Tag: Nigeria stamp

Here we have a country that in colonial times was the second largest exporter of tin in the world. The mining of tin is something that can be done just with a man and a pick axe. Yet post independence, and flush with oil revenue, the tin mining industry was allowed to wither to less than 10% of the 1910 level, below small and poor Rwanda. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

I don’t try to disguise my love for these colonial window into the colony stamps. Imagine the young stamp collector who may be trying to figure out what to do with his life viewing these stamps and seeing some truly exotic opportunities.

Todays stamp is issue A4, a one and a half Pence stamp issued by the British Crown Colony of Nigeria on February 1st, 1936. It was a 12 stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 40 cents used. There is a more perforation version that ups the value to $4.50 used. Independent Nigeria is pretty good for showing off their industries on their stamps, but the common 1974 issue doesn’t bother with mines. It does list vaccine production, and you were worried about some vaccine concocted in a hurry by President Trump or Bill Gates depending on your politics…

The National Africa Company was capitalized with private capital to operate a series of trading posts along the Niger River. It’s main business was palm oil but one of it’s employees/fortune seekers, Sir William Wallace discovered tin veins in the granite of the Jos Plateau in 1884. The company went through many changes including much competition from French and native King Ja Ja and in 1900 the assets were sold to the British Government.

In 1903, the British colonial administration did a survey of mineral resources in Nigeria and word got out about the opportunities available in tin mining. By 1910 over 80 companies  were involved in tin mining and Nigeria was the second largest tin exporter in the world after Russia. Production peaked at more than 13000 tons a year exported.

I did a stamp a while ago about the tin industry in Malaysia. There Chinese who had come to Malaya as coolies often stayed beyond their contract to make a fortune in tin. This was done initially with a pick axe and the strength of their back, see  https://the-philatelist.com/2019/01/07/malaysia-1974-remembering-the-tin-industry-during-its-malaysian-sunset/  . This would not prove possible in Nigeria. The independent government nationalized all ongoing mining activities. Then the chaos of the late 1960s Biafra civil war saw the departure of expatriate mining exports. With now low productivity came large losses and the government shut down the operations one by one. The most recent number for tin exports I could find was 574 tons.

In the 21st century, Nigeria has relaxed some of their restrictions on mining. In fact they are actively courting Chinese investment in the sector. I think we are beyond the day when Chinese send out large numbers of strong backed coolies. It will be interesting to watch how their adventurous investors fare.

Well my drink is empty. Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2020.

This is fun. Independent Nigerian political power mostly resides with the Christian south. Not as much in the British colonial period. So why not remember a long ago Hausa city state that was converted to Muslim by the many Arab traders. Less likely much remembered as the Hausa were conquered by the Fulani 200 years ago. The minaret on the the stamp survived and survives. Just as much of what the British built will long out last their rule. The hidden point. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your, er never mind, this is a Muslim story, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

The stamp does it’s best to make the 50 foot tall Gobarau Minaret look impressive. Notice the image is very close in because the city walls of the once thriving city state of Katsina are long gone. It does show the large period influence of the resident Arab traders in the conversion of the city to Muslim. Also in the architecture, as period Africans did not have two story buildings.

Todays stamp is issue A8, a six pence stamp issued by the colony of Nigeria on February 1st, 1936. It was a twelve stamp issue in various denominations, most showing industry in the colony. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 60 cents used.

The Hausa city state of Katsina lies in the far north of Nigeria near the Niger border. Though there is no period written history, it is believed to have been founded about 1100. Before the Muslims, it was ruled by a leader known as a Sarki. He was thought to be semi devine, but subject to instant death if the Gods believed him misruling. Like Timbuktu, the city had a reputation for great wealth and as an educational center.

The first Sarki that was a Muslim convert, Mohammadu Korau is believed to have supervised the construction of the Mosque and Minaret around 1400 AD. Others claim the complex is three hundred years newer, but remember we are in a period of no written language of the Hausa tribe.

In 1808 the Fulani tribe started a jihad against the Hausa with the goal of establishing a large Caliphate. The war was successful and the large Sokoto Caliphate formed, named after it’s new capital. After the conquering of Katsina, the Mosque on the stamp was replaced and began to be used as a school.

The Sokoto Caliphate affiliated with the British in 1903. Katsina is a city now of 400,000, with most of the residents have Fulani heritage.

Come again soon for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.

Independence was supposed to be a panacea. A new country is free of it’s old restraints and can now rise upwards. That was the hope and peoples hopes had been raised. When things then don’t turn out so well people adjacent to power will think they can do better. To coup or not to coup? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

Todays stamp is a well drawn picture of a parrot. Whats not to like. Well Nigeria was going into it’s phase of coups and even a civil war. Early independent Nigeria had kept the colonial tradition of showing things actually happening there and people for whom it would be interesting to learn more about. Instead here we have a topical stamp with animals that was only of interest to worldwide topical stamp collectors. In other words, selling out.

Todays stamp is issue A49, a nine penny stamp issued by the Republic of Nigeria in 1965. It was a 14 stamp issue in various denominations that showed animals of Nigeria. There are overprints of this issue with FGN during the civil war that were not issued by the government but sold to collectors. Since not issued they are considered fake but some worked when sent through the mail. The stamps were also reprinted by a later government around 1970. So this stamp, being apolitical and available had some staying power in a rough time. According to the Scott catalog, the stamp is worth 60 cents used. The 1970 version loses 10 cents of that.

Nigeria was ruled as a federation with some autonomy to its regions during British colonial times. When independence came in 1960, it was one country that even grew some by adding Muslim regions of Cameroon. Nigeria had a large population and oil resources that had been discovered by the British but nor fully developed since Britain had a deal with Persia to supply it’s oil needs on generous terms. Thus there was a lot of optimism for national success. There was also a sense of Pan Africaism where the former colonies of the European powers would gradually come together and develop into a hopefully peaceful, prosperous world power.

The instrument of independence was handed to Jaja Wachuku, an Irish trained Christian Chief of the Ngwa clan of the Igbo tribe. He didn’t seek power himself but performed various jobs for the early independent governments. Political parties were on tribal grounds but early on the more conservative and liberal parties were able to work together. Wachuka was able by lobbying Britain and the USA to use their influence to save Nelson Mandela from a death sentence regarding armed uprising in South Africa. He also helped get Liberia into the UN and Togo excluded from the Organization of African Unity because it was the first African country to suffer a military coup. Later as aviation minister, Wachuku resigned when he was unable to remove an important party figure who was stealing from Nigerian Airways. Hope begins to crack.

Within the armed forces of many African nations there were those whose hope began to wane. The early leaders of independence were often crooked, not achieving African union, and still with their hand out to the old colonials. It was hoped that a series of military coups a Free Africa Movement could get things back on track by using military discipline to purge the corrupt and then Africa could come together. In Nigeria, young Muslim officers from Northern Nigeria lead a coup, but instead of a coming together, the Christian Biafrans rebelled and civil war ensued.

The massive oil wealth of Nigeria has mainly been squandered. Wachuka himself was jailed by Biafra for criticizing their use of child soldiers. He was later freed and took up a Senate seat where now he was only representing his tribe. Pan Africanism is over. Today one of the military rulers from Nigeria’s many coups has just been elected to a second term on an anti-corruption platform. As in many other African countries, ex military leaders are elected as people remember fondly their earlier attempts to get things back on track in earlier times. Perhaps the best from a field of bad choices.

Well my drink is empty and I will pour another to toast former Nigerian colonial Governor Fredrick Lugard. We have talked about his work in British East Africa here, https://the-philatelist.com/2018/09/07/imperial-british-east-africa-company-1890-another-company-fails-to-administer-a-colony/ and his work in Hong Kong here https://the-philatelist.com/2018/10/26/hong-kong1891-the-british-build-the-premier-university-in-asia-for-the-chinese-but-climb-the-hill-to-avoid-their-filth/  . He believed it was better to let the British fade into the background and let the tribes handle themselves administrative matters. It seemed to work best of what has been tried there. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2019.

Trading posts often get bogged down in nation building. Even after the failure of the British East India company, it was tried again later, this time in Nigeria. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

A trading post in an exotic land can produce a stamp a little different than a colony. The users of the stamp  will almost always be employees of the trading company stationed in what to them must have seemed the darkest of Africa. Native attacks, tropical diseases, and even attacks of rival traders were real threats. There must have been a terrible sense of being alone. The mail service must have been a lifeline and of course Queen Victoria was a welcome presence on the stamps. To make these adventurers think their home remembered them.

Todays stamp is issue A20, a one Shilling stamp issued by the Royal Niger Company for use in the Niger Coast Protectorate, currently southern Nigeria, in 1894. It was part of a 6 stamp issue in various denominations. One Shilling in 1894 is worth 5.21 Pounds today. According to the Scott catalog, The stamp is worth $90 today in it’s mint state. For once in my undistinguished collection, this is the most valuable version of the issue, if we exclude overprints.

The trade with the Niger river delta mainly involved palm oil, that was used in the production of soap. The early trading post were not successful economically as there were many rival trading stations that often engaged in price wars with each other. There were British, French, and German trading posts in the area which was still ruled by local Africans.

Sir George Goldie had the idea to merge several of the rival British firms so as to be a monopoly of the trade. The British Gladstone government refused a charter. The failure of the British East India Company was recent and the government did not think a private company could adequately administer the area in question. The rival German and French traders also might bring conflict with those countries. Goldie set out raising money to prove his plans creditable and signed exclusive trading agreements with area tribes. A Royal Charter would be good for the stock he was floating and would make the treaties he was signing enforceable by the British government. A conference in Berlin conferred to Britain the territory that Goldie was operating in and the charter was then granted.

Though the harvesting from the palms was performed by African women regardless of the race of the trading house, one local tribal leader became a rival to Goldie and the Royal charter proved it’s worth. King Jaja of Opobo had been sold into slavery among Africans at age 12. He proved his worth in business and rose in a trading house in Bonny earning his freedom. His tribe named him a chief and he became a head of the biggest local palm oil trading house. His trading house broke away the city state of Opobo from the African territory of Bonny. He managed later shipments of palm oil to Britain without dealing with any British middlemen. the only native to do so. He was on board the ship heading for Liverpool with a shipment when a British warship invited him aboard. He was then arrested for violating the trade treaty signed by Goldie but now enforced by Britain and sent into exile. Though he was not imprisoned, indeed was a guest of Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace. He was not allowed to return to Bonny out of fear he would go back into business. As an old man, King Jaja was given permission to return home but died on the journey. His city state did not survive his absence.

The fears of Prime Minister Gladstone proved correct. The Royal Niger Company was forced to cede the area to the new British Crown Colony of Southern Nigeria. The company was paid less than it’s original capital but was able to continue as a trading house in the new colony. In the 1920s, the company was bought out by Unilever the Anglo-Dutch soap maker. The Nigerian city of Opobo still contains a statue to King Jaja put up at public subscription in 1903.

Palm oil cultivation is no longer a huge industry in independent Nigeria. World suppliers are now dominated by Malaysia and Indonesia. Nigeria is now actually a net importer of palm oil. There is talk of outside economic aid bringing it back this time as a tool of  female economic empowerment.

Well my drink is empty. This turned more a story of economics than of local subjugation as most colony stories end up. The relentless effort to get lower prices eventually makes the underlying activity not worth doing. Come again  for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting. First published in 2018.

The British involvement in Lagos began as part of their early 19th century efforts to stamp out the slave trade. That accomplished, why not stick around and see what can be done with the place. A railroad could be built that went right up to the port. If there is to be a port for real ships, there will have to be dredging of the sandbars and something must be done about the violent tides. Gosh this sounds like a lot of work. Here’s hoping when it is done people will remember who got it done in a desolate place. Maybe if there was a stamp? So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage, and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.

This stamp was part of the Silver Jubilee stamp issues that came throughout the Empire celebrating the long, and nearly over reign of King George V. What was really great about them is that the standard design allowed a window into the actual colony. What a great thing for a collector, the comfort and beauty of a standard design and then the intrigue of the window to the far off place. The Apapa port really was a lot of work, and still important 100 years later, and stamp collectors get to open a window to it.

Todays stamp is issue A2, a half Penny stamp issued by the Colony of Nigeria on February 1st, 1936. It was a twelve stamp issue in various denominations. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth $1.50 unused.

The area around Lagos was first spotted by the Portuguese. The name comes from the Portuguese word of Lakes. After the British declared the slave trade illegal and that slave ships were pirate ships, the Royal Navy sent a naval squadron  to patrol the west African coast from Sierra Leonne south. There was still many slaves going to Brazil and Cuba. The slaves the navy freed were often dropped off in Lagos. The freed slaves began to wield some power in the African lead Kingdom of Lagos and when the Lagos King went after them, the British intervened on their behalf. The Kingdom of Lagos accepted British domination and outlawed slavery. With threats perceived from nearby French outposts, it was decided to formalize Lagos as a colony.

Well with a lot of new people and the banning of the biggest industry, thing may have not looked so rosy for Lagos. Well there still was the palm oil trade and agricultural opportunities and starting in 1898 the British constructed a rail network deep into the interior of the country. The spot where the new train got to the coast at Apapa was chosen to be the main port of Lagos. There were big problems. Sandbars made navigation through the harbor difficult and near impossible  for big ships. The tides also were a big challenge regarding water depth. In 1906, British money was appropriated for a massive dredging of Lagos harbor and two large moles were constructed. Moles are large stone breakwaters the ease the tide issue. Then in 1919 a 180 foot wharf was constructed  and four large ship berths with a total length of 1800 feet were completed in 1926. The port has had three major extensions since.

One thing the British got wrong was the overemphasis on the train line. By the time the port was operating and especially after independence, trucks became much more important in the movement of goods. Dealing with the traffic congestion has been a constant and ongoing issue. Meanwhile the railway system deteriorated with all rail service ending and the government owned railway declared bankrupt in 1988. Lagos however is now a megacity with the busiest port in Africa and over 16 million people. The port is now, since 2005 operated by the Danish firm Maersk.

Well my drink is empty and thanks to this stamp we can  pour another to toast those with the vision to construct a large port where nature wasn’t on their side. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.