improvement on plantations was the

continuing illiteracy of workers. One of the respondents, Christian, reports that only a

123 Sundiata, From Slaving to Neo-slavery, 182. 52

t<-·w L'r !he migrants were in school before the job opportunities in Fernando Po came.

These migrants abandoned their education with no certificate in order to migrate. Eight-

five percent of the population that migrated was illiterate. 124 Using the total estimated

population listed previously in Table 1 (148,200), this means that 125,970 people who

migrated or who worked on plantations were illiterate. No secondary source regarding

Nigerian literacy during the migration period was available to me at the time of this study

that supported the claims of the migrants. However, one website states that "only a tiny

fraction of the colonial population was able to attend even the elementary school[s]" set

up by the British. 125 This most likely had a large impact on the illiteracy rate.

Not only did illiteracy conditions affect the educational performance of laborers'

children, but inferior educational facilities and the attitude of the Spanish authorities

toward migrants' education made social mobility through education difficult. All of the

twenty-one report that the Spanish authorities were not concerned with the education of

the migrants' children; rather, they were interested in obtaining child labor. The migrants'

children thus were forced to do some minor work in the plantations.

Ten of the twenty-one respondents claim that, after the visit of one of the Nigerian

delegates, Akintola, in 1953, the Spanish started to look into the educational welfare of

these children, which resulted in the construction of a school. Also, Nigerian teachers

were employed to teach the children. One of the respondents, Udochukwu, reports that,

"despite the provision of education for these children, the Spanish authorities were not

concerned with equipping or improving the school. Rather, they were interested in

124 Christian 125 The website, available at http://classweb.gmu.edu/chauss/cponline/nigeria.htrn, did not list any

bibliographical data in terms of author, date of publication, or publisher. 53

,·,pl,,iting th~ manpower and the resources in order to maximize profit." This is

>lll'l'''rtl'd by the fact that the school lacked proper classrooms, desks, chairs, toilets,

lihrarics. and playground. Furthermore, the school was the poorest school in the entire

education system. and it lacked the preparation for higher school.

Eight of the twenty-one respondents report that, as soon as the Spanish authorities

handed over power to Macias in 1968, there was another phase of problems for the

Nigerian laborers. They point out that Macias' regime gave rise to economic hardship

that caused many Nigerians to leave Fernando Po. For example, the government stopped

Nigeria's laborers from moving around within Fernando Po. Udochukwu, one of the

respondents, reports that Macias stopped children from working on plantations and

punished parents that were taking their children to work.126

The eight respondents report that the government endorsed discrimination based

on ethnicity by not preventing it. This discrimination resulted in many Nigerian laborers

losing their lives in Spanish Fernando Po through shootings. Three of the respondents,

Loise, Damian, and Valentine, report that four Nigerians were killed during the early

period of the regime of Macias, which made some ofthe Nigerian laborers travel back to

Nigeria for the safety of their lives. 127

Israel, the respondent, states that policemen flogged and beat the Nigerian

migrants with ropes known as "talk truths," and that the police did not like to see the

Nigerian "braseros," or laborers, despite the fact that most of the Nigerian laborers

worked and did not engage in stealing. By contrast, the Bubis did not like going to work;

126 Udochukwu 127

Loise, Damian & Valentine, interview by Anthony Oham, December 30, 2005, April 18, 20QL "December 31, 2005.

54

rathn they would indulge in stealing. The police would arrest the Nigerian laborers

instead of the Bubis even though the Nigerian laborers were not committing any

oiTcnse. 12 ~ This probably occurred due to the fact that the Bubis were the native people of

the area and because the Nigerian laborers were foreigners. The population of Nigerians

had become higher than the population ofBubis as a result of migration, and this caused

friction between the two groups because the Bubis believed that the Nigerian laborers

were taking away their jobs. The native police did not want the foreigners in the area and

thus took action against them even when the Nigerian laborers had not committed a

crime.

Finally, all twenty-one respondents also report that the regime of Macias

promulgated a law that repatriated thousands of Nigerian laborers home to start life again.

One of the respondents, Timothy, adds that some of the migrants who married the

indigenous Bubi women remained in Fernando Po. 129 As demonstrated by J.M. Lipski:

The Nigerians remained on Fernando Po until the first years of the postcolonial regime, when the Macias government ordered the expulsion or extermination of most foreigner workers. The linguistic traces of such a massive number of Nigerians, who preferred using Pidgin English rather than Nigerian languages as a lingua franca, remain in Malabo and even in the rural areas, where Bubis had daily contact with Nigerians. 130

Meanwhile, the migrants who settled in Fernando Po as a result of marrying Bubi

women were hiding from the regime of Macias. Israel, one of the respondents, reports

that families, relatives, and friends saw the migrants who married Bubi women and who

settled in the island as "griho." This simply means that those people were carried away by

the high life in Fernando Po that existed in the form of women and a\coho\. Because of

this, the settled migrants forgot their place of origin.131 These facts support the idea that

tl1e desire to have or to support a family and enjoy life may have bad an impact on the

migration of Nigerian laborers.

CHAPTER IV

IMPACT ANALYSIS

Background for Migration Impact Analysis

Labor migration, in one form or another, has been a characteristic of Nigerian

society for many years. Nevertheless, the increase in the rate of migration in recent times

has been particularly striking. Before the advent of British rule in Nigeria, individuals

and groups migrated for the purpose of trade. During the period of colonial rule in

Nigeria, the British government wanted to promote the construction of road, railway,

bridges, and paying of laborers. Therefore, the British colonial administration introduced

nvo innovations that encouraged migration. First, in order to obtain money for the

developments listed above, the British imposed taxation on the local people. The

imposition of taxes early in the 1900's developed a need for cash. Secondly, the

introduction of forced labor resulted in the movement of males from southeastern

Nigeria, their home area, to work on plantations in Spanish Fernando Po. This movement

of males was for the people who did not have excess property to exchange for money

(pounds) and whose only option thus was to sell their labor.

However, migration is often analyzed using Amin's terms of the "push-pull

model," which looks at the negative "push factors," which force people to leave their

place of origin, and the positive "pull factors," which draw them to the desired

destinations. 132 Meanwhile, migration creates both opportunities and risks for the

migrants. At this juncture, I will discuss the impacts of Spanish colonial migration on

Nigerian migrants, as well as on the imperial powers.

132 S. Amin, Modern Migration in West Africa (London: O.V.P. 1974), 68-69. Cited in Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 15.

57

Impact on the Migrants

Based on the interviews of twenty-one Nigerian labor migrants to Fernando Po, it

appears that the movement of Nigerian migrants to work on several Spanish plantations

under colonialism had negative impacts on both the migrants' place of origin and the

migrants themselves. The Nigerian migrants to Fernando Po suffered devastating losses

and adverse socio-economic disaster as a result of their migration to the present-day

Equatorial Guinea. The models ofMabogunje and Byerlee assert that family structure

and society directly influence the decision to migrate. These models are supported by the

fact that the communities and family members of the returning migrants viewed the

returning migrants as socio-economic failures because the migrants did not achieve their

sole aim of migration (sufficient income). They were merely a source of cheap labor to

the Spanish authorities, who utilized them in their plantations in Spanish Fernando Po

through British labor contracts.

A.T. Nzula defines forced labor as "a legal deal in which one party thereto, the

black worker, is deprived of all rights, and forced into the bargain by administrative

means."133 The local people had little choice in whether or not they wanted to work

because their need for money by which to pay the British taxes was so great. They were

forced to work in several plantations in Fernando Po with the hope of gaining money

with which to pay the taxes, but they were given little income in return. Todaro's model

asserts that the decision to migrate is influenced by whether or not greater income

through work is available in the new location, and the migrants were under the

impression that the money to pay taxes would be available if they migrated. Furthermore,

Ill A.T.Nzula, et al, Forced Labour in Colonial Africa (London: Redwood Bum Ltd, 1979), 82. 58

Rycrlec"s model asserts that migration will be made if the return from migration exceeds

the cost of migration. The migrants believed that they would return to their homeland

with more money and social status than when they left, thus the migrants believed that

the cost of migration would not exceed the return they would gain.

By Arthur's assertions, "people move because they sense a need and want to

satisfy it. The nature of the need can be economic, social, or psychological. Individuals

become candidates for migration when they perceive opportunities for satisfying their

needs elsewhere." 134 The migrants believed that migration to Fernando Po would result in

economic and social benefits for themselves and for their families, thus they entered into

the labor contracts. However, the migrants came back home with little money left in their

hands, which was not enough to provide the essential needs of life or to engage in

investment. The migrants faced abject poverty, as they could not get the high income that

had been their sole aim for migrating. Even today, most of the migrants live simply from

hand to mouth and do the same work most of them abandoned in favor of migrating to

Spanish Fernando Po. However, one of the respondents, Udochukwu, reports that

fanning is not considered important in present-day Nigeria. The Nigerian government has

not been interested in large-scale farming since the emergence of the oil boom in the

1970s. Also, the lands are not as fertile they used to be because of constant cultivation.

This overuse of the land in southeastern Nigeria is partly the consequence of a shortage

of land, which has occurred due to the high population. 135 Thus, the migrants are

dependent on non-commercial farm work for their income and food supply.

114 Arthur, "International Labor Migration Pattern in West Africa." 135 Udochukwu

59

.-\s reported by Israel. one of the respondents, most of the migrants lost their

propcrtics'hcritagc at home as a result of the migration. Many lost their properties when

those properties were forfeited to the Spanish authorities. Others lost their farm and

heritage properties when those properties were taken over by other members of the

extended family who did not migrate. This has caused crises in kinship ties, loss of life,

lengthy court cases, and family breakup. Also, some migrants who migrated with their

families lost their properties to strangers who took over because no one was available at

home to claim the property rights. 136 One of the respondents, Longinus, adds that some of

these migrants were not familiar with their own lands/their father's properties because of

their long period of absence. This denied most of the migrants their rights and

properties. 137

The returned Nigerian migrants also lost their social status in the place of origin.

Udochukwu, Matthew, and Sylvanus, report that, in the Igbo society, people migrate in

order to acquire wealth and also to increase their social status in the place of origin. 138 All

twenty-one respondents point out that the migrants lost their social status because they

did not achieve their sole aims, which were economic well-being and improvement of

their standard of living. One of the respondents, Christian, reports that, before most of the

migrants could come back to Nigeria, their peers or those who were the same age as the

migrants had invested, married, and had children that had occupied high position. 139 By

contrast, after the migrants returned, they had nothing to show for their migration to

136 Isreal 137 Longinus 138 Udochukwu, Matthew & Sylvanus, interview by Anthony Oham, December 20, 31, 2005 &

January 2, 2006 139 Christian

60

Spanish Fcnwndo Po. Because of this, their peers, extended families, communities and

friends look down on them.

The social impact of migration on the migrants is also shown in the fact that, upon

returning to Nigeria, the migrants were deprived of most of the communal rights. In

particular, the migrants lost the privilege to speak in any communal gatherings. In local

Nigerian communities, the privilege to speak is given to migrants who have obtained

wealth, either by migrating within Nigeria or by migrating internationally. This is

because the traditional Igbo society believes it is the duty of the migrant to enrich his

family members who did not migrate and to represent his community at the place of

destination. If the migrant does not succeed, then their social status is reduced in the eye

ofthe community as a whole because the lack of success is seen as shameful to the

migrant and the family from which the migrant came.

The fact that most of migrants' time was spent in the farms limited the capacity of

a greater percentage of them to acquire education and skills necessary for them to have

access to higher paying jobs within their national boundaries as well as internationally.

The best position of employment the returned migrants could get was security guard in

some government offices in Nigeria. As demonstrated by Udochukwu, one of the

respondents, good education provides the skills and knowledge required to access jobs

that are capable of raising people above the poverty line. 140 Since the migrants lack this,

they have continued to live below the poverty line.

All twenty-one respondents report that their children did not have a good

education. One of the respondents, Sylvanus, reports that the poor status of education on

140 Udochukwu 61

plantatit'IlS is rctlectcd in low levels of achievement and in high dropout rales. 141

Presently. most of the migrants' children are jobless and are still dependent on their poor

parents. A few children of the migrants who are working with their low qualifications

haYe acquired jobs of low socio-economic status.

Migration also affected the health of those who migrated to Fernando Po. As a

matter of fact. Loise, one of the respondents, reports that most of the Nigerian migrants

were exposed to health problems that ranged from excessive intake of alcohol to sexually

transmitted diseases aggravated by prostitution, and that most of the migrants were

infected with one disease or another. 142 One of the respondents, Mathias, adds that this

equally has resulted in infertility among some migrants. 143 For instance, Israel, the

respondent, reports that about fifty Nigerian laborers out of seventy or more laborers on

the Afredo Honest plantation were affected by gonorrhea and syphilis. 144 On the other

hand, according to Loise, the respondent, the migration strengthened them physically,

and this is attributable to their long hours working in the plantations. 145 Most of them still

look strong and healthy even in their eighties and also still involve themselves in some

hard jobs like farm work, which is their primary source of livelihood.

Due to the many problems associated with migration, most of the migrants ended

up being deprived, frustrated, withdrawn, and depressed, which resulted in socio-

psychological problems and disorientation expressed in drunkenness. Most former

migrants regret ever migrating to Spanish Fernando Po, especially when they consider

141 Sylvanus 142 Loise 143 Mathias 144 Israel 145 Losie

62

their present condition because of the wasted years in Spanish Fernando Po. As a result of

this. Sl11llC migrants discourage their children from migrating. Other migrants, despite

thc:ir experiences in Fernando Po, and despite losses they suffered as a result of the

migration. still push their children to migration. Because of their desire for money, they

sometimes unknowingly involve their children in child trafficking, slave labor, and

prostitution.

Despite the negative impacts of migration on the migrants, there were a few

positive impacts, as welL Migration resulted in new ways of life; new patterns of thought;

a new and large-scale agriculture; new languages, and a new social system among the

migrants. Most of the migrants were able to learn the Spanish language and some

indigenous languages of Fernando Po, which they use to communicate among

themselves. The indigenous languages were Bube, Batanga, and Fernando Po Creole

English.

Many of the migrants who could not communicate with "Pidgin English" when

they were in Nigeria could speak it fluently after their return from Spanish Fernando Po.

As demonstrated by Lipski:

Equatorial Guinean laborers rarely embodied the juxtaposition of more than two ethnic groups, and when in the present country the indigenous labor force was virtually replaced by nearly 50,000 Nigerians, the latter's lingua franca, pidgin English, rapidly became the most useful vehicle of communication on Fernando Po, continually even past the exodus of the Nigerians. 146

146 Lipski, The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea, 6.

63

!'his lan_1!uagc hccan1c a n1cdiurn through which the migrants communicated with each

,,1hcr. rL·gardlcss of the tribes to which the migrant originally belonged. In addition, the

pidgin English bccan1e a means of inter-tribal communication in Nigeria.

The migration of Nigerian laborers caused a mixed culture among Nigerian

migrants and the indigenous population of Spanish Fernando Po. Grace, one ofthe

respondents, reports that there were cultural exchanges between Nigerian migrants and

the indigenous people of Fernando Po during the colonial era. Some ofthe food in

southeastern Nigeria, such as "mashed plantain mixed with oil," an indigenous food of

the Bubis of Spanish Fernando Po, was introduced by Nigerian migrants from Fernando

Po. 147 The returned migrants ate this food more because it was affordable; some ofthe

non-migrants have started to eat the food as well due to socio-economic hardships in

Nigerian society.

There were intermarriages between Nigerian migrants and the indigenous people

ofFemando Po. Most of the Nigerian migrants during this period married with the

indigenous women of Fernando Po and settled down on the island. On the other hand, the

Nigerian migrants who migrated as bachelors and came back to Nigeria unmarried are

finding it difficult to marry even now. The reason for the difficulty is that the returned

migrants do not work in a well-paying job that would provide enough money to carry out

traditional rite; without the well-paying job, the traditional rite is too expensive.

Most of the migrants who were not Christian before they migrated embraced

Christianity. Donatus, one of the respondents, reports that there were some missionaries

who used to visit the island and preach the observance or practice of the teachings of

147 Grace 64

.ksus Christ. particularly which God would take care of their situations. 148 The Annual

Report on the Departn1ent of Labor and on the Resettlement of Ex-servicemen of 1945

stated:

The workers are allowed freedom of worship as laid down in Article 12 ofthe Treaty. The Rev. F. N. Dodds, one of the General Secretaries of the Methodist Missionary Society who visited Fernando Po from England to inspect the Methodist Churches there reported that a large percentage of the laborers from mainland working in the farms and industries of the country had placed themselves under the spiritual direction of the Methodist Church. In the opinion of Dodds ... the people seemed well content and their conditions at Fernando Po compared favorably with those of the fellow-tribesmen on the mainland. 149

The migrants usually use the teachings of Jesus Christ as a guide for their behavior and

actions. They are always conscious of what they do, say, or fail to do, bearing in mind

that people are watching them. They eagerly and regularly attend church services and

activities.

Impact on the Imperial Powers

While migration had both negative and positive effects on the migrants, the

impact of the migration on the imperial powers was largely positive. This can be seen

from the growth of their factories/industries in Europe. For instance, W. Rodney noted

that "there is also a hint here on the contribution of slaves to the accumulation of capital

for the Western capitalist; that is to say, profits from the slaves' work in the plantations

148 Donatus, interview by Anthony Oham, December 19, 2005. 149 See NAN (hereafter NAE) Nigeria Sessional Paper No.2 I of 1946.

65

~··f\·ic,·s. gave fillip to the development of heavy industries [Spain and Britain]."150 The

important fact is that the primary reason behind colonial land policy was the exploitation

of the resources of Africa, whether agricultural or mineral. According to Nzula, "the

indigenous population [had] been reduced to semi-slavery, and almost all of them are

exploited by open and non-economic forms of coercion on the plantations and in the

mines." 151 They served as sources of cheap labor for the imperial powers' large

plantations.

The Nigerian migration to Spanish Fernando Po brought the imperial powers-

Great Britain and Spain-together and restored co-operation between them. As

demonstrated by Osuntokun, "the Nigeria-Fernando Po labor accord was therefore

negotiated in the spirit of Anglo-Spanish rapprochement and in consideration ofthe Great

British's world wide interest"152 As I discussed in Chapter II, the Spanish were recruiting

laborers illegally from southeastern Nigeria, an area where labor was plentiful and cheap.

The demand for labor in Fernando Po was so great and the market was so profitable that

illegal smuggling of people from Nigeria continued. The British authorities started to

suspect Spain of illegal trafficking and shortly were given the power of "search and

arrest" to detain any ship that carried illegal laborers. This resulted in the closure of the

German shipping company, the Woermann Line, in Nigeria. This was significant because

the only ship that carried Liberian laborers to Fernando Po belonged to the Woermann

Line.

150 W.Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (London: Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications, 1972), Cited in Ndu Life Njoku, Studies in Western Imperialism and Afi'ican Development (Owerri: Tonyben Publishers, 1998), 205.

151 Nzula, et at, Forced Labour in Colonial Aji'ica, 37. 152 Osuntokun, Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH C, 17.

66

Great Bntam accused Spain of involvement in arms assistance to Germans during

the Gennan-C'ameroon conflict. During the outbreak of World War II, the favorable

attitude of Germany towards Spain-Fernando Po complicated the Nigerian relationship

with Spanish Fernando Po. This rapport between Spain and Germany put Great Britain in

fear that the Axis powers might attack them and the other Allied powers from the island

of Fernando Po. This fear made Britain open to negotiation with Spain regarding labor.

According to Osuntokun, "in late 1942, the British signed an agreement with Spain to

legalize and control this flow of [Nigerian] labor, but it was not until the defeat of

Germany became imminent that the Spaniards really began to co-operate with British to

enforce the clauses of the 1942 agreement."153 Through this agreement, peace was

reinstated among the imperial powers, which directly affected the treatment and

conditions of the Nigerian laborers in the plantations ofthe Spanish.

The migration increased the production of the crops that were most needed for the

factories of these imperial powers, as well as the consumption of these goods among the

migrants. The migration also gave rise to the imperial powers' desire to ensure, through

the use of persuasion and coercive methods, that the migrants conducted their plantation

work in ways that favored the imperial powers. The imperial powers made use not only

of laborers and crops, but also the land where the African planters harvested cocoa and

other crops. Going by R. Gard's assertion:

At early as 1930, it was apparent that Spain intended Fernando Po (especially its uplands) for use by European cultivators. At that time 18,000 hectares had been conceded

153 J. Osuntokun, Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria relation, the diplomacy oflabor. lbandan: chapter 3. For labor in lieu of military service, see Perpina Grau, De colonization (1978), 115-17. Cited in G.Clarence-Smith, "The impact of Spanish Civil War and the Second World War on Portuguese and Spanish Africa." The Joumal of African History 26, no. 4( 1985): 309-326.

67

to Africans. while some 21,000 hectares had gone to Euwpcans. a situation which remained legally frozen until 1948. In 1942 and 1943, out of 40,000 hectares devoted to co ITec and cocoa, only 4,000 were in the hands of the Africans. 154

Church also demonstrates that the majority of the land went to Europeans:

By the 1960s the coastal band on the north, east and west, up to 2,000 feet was almost completely devoted to Spanish plantations; in 1964, 600 European plantations occupied about 90,000 acres (on the average about 150 acres per plantations) and 40,000 were occupied by African farms (averaging thirteen acres per farm). 155

The migration increased the production and export of many cash crops such as

cocoa, coffee, banana, cotton, and tobacco for the imperial powers that supported large

plantations of such crops. The imperial powers utilized Nigerian laborers, who produced

profits of billions from cocoa and other crops, which the imperial powers exported to

their factories I industries and enriched themselves. The first four columns of Table 3

below are based on the data from Armin Kobel's La Republique de Guinee Equatorial/e.

ses res sources potentielles et virtuelles, which shows the exportation of cocoa products

[rom Fernando Po to Europe. 156 The last column is based on my total estimated

population from Table 1.

IS• R. Gard. Colonialism and Decolonization of Equatorial Guinea. Northwestern University; Unpublished manuscript (1974), 92. Cited in Sundiate, From Slavery to Neoslavery, 180.

Iss R.J. Church, et al., Africa and the islands. (New York. 1964), 278. Cited in Sundiate, From Slavery to Neoslavery, 180.

1s6A Kobel, La Republique de Guinee Equatorialle, ses ressources potentielles et virtuelles.Possibilites de development: PhD diss., Universite de Neuchatel(1976), 267 citing Resumen estadistica del Africa Espanola,1932-1960. Cited in Sundiate, Equatorial Guinea, 42.

68

15,759 16,548 20,039 18,\16 21,529 19,554 20,971 25,433 22,100 23,559 28,673 29,458 31,305 31,014 35,344 30.058

. ". l(obel, cited in Sundiate, Equatorial Guinea 42 source. ~ ,

This is to demonstrate that the proftts made by the imperial powers-Great

. . and spain-are directly proportional to the number of Nigerian laborers who

sotaln . d which promoted the growth of the factories/industries oftbe im~eria\ !"'""" Jll1grate ,

and also strengthened their economies.

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

This study em harks on the task of assessing the Nigerian labor migration to

Spanish Fcntando Po from 1900-1968. It examines the emergence of the Anglo-Spanish

agreement that triggered the migration of Nigerians into Fernando Po. This study also

investigates the lives and experiences of the migrants. Moreover, this study traces the

impact of the migration on both migrants and imperial powers.

At the mid-twentieth century, thousands of lgbo and lbibio laborers from

southeastern Nigeria worked in Spanish cocoa plantations on the island of Fernando Po,

the present-day Equatorial Guinea. This migration occurred as a result of an Anglo­

Spanish labor agreement. This is a form of mobility or migration that involved local

Nigerian societies. The imposition of taxes developed a need for cash, and the

introduction of forced labor through the Anglo-Spanish labor agreement resulted in a

mass movement of workers to several plantations in Fernando Po.

Chapter II of the study explains the history of the Anglo-Spanish agreement.

Nigeria's contact with Fernando Po started in 1778 with the Treaty of Pardo, which

specified that the entire Niger Delta, especially the Bonny River and Rio Gallinas, was to

be in the control of Spain. Fernando Po maintained economic relations with Nigeria

because of its strategic location that was close to the Bights of Benin and Biafra.

The relationship between Nigeria and Fernando Po was not cordial before the

eruption of World War II due to British hostility to Spanish illegal recruitment of laborers

from Nigeria. Subsequently, Great Britain was given the power of"search and arrest," to

capture any ship that carried illegal laborers. This resulted in the closure of the German

70

shipping cmnpany. the Wocm~ann Line in 1914. These tensions continued for the next

r,n> ~·can; until Great Britain accused Spain of supplying weapons to Germany during the

Gennan-Camcroon hostility.

When World War II finally erupted, the Germans' favorable attitude towards

Spain-Fernando Po further complicated the Nigerian relationship with Spain. This caused

a tense exchange of words between the governments ofNigeria and Fernando Po. The

Germans used Fernando Po as a broadcast station to communicate with their soldiers

dispersed in the Southern Atlantic. The rapport between the Spanish and Germans placed

Great Britain in anxiety that the Axis powers might use Fernando Po as a base to attack

them and other Allied powers. This anxiety made Great Britain open for compromise

with Spain in 1939, which resulted in the migration of 10,000 Nigerian laborers to

Fernando Po in the same year. Finally, in December 1942, the Anglo-Spanish labor

agreement was signed in order to legalize and control the flow of illegal migration of

Nigerians to Fernando Po.

The labor agreement stipulated the supply of manpower. The unmarried men

worked for the period of one year but had to return to Nigeria after the end of the

contract, while the married men migrated with their wives for the duration of two years.

Each laborer could not be less than eighteen years old. The laborers had to be medically

approved in order to be awarded the contract. The agreement stipulated that a minimum

of thirty-five pesetas would be given to each laborer monthly. The labor agreement

provided the laborers with accommodations and food items. The agreement also

stipulated that 250 laborers would be recruited per month. Even with the stipulated

agreements, there were still allegations of ill treatment of Nigerian laborers in plantations

71

in Fcnwndo Po. Because of this. various delegates visited the island for an investigation,

t->ut no one among thcn1 gave a concrete report about labor abuse on plantations by the

Spanish authorities. However, the research I conducted revealed that there was ill

rrcatment of laborers on plantations by the Spanish authorities, which is examined in

Chapter III of the study. The chapter explains the labor regimes that existed in plantations

in Spanish Femando Po.

The labor code of 1906, which was known as the Nature Labor Code, regulated

the condition of the Nigerian laborers. This labor code, which had the provision of a one­

year minimum wage agreement, prevented the nursing mother and children from doing

hard work, provided free accommodations for the workers, stipulated for ten hours

duration of work per day for men and eight hours for women, and stopped laborers from

leaving the plantation except on approval. It was not completely intolerable. The Spanish

colonial regime was unfavorable to the Nigerian laborers.

The laborers were treated as slaves and also were instructed to put passes around

their necks that were used for identification of each laborer. The Nigerian laborers were

forced to work for a long period of hours with only a little food in their stomachs, and the

Capertise always insisted that each laborer complete the portion of work assigned to him.

This resulted in death for some laborers. Meanwhile, because of hard labor/maltreatment,

some of the laborers abandoned the work and advised their wives to prostitute themselves

in "New Bill" and to make money in that way in order to provide for their needs.

The circumstances of Nigerian laborers, particularly the lgbo, made them come

together as a union. The union elected an orator known as the king (Eze Ndi lgbo), who

attempted to alleviate the labor abuse on plantations in Fernando Po, but the king's power

72

w:~s limit<'d. This is because the union was operating under the colonial regime as well as

in a for.:-ig.n land. The labor abuse on plantations continued until a day when some of the

Nigerian laborers were shot. This attracted delegates from Nigeria that came and

instn~eted the laborers to retaliate against any labor abuse in Fernando Po. If this

statement was made, it may have been made after Nigeria had gained independence from

Great Britain, which was too late to help the migrants.

Furthermore, the Spanish authorities separated the wages received by the Nigerian

laborers into two parts: one part was paid to the laborers, and the other was held for the

laborers at the headquarters in Calabar. The wages received often were not paid.

Although the Spanish colonial authorities provided some foodstuffs weekly for the

Nigerian laborers, it still was not enough to put an end to the laborers' needs.

Apart from the problems encountered by the laborers in wages, the Nigerian

laborers also faced serious difficulties in the accommodations provided by the Spanish

government. The laborers were overcrowded in the poor quality houses provided to them.

These houses lacked the essential amenities of an average house in the present society.

Because of the poorly built houses, the Nigerian laborers were exposed to various kinds

of diseases, which resulted in the death ofboth adults and children.

The Nigerian laborers received treatments in the hospitals and health centers

provided by the Spanish government on plantations. The hospitals and health centers

were under the control of the missionaries. The Nigerian laborers received treatments

under the expense of the plantation owners and also were permitted to go to health check­

ups from time to time. This does not mean that the Spanish authorities were taking good

care of the Nigerian laborers in Fernando Po; rather, the physical health condition of any

73

!;~t--'r'·' <kt,·nnincd the tons of cocoa or other crops to be produced. Furthermore, it was

.-hcap,·r t<' proYidc n1cdical care to existing laborers than to recruit new laborers. It was

r<>r these· reasons that Spanish authorities showed some concern for the health condition

o(thc lahorers_

The Spanish authorities were not interested in the educational welfare of the

children of Nigerian laborers. They used these children to do some work on plantations.

The Spanish regime later built schools for the children of the Nigerian laborers after their

meeting with the Nigeria delegates. The schools provided for these children lacked

facilities for learning and also training for higher schools. This implies that the Spanish

authorities were not interested in anything that would not maximize profit for them.

Hence, Spanish authorities were not concerned with equipping the school.

By 1968, there was a colonial hangover to Macias's government. This regime

deprived freedom of moving for Nigerian laborers and also prohibited the work of

children in plantations. Macias' regime allowed discrimination against the Nigerians,

which resulted in the death of four Nigerian laborers. Finally, this regime made laws that

repatriated Nigerian laborers back to their home country. These laws were made because

the number of Nigerians was so large compared to the original population. The native

people believed the Nigerians were taking away their jobs. These laws were disastrous

because most of the Nigerian migrants had settled down in Spanish Fernando Po despite

the conditions on the plantations; when they returned home, many found that they did not

have access to their former properties or to a job.

Chapter IV explores the impact of Nigerian migration to Fernando Po on both the

migrants and the imperial powers. This migration had economic, social, physiological,

74

and rdigious impacts on the Nigerian migrants. The bulk of the migrants were living

from hand to mouth and therefore were surviving from fann work, which they rejected in

order to migrate to Spanish Femando Po. The Nigerian migrants were thinking that they

would get a more lucrative, non-farming job if they migrated to Fernando Po. This

supports Todaro's theory that the possible migrant chooses a place that maximizes the

anticipated gains from migration. However, when they got to the island, they found that

they still were working in farms just as they had done in their homeland. Hill's idea that

migration occurs due to a lack of lucrative non-farming employment in West Africa,

particularly in the region of southeastern Nigeria, thus is supported in the migration to

Fernando Po. The farm-to-farm job change would have been a lateral move that would

not have resulted in any economic or social gain for the laborer, and that gain was exactly

what the laborers had hoped to receive through migration.

The Nigerian migrants suffered loss of status, rights, and property/heritage as a

result of migration. The returned migrants lost their social status in the eyes of their

community as a whole because the migrants had nothing to show for their migration to

Spanish Fernando Po. In regard to this, their peers, extended families, communities, and

friends looked down on them for not having achieved and for not having provided

assistance through migration. Because of this, the migrants also lost most oftheir

communal rights. Furthermore, they lost their properties/heritage at home as a result of

colonial migration. This caused deprivation, frustration, withdrawal, and depression for

most of the migrants and resulted in socio-psychological problems and disorientation

expressed in drunkenness. Most of the migrants regret migrating to Spanish Fernando Po,

which has resulted in demoralizing thoughts. Because of this, many of the migrants

75

di~,-,>u.-agc· their children from migrating. In addition. the models of Mabogunje and

[hcrkc assert that family structure and society directly have an impact on whether or not

an individual will migrate. The returning migrants were seen as socio-economic failures

\:ly their families and communities because the_migrants did not achieve their sole aim of

migration (sufficient income). The research thus offers support for Mabogunje's and

Byerlee's models.

The majority of the Nigerian migrants were illiterates because they spent most of

their time on plantations. They did not obtain the education and skills necessary for them

to have access to higher paying jobs. Also, they did not have time to take care of their

children to give them good educations. Because of this, most of their children were

dropouts and still depended on the poor parents for survivaL

Migration under colonialism also had an impact on the health of returned Nigerian

migrants. The migrants were exposed to different types of diseases; most of them were

infected with one disease or another. However, the migration also strengthened the

Nigerian migrants physically because of the long hours they were required to work on the

plantations. Consequently, most of the returned migrants were strong and healthy in their

eighties.

The returned Nigerian migrants were able to learn some languages in Fernando Po

that they use to communicate among themselves. The majority of the Nigerian migrants

can communicate with "Pidgin English" fluently. This language has helped them to

communicate with other tribes in Nigeria, especially those migrants who are travelers.

The Nigerian migrants were able to communicate and intermarry with indigenous

people of Fernando Po. This encouraged the mixture of culture. Some of the traditional

76

t<><><l,,f indigenous local people of Fcmando Po is still used by Nigerians. Mashed

pl:mtain mixed with oil. for example, is still eaten in Nigerian society by the migrants as

well as t>y non-n1igrants.

Finally. the Nigerian migrants embraced Christianity through colonial migration.

Most of the migrants who were pagans before migrating embraced Christ as a result of

their circumstances in Femando Po. The teaching of Christ made them always mindful of

what they do or fail to do and what to say, having in mind that the public is watching

them.

Although the migration caused social, economic, and physiological problems for

the Nigerian migrants, it benefited the imperial powers economically and otherwise.

Britain and Spain used the migration to settle their differences and established a

collaboration, which resulted in forced labor, exploitation, and de facto enslavement of

Nigerian laborers on Spanish plantations. The migration increased the production and

export of several cash crops for the colonial powers. The imperial powers made profits

of billions from tons of cocoa and other crops, which they exported to their

factories/industries and used to enrich themselves.

In conclusion, based on the examination of this research, it was clear to me that

there was labor abuse/enslavement in the plantations of Spanish Fernando Po. The

Nigerian government delegates who visited the island concealed the incidents of abuses

of Nigerian laborers. However, the Annual Report of the Federal Ministry of Land/Labor

division noted 3,742 complaints oflabor abuse from the Nigerian laborers. This included

long hours of work, various forms of maltreatment, poor medical facilities, short payment

77

,,(wa~l's. unlaw till deductions from wages, and short supply of food rations.m For every

,.,,mplaint made. there are probably many other cases left unreported because some

111 igr:lllts might have been scared of receiving further punishment. Also, as the returning

migrants were reporting continually on labor abuse in Spanish Fernando Po, some of the

Nigerian government delegates like Chief S.L.Akintola, the Central Minister of labor,

denied the abuse.

On the other hand, J. M. Johnson, the Federal Minister of Affairs, Labor and

Welfare and other representatives visited in 1957 and reported that there was labor abuse

in Fernando Po, but the abuses were not reported in detail. Instead, the delegates focused

on the positive aspects of the report, which contradict the experiences of the respondents

I interviewed. The Nigerian government delegates knew about the labor abuse in Spanish

Fernando Po but refused to report the abuse to the public. This is because the Anglo-

Spanish relation was a collaborative business in which the imperial powers worked

together in order to benefit financially as a result of the labor of the Nigerian laborers on

the plantations. The acknowledgement of abuse might have resulted in the loss of the

opportunity for profit for the imperial powers, thus the imperial powers did not report the

abuse. This is supported by the fact that the Nigerian government received a capitation

fee of five pounds sterling for each Nigerian laborer working in Fernando Po. For

instance, the sum of 873,630 pesetas (approximately £5, 144.17.7d sterling) was received

as a capitation fee by the Nigerian government at the first contracts. 158 Because of this,

the Nigerian delegations continuously increased the number of recruitments in order to

:::See NAN. Annual Report, 1966-67. See NAN. Annual Report, 1966-67.

78

make greater profits, which caused Nigerian authorities not to speak against or report any

labor abuse in Spanish Fernando Po.

Also, the revised agreement of 1950 cooperated to recruit laborers from the

British Firm of John Holt in Nigeria and Company Ltd., as well as from the Anglo­

Spanish Employment Agency. This revised agreement turned against the illegal laborers,

which resulted in repatriation of these Nigerian laborers. The illegal laborers were the

ones to whom the Spanish government promised a heavy amount of wages, which the

Spain secretly recruited in their plantations. The important fact is that the Anglo-Spanish

agreement was a colonial cooperation, but one in which the conditions of Nigerian

laborers were compromised by both colonial powers.

Finally, it is important to note that the labor code to which I refer throughout the

study was in existence before the Anglo-Spanish agreement was signed. Due to the

timeframe, it might be that the labor codes were meant for the men and women of the

original Bubi population of the island. This is important because if the labor code never

was intended to cover the migrants, a migrant who exceeded the number of hours

stipulated could not claim abuse in terms of hours worked. If the labor code did apply,

however, then a migrant who exceeded the stipulated hours could in fact make a case that

the labor code was violated. For the purposes ofthis study, however, I presumed that the

labor codes in fact did apply to the migrants.

This study narrowed the window of information unavailable regarding the

Nigerian migration to Fernando Po. In particular, the research provided information

regarding the aspects of the lives and experiences ofthe migrants and the impact ofthe

migration on the migrants, as well as on both the imperial powers. The research

79

demonstrates aspects of the nature and pattern of migration in West Africa such as those

contained in the models of Todaro, Mabogunje, and Byerlee. These three models were

used because they are the models most applicable to this study in that they take into

consideration the role of family, kinship ties, social structure and social practices, and

tmequal distribution of economic and social development among the regions in Nigeria.

It went further to show that the local people were important in shaping colonial societies;

the study has contributed to the history of Nigerian migration by combining the aspects of

social, economic, and political labor history in colonial times.

This work reveals that the imperial powers often collaborated to shield their

mutual economic interest. The research fits into the overall picture created by existing

research in regard to the nature of colonial migration in Africa, which placed an emphasis

on forced labor. Finally, this study also features the pattern of migration in Africa,

particularly in West Africa.

The information that I had at the time of my research is represented in this thesis.

Nevertheless, while this thesis makes multiple contributions of value to the study of

migration, there is a great deal of information yet to be collected on the topic. There were

numerous questions raised by the responses of the respondents and the inquiries of my

advisor during the research and construction of this work. Therefore, I am motivated to

continue my study in order to find the answers to the questions raised. To find these

answers, I intend to travel to Public Record at London where colonial records are kept, as

well as to Nigeria and Fernando Po to conduct additional interviews. This is because poor

documentation practice has resulted in few archival sources being available in Nigeria on

the research topic. The lack of archival sources is precisely the reason why scholars have

80

not studied this topic in detail previous to this work. 1 feel that even more documentation

may be available at Public Record in London. Due to the lack of documentation and the

fact that I am only focusing on the Nigerian migrants for my study, l intend to gain data

primarily via oral interviews. I will use this thesis as a foundation for my Ph.D. study.

APPENDICES

LIST OF INFORMANTS INTER.. VIEWED

AGE OCCUPATION DATE/ --NAME REMARKS PLACE OF

INTERVIEW Ahamuefula 72 Trader 12/27/05

"Fanner in FP cocoa Chibuike Akwakurna

Plantation; migrated with friend in 1950; 5 pesetas

Akamadu 80 Farmer 12/20/05 Fanner in FP cocoa Augustine Mbano plantation; migrated with

friend in 1949; 5 pesetas A lam 85 Farmer 04/08/04 Fanner in FP cocoa

Sunday Umugurna plantation; migrated alone in 1946; wage of 5 pe_setas

Asuluka 70 Carpenter 12/31105 Farmer in FP cocoa Cletus Umugurna plantation; migrated with

friends in 1964; wage of 5 Pesetas

Atasie 75 Farmer 04/2/04 Watch-day guard for a white Mathias Ogwuwgu man in FP; migrated alone

in 1948; wage of l0_£_esetas Dike 74 Trader 12/20/05 Farmer in FP banana

Udochukwu Ogwuwgu plantation; migrated alone in 1951; wage of 5 ~setas

Ekechukwu 75 Farmer 01/4/06 Farmer in FP cocoa/ coffee Fabian Ihiawa plantation; migrated alone

in 1953; wage of 18~setas Ihejieto 68 Farmer 12/19/05 Farmer in FP rubber Donatus Ogwuwgu plantation; migrated alone

in 1964; 15 pesetas Obiaku 78 Farmer 04/10/04 Farmer in FP cocoa

Timothy Umugurna plantation; migrated with friend in 1962; 5 _2_esetas

Obiaku 69 Trader 04/10/04 Housewife in FP; migrated Arnaka Umugurna after her husband (Timothy)

in 1963 Ogwudire 71 Farmer 12/31105 Farmer in FP cocoa Valentine Umuguma plantation; migrated alone

in 1958; wage of 10 pesetas Okehie 68 Security Guard 0112/06 Farmer in FP coffee

Sylvanus Ogwuwgu plantation; migrated alone in 1956, later his wife joined him; wage of l8_2_esetas

Okolie 70 Farmer 12/22/05 . Farmer in FP coffee Jude Umuguma plantation; migrated alone

in 1952; wage of 18 ~esetas Okonkwo 72 Farmer 12/31105 Farmer in FP rubber Matthew Orlu Umuake plantation; migrated alone

in 1952; wage of 18 jl_esetas

83

Opara 72 Secunty Guard ,......... Israel 12/29/05

\Fanner in FP cocoa \ Amakohia plantation; migrated alone Opara 68 Fanne;-- in \960; wage of 5 pesetas Loise 12/30/05 \ Trader in FP to help her \

Amakohia husband; mi~~ed after her Njemanze 69 Shoe Mende-;--

husband. <Israel in \963 Friday 12/22/05 Fanner in FP cocoa/banana \

Ireta plantations; migrated alone

Ugwonali 70 Fanner in 1963; wage of 15 pesetaS

Christian 04/10/04 Farmer in FP cocoa j Amakohia plantation; migrated with

his wife in 1959; wage of\ 5

Ukagha 1 oesetaS

BS Unemployed 04/\8/04 ·~ .... -. J Damian Ogwuwgu plantation; migrated with a friend in \944;wageof5 oesetaS

Umunnakwe 74 Farmer 0\/02/06 Farmer in FP cocoa/banana J Longinus Umuguma plantation; migrated alone

in \ 960; wa11,e of \ S pc_sew

Umunnakwe 68 Trader 01/02/06 \Housewife in FP; migrated J Grace Umuguma a 1\er her husband

(Lonv.inus) in \96\

APPENDIX B

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ON NIGERIAN LABOR MIGRATION TO FERNANDO PO

1. What is your name?

2. How old are you?

3. When were you born?

4. Are you married?

5. If yes, do you have children?

6. How many children do you have?

7. How many of them are male I female?

8. Did you go to school?

9. What is the level of your education?

10. What is your religion?

11. What do you do for a living?

12. Have you ever left your place of birth?

13. What do your parents do for a living?

14. What were you and your family doing before migrating?

15. When did you migrate?

16. Why did you migrate?

1 7. Did you migrate alone?

18. Ifno, with whom did you migrate?

19. How did you know about the place to which you migrated (Fernando Po)?

20. Where their people from other areas I parts of Nigeria?

85

21. II yes, Wllal wa:; your rcJaUUH WHU lUt;~t; J.JI;;UfJJC:

22. What were you doing in Fernando Po?

23. If you were working in plantations, who owned the plantations?

24. Were you paid?

25. If so, how much?

26. Were you living alone or in a group at Fernando Po?

21. How were the living conditions on Fernando Po?

28. What were the foods you ate?

29. Who prepared the food and where was it coming from?

30. What were the worst experiences you had at Fernando Po?

31. What were the best experiences you had at Fernando Po?

32. Did you have a supervisor?

33. If so, where were they from?

34. Who treated you better, the British or Spanish? Why?

35. Who treated you worse, the British or Spanish? Why?

36. How did migration affect your fellow migrants?

37. Have you been sick?

38. If so, how did you cope?

39. How were you treated or who treated you? Was it your friends, your family members, or the plantation owners?

40. How did you communicate with your relations at home (in Nigeria)?

41. When you migrated, who supported you? Was it your wife, family, or kin?

42. Were you sending money to your family members?

86

BIBLIOGRAPHY

.'\ PRIMARY SOURCES

ARCHIVAL MATERIALS

C.O 657/53: Annual Report ofthe Dept. Labor for the year 1944.

National Archive of Nigeria. Annual Report on the Work of the Labour Inspectorate. Enugu, 1940.

__ . Annual Report of the Department of Labor. Enugu, 1942.

__ .Annual Report ofthe Department of Labor and on the Resettlement of Ex­servicemen. Eungu, 1946.

__ . Annual Report of the Federal Ministry of Land Labor Division. Eungu, 1966-67.

Regional Archive of Nigeria. RAC 371/24526: Cypher telegram from Governor of Nigeria to S of S for the colonies. Calabar, 9 July, 1940.

National Archive of Nigeria. Labor Report ONPROF 525/2503. Enugu, 5 January, 1937.

__ .Nigeria Sessional Paper No. 38. Enugu, 1939.

__ • Nigeria Sessional Paper No. 21. Enugu, 1946.

Regional Archive of Nigeria.ONPROFCA/N0/42. Calabar, 31 July, 1952

_. RAC 371134771. Calabar, 22 Jan., 1943.

__ • RAC 583/240 W.A.F.F: Report for half year ending. Calabar, 31 Dec., 1938.

B. SECONDARY SOURCES

BOOKS

Afigbo, A.E. The Warrant Chiefs: Indirect Rule in Nigeria 1891-1929. New York: Humanities Press, Inc, 1972.

Cordell, Dennis D., Gregory, Joel W., and Piche, Victor. Hoe and Wage: A Social History of a Circular Migration System in West Africa. Colorado: Westview Press, 1996.

88

Cole. 1-l.M .. and Aniakor. C.lgbo Arts: Community and Cosmos. Regents of the University of California, 1984.

Dejong. G .. and Gardner, R. Migration Decision Making. New York: Pergamon, 1981.

Dike. A.A. The Resilience of lgbo Culture: A Case Study of Awka Town. Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers Co. Ltd, 1985.

Floyd, B. Eastern Nigeria: A Geographical Review. New York: Prager, 1969.

Ifemesia, C. C. Traditional Human Living among the Jgbo: An Historical Perspective Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishing Co.Ltd, 1979.

__ .Southeastern Nigeria in the nineteenth century: An Introduction Analysis. New York: NOK Publishers, 1978.

Max Liniger-Gournaz, "Historical Dictionary of Equatorial Guinea." African HistoricaiDictionaries, No.2 I. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc, 2000.

Njoku, Ndu L. Studies in Western Imperialism and African Development. Owerri: Tonyben Publishers, 1998.

Niven, R. Nigeria: Nations of the Modern World. New York: FREDERICK .PRAEGER, 1967.

Nworjih, C.A. A Study of the Origins, Characteristics, and Significance of the Traditional Art ofBlacksmithing in Southeastern Nigeria. UMI: Dissertation Services, 1993.

Nzula, A.T., et al. Forced Labour in Colonial Africa. London: Redwood Burn Ltd, 1979.

Okali, D., Okpara, E., and Olawoye, J. Rural-Urban Interaction and Livelihood Strategies Series: The case of Aba and its region southeastern Nigeria. London: Human Settlement Program liED, 2001.

Osuntokun, J. Nigeria-Fernando Po Relations from the 19TH Century to the Present. Papers read at the Canadian Africa Studies Association Conference. Sherbrooke PQ Canada, 1977, Aprii26-May3.

__ .Nigeria- Fernando Po Relation in Akinyemi, A.B Ed. Nigeria and the World. lbadan: University of lbadan, 1973.

Perkins, W.A., and Stembridge, J.H. Nigeria: A Description Geography. lbadan: OUP.1966.

89

Sundiata. I. K. From Slaving to Neo-slavery': The Bight of Bight and Fernando Po in the Era of Abolition. 1827-1930. London: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1996.

__ .Equatorial Guinea: Colonialism, State Terror. and the Search for Stability. Boulder, San Francisco, & Oxford: Westview Press, 1990.

Uwehue, R. African Today. London, African Book Ltd, 1991

ARTICLES

Akinyemi, B. Nigeria and Fernando Po, 1958-1966: The Politics oflrridentism. Africa Affairs 69, no.276 (1970, July): 236-249.

Arthur, J.A. International Labor migration Pattern in West Africa: African Studies Review 34, no.3 (1991, Dec.): 65-87.

Brown, R.T. Fernando Po and the Anti-Sierra Leonean Campaign, 1826-1834. The International Journal of African Historical Studies, 6, no.2 (1973): 249-264.

Byerlee, D.Rural-urban Migration in Africa: Theory, Policy and Research Implication.lnternational Migration Review 8 (1974): 543-566.

Clarence-Smith, G. The Impact of the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War on Portuguese and Spanish Africa. The Journal of African History, World War II and Africa 26, no.4 (1985): 309-326 .

. African and European Cocoa Producers on Fernando Po, 1880-1910. The Journal of African History 35, no.2 (1994): 179-199

Gould, W.T.S. International Migration in Tropical: A Bibliographical Review. International Migration Review 8, no.3 (Autumn, 1974): 347-365.

International Labor Organization. Inter-territorial migration of Africa south of the Sahara: International Labor Review 76 (1957): 292-310.

Mabogunje, A.L. System Approach to a Theory of Rural-urban Migration. Geographical Analysis 2 (1970): 1-17.

McCain, J.A. Migration Pattern in Nigeria. African Studies Review 15, no.2 (1972): 209-215, African Studies Association.

Onwubu, C. Ethnic Identity, Political Integration and National Development: The Igbo Diaspora in Nigeria. The Journal of Modern Africa Studies 13, no.3 (1975, Sept): 399-413.

90

Pcil. M. The Expulsion of West African Aliens: The Journal of Modern African Studies 9, no.2 (1971): 205-229.

Randall. F. The U.N Human Rights Commission: The Equatorial Guinea Case. Human Right Quarterly 3, no.l (1981, Feb): 34-47.

Sundiata, I.K. Prelude to Scandal: Liberia and Fernando Po. The Journal of African History 15, no.l (1974): 97-112.

Swindell, K. Labor Migration in Underdevelopment Countries: The case of Sub-Sahara Africa. Progress in Human Geography 3 (1979): 239-257.

Todaro, M. A Model of Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries. The American Economic Review 59, no.l (1969): 138-148.

ELECTRONIC SOURCES

Anonymous, http://classweb.gmu.edu/chauss/cponline/nigeria.htm.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, "lgbo Ukwu," www.britannica.com/eb/article-55308

Lipski, J.M. "The Spanish of Equatorial Guinea: research on Ia hispanidad's besk-kept secret," www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/j/m/jml34/eg.

Okafor, J.C. "Conservation and Use of Traditional Vegetable from Woody Forest Species in Southeastern Nigeria," www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/HTML Publications/500/ch04.htm.