Abstract
Roads and railway lines are two colonial infrastructures that have great impact on the colonial economy as well as the indigenous people. Roads and railways were established and constructed by the colonialist, principally for the exploitation and easy evacuation of the needed resources to the coast for onward shipment to Europe. The paper examines the impact of roads and railway on the economy and society of Zamfara area in the colonial and post-colonial periods. Historical approach of inquiry was used in which both primary and secondary sources of information were used. The paper revealed that, roads and railway networks was used as a means of exploitation and evacuation of agricultural resources by the colonialist. Other impacts of roads and railways in the area include migration, population increase and physical expansion. It also led to the emergence of companies/industries which led to the increase in commercial activities and urbanization among others.
Keywords: Roads, Railways, Construction, Impact, Zamfara
DOI: 10.36349/sokotojh.2022.v11i01.001
CONSTRUCTION OF ROADS AND RAILWAYS AND ITS IMPACT ON CENTRAL AND NORTHERN SENATORIAL DISTRICTS OF ZAMFARA
Idris Salisu Kurah
Zamfara State College of Education, Maru
Abstract
Roads and railway lines are two colonial infrastructures that have
great impact on the colonial economy
as well as the indigenous people. Roads and railways were established and
constructed by the colonialist,
principally for the exploitation and easy evacuation of the needed resources to
the coast for onward shipment to
Europe. The paper examines the impact of roads and railway on the economy
and society of Zamfara area in the colonial and post-colonial periods.
Historical approach of inquiry
was used in which both primary and secondary sources of information were used. The paper revealed that, roads and
railway networks was used as a means of exploitation and evacuation of agricultural resources by the colonialist. Other
impacts of roads and railways in the area
include migration, population increase and physical expansion. It also led to
the emergence of companies/industries
which led to the increase in commercial activities and urbanization among others.
Introduction
Gusau, Tsafe
and Kaura-Namoda are located in the Central and Northern Senatorial Districts
of Zamfara. Just like other states in
Nigeria Zamfara State also has three Senatorial Districts (North, Central and Western Senatorial Districts).
Gusau and Tsafe are located in the Central while Kaura- Namoda in the Northern Senatorial Districts, all of which were
districts during the colonial period.1 It is important to note that between1903 and 1966, Zamfara Land
was part of Sokoto Province as well
as Sokoto Division. This is because in 1903 Northern Protectorate was organized
under 16 Provinces which was later
pruned to 13 in 1911. However, in 1926 the protectorate system was reorganized across the whole of Northern
Region which produces 11 Provinces and 42 Divisions. Remarkably, by 1966 the Northern Region had 13 Provinces Sokoto
inclusive.2 It is also important to
note that the area of study fall within Sokoto Province. The transformation of
the political structure of the
country in 1966 and subsequently the creation of 12 states structure by General Yakubu Gowon on 27th May, 1967
led to the creation of North-Western State with Sokoto as its capital in which Zamfara land was a part.
Further restructuring that followed up subsequently during the regime of Late General Murtala Ramat
Muhammad led to the structuring of the Federation into 19 States including Sokoto State. On 23rd September
1987 two additional States were created namely, Katisna and Akwa Ibom by General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida
with additional 9 states
1
For more information on the geography and boundary of both Gusau
Tsafe and Kaura-Namoda as Districts, see NAK/SOK Prof: 222/1920: District Assessment Chafe, Kwianbana, Gusau, Kotorkoshi and Bungudu by Mr. Saxon, A.D.O.
1920.
2
K. S. Chafe, ―Zamfara State: It‘s Challenges and Prospects in the Nigerian Federation‖, Being a Public Lecture at the 20thAnniversary of the Creation of Zamfara State, 1st October,2016. pp.16-19.
in the same
year.3 Similarly, in 1996, the regime of late General Sanin Abacha
saw creation of additional 6 states in which Zamfara was carved out from
Sokoto State.4
Roads and railways were the major and necessary
means of transportation introduced and maintained by the colonial masters. They were established and constructed principally for the
exploitation and easy evacuation of the needed resources to the coast
for onward shipment to Europe. There
were quite a number of roads that were constructed that linked the production
centres and villages with the
railway stations. So also there were roads constructed from Zaria through Tsafe to Gusau up to Sokoto which are parts of the study area
except Kaura-Namoda which was not located
along that axis. However, the Kaura-Namoda road was given much consideration by
the colonialist due to fact that it
was one of the areas that produced the needed farm products notably groundnuts and cotton. The issue of
groundnut and cotton production, stands out as one of the important
reasons that which attracted
the extension of railway to the area.
Walter Rodney categorically spelt out the motives of building roads
and railways.5 He said that,
they were meant for the benefit of the Europeans. He emphasized that the
means of transportation were not
constructed in the colonial period so that the Africans could visit their
friends. More important still, they
were not laid down to facilitate the internal trade of African commodities.
There were no roads connecting
different colonies and different parts of the same colony in a manner that made sense with regards to Africa‘s need and development. They were built to extract
gold, manganese, coffee or
cotton. They were built to make business possible for the timber companies, trading companies, and agricultural
concession firms etc.6 Despite above arguments by Rodney, the roads and railway had equally
significantly contributed towards development and expansion of the areas. Gusau, for example, has been ranked
second only to Sokoto in terms of development and Kano in terms of trade. Similarly, as a result of trading
activities, migrants were provided with opportunities
to move to the town as a result
of the presence of the railway. The extension of railway
to Kaura-Namoda also made it possible for migrants from far areas including Niger Republic to come, settle and tap various opportunities.
Establishment
and Expansion of Road Infrastructure
The history of
road construction by the British Government in Nigeria went as far back as 1885 when measures to construct roads took
serious action, and that was the time when ordinance was passed by the British government which made her to take positive
measures to construct roads. Following
the passage of the ordinance in 1885, few roads were constructed and maintained
by the chiefs. Four years later, by 1889, an estimated
number of 250 miles laterite
roads were constructed in Lagos and its environs. The British government further
decided to embark on the construction of feeder roads, which heralded
the transformation of road transport
in Nigeria.7 So also, these roads
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3.
This happened on August 21st bringing a total number of 30 States. Yet,
Zamfara Land was under Sokoto. Since 1996 when General Sani Abacha announced
the creation of six additional states in Nigeria, Zamfara state was detached from Sokoto state with its
headquarters at Gusau, while Tsafe and Kaura-Namoda served as Local Government headquarters under
Zamfara State.
4.
K.S. Chafe, ―Zamfara
State: It‘s Challenges and Prospects…pp.18-19.
5.
W. Rodney, How Europe
Underdeveloped Africa, London,
Bogle – L ‗Ouverture Publications, 1972. p. 228
6.
W. Rodney, How Europe
Underdeveloped Africa…
7.
Y. U. Madugu, ― A Historical Overview in the Changing
Nature of Transport and Trade in Kano , C. 1900-1960‖ in M. T. Usman and M. A. Rufa‘I, (eds), Social and Economic
History of Northern
Nigeria Since 1500 A.D.
must be built if British really want to achieve her aim of evacuating the needed raw materials to feed
her industries. Therefore, one may ask at this point that, what were the
avenues used in the construction of
these roads, out rightly through labour provided by the indigenes of the areas particularly where it was
constructed, what Madawaki called colonial labour.8
The road
construction was given greater emphasis as the colonial officials capitalized
under the Road Proclamation Act (RPA)
of 1903 in the recruitment of labour. As a result of the Act, the Sultan
directed all the district and village heads to embark on the cutting of trees
and grasses to construct feeder
roads. The labour for the construction was made compulsory to the extent that failure to comply will be met with a fine
of an amount not exceeding £50.9 The
second pattern of labour recruitment
for the construction of roads was the payment of ten shilling (10/-) per mile
each per each headman to pay the labourers the completion of
their work.10
By 1926, the
Government has built about 2,950 miles of road maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD) and between £20 to £40 a
mile was spent on them. In the same year roads were divided into trunk ‗A‘,‘B‘ and minor roads.11 The
trunk ‗A‘ comprised of the roads constructed and maintained by the Public Works Department. These were the
major roads, usually laterite or gravel roads supporting large concrete bridges
and culverts. The trunk ‗B‘ category were built and maintained by the Native Authority. These were usually
narrow interred roads. By 1933 an estimated
762 miles of motarable roads existed in Sokoto Province.12 By 1936, there
were nearly two thousand miles of motarable road
within the Province, but admittedly many of these roads were of poor standard and it became a policy
that these roads should be gradually improved.13 It was believed
that building of the culverts
will be important as they solidify the roads. Therefore, government assisted the Native Administration by granting funds for two major bridges
constructions at Kaura-Namoda and Zurmi respectively.14
Despite this laudable effort however, the two
bridges were not constructed till 1938 in which the one at Kaura-Namoda was
completed and opened for traffic in
the same year and the other one at Zurmi was at completion stage.15
In order to link up Sokoto and
Katsina Provinces, the third bridge at the border was jointly financed by the
two Native Administrations (of Sokoto and
Katsina).16
![]() |
Makurdi, Aboki Publishers, 2015, p. 221. See also, R. O. Ekundare, An Economic
History of Nigeria,
1860-1960, London,
Mathiuen & Co. Ltd, 1973. p.142.
8
See M. A. Madawaki, ―British Colonial Labour Policies in the South-Eastern Districts of Zamfara, 1903-1960‖ M. A.History Dissertation, Usmanu Danfodiyo
University, Sokoto, 2012.
9
NAK, SNP, 2089/1907-Compulsory Native
Labour in the British Colonies.
10
Ibid.
11
I. A. Akinjogbin and S. A. Obasi, Topics on Nigerian
Economic and Social History, Ile-Ife, Ife University
Press, p.104.
12
NAK/SNP., 17/2. Sokoto
Province Annual Report. 1933.
13
AHK/, 19/1/ A.7, AR/2/7: Annual Report on the Northern Provinces of Nigeria 1936, by Resident,
Commander J.
H. Carrow. p.46.
14
Ibid.
15
AHAK/, 19/1/ A.9, AR/2/9:Annual Report on the Northern Provinces
of Nigeria 1938, by Senior Resident, Commander J. H. Carrow, p.56.
16
Ibid.
Between 1939
and 1945, a considerable programme of roads construction took place under the Colonial Development Welfare Scheme
(CDWS).17 Another noticeable change took place in 1952 when the Regional
Public Works Department (RPWD) was established and charged with the responsibility of trunk ‗B‘ roads. The
Federal Government constructed and maintained trunk ‗A‘ roads. Minor roads still carried out local traffic and therefore
acted as feeders to the trunk ‗A and B‘ roads.18
The colonial government had spent about £ 14 million on road construction from
1955- 1960.19 From 1953 to
1960 also, most of the major roads were improved and modern concrete bridges were built. From 1945 to 1960,
road transport became more important than the railway because it penetrated almost every nook and crannies of the cities.20
Despite the
fact that reasonable number of roads were not constructed during the early
colonial rule, the existing
ones were maintained and improved. Tibenderana had provided more clarification on the
above statement that, shortly after the establishment of colonial rule the
colonial state made efforts to
improve and maintain some of the existing roads in the different parts of
metropolitan Sokoto Caliphate which
was now re-designated as Sokoto Province. These roads included old trade routes
(of Trans-Sahara trade) which already
linked up towns and villages
within the area.21 As such, the motor
service in form of private enterprises started operating between Zaria and
Sokoto provinces, mainly between Zaria and Gusau. This service
comprised modern lorries.22
Zaria-Gusau
road was among the roads maintained by the British and it was completed in
1926, thereby linking Sokoto and its
districts to the other parts of the country. The completion of this road no doubt facilitated motor transport from
other parts of Nigeria to Sokoto through Zaria and Gusau. By 1927, a regular motor transport service
between Zaria and Sokoto had become operational. Usman elaborates that, the colonial administration constructed
motarable roads to facilitate the transportation
of cotton to Gusau, then to Lagos for export. By 1928, the Sokoto-Zaria road
was completed which linked Sokoto
with other parts of the Northern Nigeria and by extension the South of the country..23 So also, the
cotton buying stations in eastern Sokoto emirate were linked by motorable
roads which allowed for easy evacuation of crops to ginnery in Gusau.24
The traffic
was made busier in 1930 when the Railway motor service was introduced.25
So also, these roads have been
classified into two, the all-weather roads and the dry-season roads. In our
area of study, there were the existence
of the all-weather (dry and raining season)
roads and the dry-
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17
R. O. Ekundare, An Economic
History of Nigeria
1860-1960... pp. 264-267.
18
Ibid.
19
D. O. Eweza, ―A History of Transport System between Asaba in Delta
State and Onitsha in Anambra State from 1954-1996‖ M. A. History Dissertation, Bayero
University, Kano, 2001. pp.
21-23.
20
Ibid.
21
P. K. Tibenderana, Sokoto
Province under Colonial Rule, 1903-1939: A Study in Institutional Adaptation
and the Culturalization of Colonial
Society in Northern Nigeria, Zaria, Ahmadu Bello University Press limited,
1988. pp. 426-427.
22
AHAK/, 19/1/A1, A. R.2/2: Annual
Report on the Northern
Province of Nigeria,
1926. p. 21
23
M.T.Usman, ―Commerce and Industry in the Former Sokoto Province, C. 1903-1990‖ in M. T. Usman and M. A. Rufa‘i, (ed), Social and Economic History of Northern
Nigeria Since 1500 AD, (Makurdi, Aboki Publishers, 2015). p. 46.
24
Ibid.
25 NAK, SNP, 17/2/1667, Sokoto Provincial Annual Report No. 28, 1931.
season roads
(use in the dry season only). The Zaria- Gusau- Sokoto road that was discussed belongs to the all-weather roads,26 while Anka, Bukkuyum
and Gusau-Kaura-Namoda which involves
the construction of two major bridges at Anka and Kaura-Namoda were the dry
season roads that were included
in the Sokoto Province development plan in 1935.27 There were some roads
that were constructed mainly to connect railway station. In 1932 for example,
in readiness for groundnuts season,
dry weather roads were to be rehabilitated to link Kucheri, Chafe, Karazau and Nahuce rail stations.28 It should be understood that all these roads constructed in the above mentioned
villages were located between Faskari, Tsafe, Gusau and Kaura-Namoda where
railway passed. These feeder roads
served quite a number of purposes some of which were meant to provide enough
passengers and cargo traffic for the new railway. 29 For migration of people to the prosperous areas where railways were
constructed for greener pasture, and of course for the benefit of the
colonialist for easy movement of
troops to area of riots.
The Impact of Road Construction during the Colonial Period
One of the
reasons behind the road construction according to the British officials was in
order to enhacing communication with
all District head-quarters.30 The other benefit was to provide the means of evacuating cotton produced in
some areas. For instant, the conversion of Gusau- Kaura- Namoda- Moriki road and Gusau-Anka, Gummi road was because, ‗Gusau ginnery had been good for ginning in 1935 in which about 9 tonnage was ginned and that it was necessary
to install another ginnery for more
production around Gusau-Kaura-Namoda, Jibia Trunk Road and heavy weight machineries were transported, and
also ginning continues beyond the end of the dry season and baled cotton as
well as bagged seeds were produced and carried to rail head for export.31
Another importance attached to these roads network
is that it cuts across both the colonial government and the natives which mean the two parties benefited
from the road construction. One of
its importances was that it reduced labour demands on the peasants, especially
as carriers for British Towering
Officers (BTO) provision as observed by Tibenderana.32 He went ahead
to reveale that, quite a number of
people in the cotton growing areas in Sokoto Province like Gusau and Kaura-Namoda, Tsafe, Moriki, Bungudu
etc benefited from the new transport system
simply because they no longer
travel long distance using the traditional method of Donkeys and Camels before
they could sell their
products.33
The advent
of motor vehicles
and motor transport
has been a turning point
in the history of colonialism. It predated railway
transportation which served
almost the same purposes but with some differences. Of course this transport system was not introduced at the early period of
![]() |
26
RDS 13/1/9/- Gusau-Kaura-Namoda JibiaTrunk Road. p.9.
27
Ibid, p.18.
28
Ibid. p.19.
29
R.O. Ekundare, An Economic History
of Nigeria, 1860-1960…p. 142.
30
NAK Prof. 4410 vol. Handing Over Note. p. 44.
31
Ibid,..See also RDS 13/1/9/-
Gusau-Kaura-Namoda JibiaTrunk Road. p.. 17., and AHK/,19/A.
R., A.R. 2/2: Annual Report on the Northern Provinces of
Nigeria, 1929. p. 30.
32
Op. Cit, P. K. Tibenderana, Sokoto Province
under Colonial Rule…p. 243.
33
Ibid.
colonialism
but continuation of pre-colonial transport system was maintained until certain
period. Sifawa lamented this and asserted
in an elaborate form that:
Although up to the early 1920s, the pre-colonial transportation system remained
the major means of public transportation not only among the natives, but
including the expatriate firms, the
situation started changing in the late 1920s. The period witnessed the gradual increase in the number of vehicles owned by government and individuals.34
The number of
motor vehicles increased from 1934-35 when there were 9 motor drivers dwelled
at Sabon Gari Gusau and 12 at the
railway quarters (Yarloko). There were also 16 railway motor employees at Railway quarters and 72 at
railway station.35 There were also 8 road labourers who were pulled to work at the construction
site of roads as it result of the increase in the demand of roads because of the increase in the
number of motor vehicles at the railway motor quarters as well as 23 casual labourers at Sabon Gari.36
Ekundare
observed that, throughout the 1920s and 1930s the motor transport services
continued to develop as more people could afford to buy lorries, which were used mainly for carrying agricultural export produce from the
interior to the coast.37 This increase in the number of people that owned vehicles continue to increase by 1953, when there were over 38 lorry owners operating in Gusau with total number of 56 trucks.38
It was in 1927 that private motor operators began regular transport services with lorries that
conveyed passengers between Sokoto and Zaria and those that could not make it through
the Niger-Nigeria cattle routes to Kaura-Namoda conveyed
their agricultural commodities
to Sokoto for transport to Gusau.39
Transport and its business have not been given much attention
in Tsafe unlike in Gusau. Yet the earliest people to own motor vehicles
in Chafe were Alhaji Bahadeje and Ahaji Sule who both had one lorry
each.40 The former engaged himself
in different businesses including cattle trading of which he was the most
famous in that business in the whole of Tsafe district.41
The Extension
of Railway Line to Zamfara Area
Precisely the
extension of railway line started as early as 1924 when surveys were carried
out between Jebba and Zungeru up to
Sokoto, and between Zaria and Sokoto to construct railway. In October, 1925 approval was given to
construct 107 miles from Zaria to Gusau.42 The work started in the same year and completed in January,
1929 and was extended to Kaura-Namoda in October, 1929, covering a distance of 137 miles of rail line from Zaria. Centrally, the desire to extend the
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34
A. A. Sifawa, Colonial State and Urbanization in Sokoto Metropolis…p.74.
35
NAK/Sok Porf. 3176: Gusau District-Sokoto Division
Re-assessment of. 1934-35.
36
Ibid.
37
R. O. Ekundare, An Economic History
of Nigeria 1860-1960… p. 146.
38
Gusau District Note Book/26/
History Bureau Sokoto, 1553. p. 35.
39
A. Sani and M. Bello, ―The Impact of
the
Collapse of
Kaura-Namoda
Railway Terminus on Nigeria-Niger Economic Relations, in A. M. Ashafa et-al (ed),…pp.
465-466.
40
WJHCB/DBN/93/5/13: Chafe District
Note Book, 1950. p. 139.
41 Ibid. Also, Oral interview with Alh. Isiya Sanusi, 72 Years, Politician/Farming, at his Resident Sauri Area Tsafe. 42 Ibid. p.280.
railway to
Kaura-Namoda was to tap the vast resources of cotton and groundnuts as well as
to get access to some areas in Sokoto
province linking them up with the provinces of Katsina, Zaria and other areas in the Northern
protectorate as well as with areas down to the coast in southern Nigeria.43
The railway
scheme in Northern Nigeria as a whole was largely constructed through what
Lugard devised as ‗local‘ method,
where by the construction was organized by the Native Authority and not by the Resident Engineer.44
Abubakar quoting Tamuno testified that, the colonial state used its administrative and military personnel, local
chiefs and labourers in
executing the railway scheme.45
Mentioned has been made that the Native Authorities were
given the responsibility of organizing the labour for the construction. The Native Authorities were
assigned to get the specific number of men which emirs were expected
to contribute to the labour
pool of the colonial state.
The emirs in turn delegated
the task of mobilizing of forced labour to district and village headmen. Each village within the districts were assigned
specific number of men which their village heads must supply to the railway construction sites within their areas of
jurisdiction failure for which they could be dethroned.46
Concerning the
number of labourers utilized in the construction site, at one point a large
numbers of labourers were steadily maintained, in fact, up to 10,000 labourers were involved in railway construction line.47 However,
the Annual Report of the Sokoto Province of 1922 revealed that, the Sokoto N. A. supplied 2,000-2,500 able
bodied men to the labour pool of Colonial State at a short notice. Also during construction of
Tsafe-Gusau-Kaura-Namoda railroad and more particularly the extension to Kaura-Namoda from Gusau, the
Colonial State made claim to the right to use male in forced labour in emergencies or in undertaking some urgent work
for the benefit of the community as
‗duty‘ which the law imposed upon the people without remunerations.48
Since labour for the various colonial
undertakings was mobilized through the system of levy in which districts and village
heads were directed
to supply certain
quota as the single most important colonial
infrastructure on which forced labour was used, railway construction
became responsible for the creation of full time labourers in towns and villages with no skills
to offer than their physical
energy. Such labourers were
mobilized in towns and villages close to the construction sites. District and village heads were not only involved in the mobilization of labour, but also in the supervision of
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43
Ibid. See also
M. N. Abubakar, ―Colonial Economy
and Colonial…p.
122. Abubakar added beside the above reasons that among the objectives of extending the railway to Kaura-Namoda was to have access to the area for easy movement of stores, personnel as
well as troops of the colonial state for easy infiltration of under-cover operatives for the purpose of spying on
the neighbouring French territories and of
luring trade from these territories.
(French territories here refers to Niger Republic which in no longer distance
bordered with Kaura- Namoda).
44
T. Tamuno, ―The Genesis of Nigerian…pp. 123-124. in
N. M. Abubakar, ―Colonial Economy
and Colonial
Infrastructure … p. 124.
45
Ibid. N. M. Abubakar, ―Colonial Economy and Colonial Infrastructure… quoted . in N. M. Abubakar, ―Colonial Economy and Colonial Infrastructure … p. 124.
46
M.A, Mamman, ―The Role of
the Native Authority in
the Agrarian and Pastoral Economy of Katsina Emirate, 1903-1960” Ph D
Thesis, History Department, Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria, 2004. pp. 131-145. See also NAK SNP, 17/1094. Vo.
I: Eastern Railway Extension-Zaria-Gusau
Branch. p. 1.
47
A. Shoyebi, ―Railway as a Factor
for British Colonial Domination… pp.121-124.
48
NAK Sokprof. 44/1922
Province Annual Report
1922.
the
construction work at the site.49 Sometimes the work comes in the
form of clearing tracks for the laying of telegraph as well as maintenance
of and repairs of the rail lines and tracks.50
The Impact of Railway
Line on Zamfara Area
The extension
of railway line to the specific areas of in the present day central and
northern senatorial districts of
Zamfara State and more particularly to Tsafe, Gusau and Kaura-Namoda respectively has been very important in our discussion. Its establishment and extension had benefited
both the principal actors (colonialist) and the indigenes of the affected areas
in so many ramifications.51 Obiakor
and Agajelu have summarized the motives behind the
introduction of railway which concurred with the roles of railway lines
in the following:
Curiosity in Britain about the interior areas of Nigeria, the desire to expand British trade, the British manufacturers desired the opening up of the Nigerian interior as new markets for their goods to reach the produce centres where the water ways cannot reach, development of railway was necessary to help the colonial merchants
49
Ibid.
50
NAK Prof, 3/2 Acc. No. Agency,
275, 320 Vol.1.
Telegraph Communication Sokoto
Province.
51 See Lugard‘s assertion as regard to the mutual and reciprocal importance and reasons behind the establishment of the colonial infrastructure in Africa in the introduction of this chapter.
in moving cash crops and extractive minerals from where they were produced inland
to the harbour for export. 52
The bulky
nature of both import and export commodities as well as the absence of good
roads unavailability of heavy haulage
road vehicles, were the reasons
that encouraged the Colonial government to establish railway
transport. There was also the need to establish a more flexible movement
of colonial administrative personal in the vast colony especially after the amalgamation of 1914.53
Our studies
have shown that, Gusau Tsafe and Kaura-Namoda have been areas blessed with the fertile
land which gave these areas the opportunity to produce the needed farm products in abundance.
Agricultural products like cotton and groundnuts were available most especially
in these areas under review. Unlike
in Sokoto according to Sifawa which was very significant politically as the administrative headquarters of both
the defunct Sokoto Caliphate and the newly established province of which no attempt
was made to extend the railway line,
and the reason according him was
simply because there was small quantity of raw materials like cotton and
groundnut there.54 Hannatu
provided an elaborate explanation on the role of railway creation and extension
that, it was constructed to promote the exploitation of the Nigerian
by the colonialist (British colonial
government); thus its construction and expansion was done to meet the
need and demand of the colonial
administration. It therefore served the purpose for which it was created and
more because it resulted in
increase and growth of the agricultural sector within the colonial period.55
Usman was categorical on this issue where he revealed that the extension of the railway
line from Zaria to Gusau and Kaura-Namoda in 1929 was yet
another infrastructural facility developed by the colonial administration which contributed to the
growth of commercial activities between Sokoto Province and other parts of Nigeria. The railway extension provided
direct and efficient means of evacuating cotton and other goods from Sokoto Province
to Lagos for export to Europe.56
It was
generally assessed that, no type of transportation offer cheap services with
added value on the net gains than railway
in Nigeria.57 Givan and Oyemakinde looked at the role of railway on the point that it set up a massive upsurge
in the production of export crops and mining in Nigeria.58 To Crowder, the railway stimulated the
transport of commercial goods, likewise it played the role of transporting the British administrative personnel. A system
of telegraph communications essential
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52
N. J. Obiiaka and
A. C.
Agajelu,
―British
Colonial Economic
Policies and
Infrastructure in Nigeria: The Rail
Transport Example, 1898-1996‖ in EGWUBUKE: An African Journal of Arts and
Humanities, Vol. 2, No. 3, August, 2016. pp. 18-19.
53
Ibid.
54
A. A. Sifawa, Colonial State and Urbanization in Sokoto Metropolis… p. 70.
55
K. A. Hannatu, ―The Railway Factor in the Economic Transformation of Nigeria Since 1914‖ in M. T. Usman and
M. A. Rufa‘I (ed), Social and Economic History of Northern
Nigeria Since 1500 AD, Makurdi, Aboki Publishers, 2015. p. 236.
56
M.T. Usman, ―Commerce
and Industries in the Former Sokoto Province,
C. 1903-1990,‖ in M. T. Usman and M.
A. Rufa‘I (ed), Ibid. p. 46. See also AHAK/,
19/1/A1, A. R.2/2:
Annual Report on the Northern
Province of Nigeria, 1926. p. 21
57
A. L. Mabongunje, Urbanization in Nigeria, London, University Press, 1968. p. 87.
58 R. J. Gavin and W. Oyemakinde, ―Economic Development in Nigeria Since 1800,‖ in O. Ikime Groundwork of Nigerian History, (ed), Ibadan Heinemann, 1999. pp. 488-500.
to commercial exploitation as well as administrative control spread across the country
side, following the track of the said railway.59
Also, the number of passengers who travelled on the railways
increased from 1,923,000
in 1924-5 to 3,851,000 in 1929-1930; and the
tonnage of goods hauled increase from 560,000 in 1924-5 to 1,002,000 in 1927-8. Despite the fact
that, both passengers and cargo were affected by the economic depression of the early thirties, yet by
1934 the number of passengers who travelled on the railways had increased, and the tonnage of the
goods equally increased.60 As a result of the opening up of the Zaria- Gusau-Kaura Namoda extension of the
railway, an estimated tones 10,000
tons of farm produce as well as
imports were carried over the Gusau- Zaria section in the same year of the railway extension.61 By 1936,
there was a gross increase in the number of agricultural products evacuated from Sokoto province which were
mostly groundnuts and cotton from Gusau Tsafe and Kaura-Namoda axis. It was estimated it was 12,000 tons of
cotton, 36,000 tons of groundnuts, and 550 tons of hides and skin were exported using the railway
line extended in 1929.62
Migration, Population Increase and Physical Expansion
The coming of
railway to these areas had in no small amount attracted people from both within
and outside the country especially
clerical staff, artisans, traders and farmers from southern Nigeria and more particularly from the neighbouring
Republic of Niger as in the case of Kaura-Namoda.63 Such economic migration has no doubt led the
physical expansion of the towns. In Gusau for example, it led to the establishment of a settlement
called ‗Yarloko‘ which was a place or quarters reserved for railway workers. That was the beginning of
extension in Gusau as a result of the emergence of railway.64 Another notable development that was
recorded as a result of the emergence of railway in Gusau was the establishment of more settlements otherwise
known as Gusau Town Wards (GTW). This
must be connected to the fact that as more migrants were coming so also
expansion and extension was taken place.
Thus, Gusau
witnessed the influx of large number of migrant groups Katsina have the highest number of migrants in all the newly
established wards as a result of the railway extension. Migrants from Kano
also came to tap the new opportunities provided by railway. Other migrants
communities reasonably found in the
wards were Bare-Bari, Buzaye, Zazzagawa, Kabawa, Daurawa etc. But Yoruba were the largest number of migrants
from the southern part of Nigeria who concentrated much in Sabon-Gari with about 146 people against Ibo having 34.
As a result of the railway extension,
some of the migrant communities that came to Gusau were of different
professions who helped in no small measure towards the expansion
of the town. For example,
in terms of building
59
M. Crowder, West Africa Under Colonial Rule,
London, Huchinson, 1976, p. 278.
60
R. O. Ekundare An Economic History
of Nigeria 1860-1960… pp. 138-139.
61
AHAK/, 19/1/A.R, 11. A.R. 2/2: Annual Report
on the Northern Provinces of Nigeria, for the
Year 1929. p. 30
62
AHAK/, 19/1/A. A.R/2/7:
Annual Report on the
Northern Provinces of Nigeria,
for the Year 1936. p. 46.
63
A. Sani and M. Bello, ―The Impact of
the Collapse
of Kaura-Namoda Railway
Terminus on Nigeria-Niger Economic Relations, in A. M.
Ashafa et-al (ed), Readings in
Post-Colonial Boarders and Economy in West Africa, Kaduna, Plymak
Services Ltd, 2018. pp. 465-466.
64
See A. F. Usman, ―Inter-Group Relation in Gusau: A
Casa
Study of
Yoruba and
Hausa C.
1920-1996‖ Ph D Thesis,
History Department, Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto, 2003.pp. 26-27.
See also I. Salisu, Igbo Migration
and Inter-Group Relations in Gusau
Town: C. 1927-1996. M. A. Dissertation, Department of
History, Usmanu DanFodiyo University, Sokoto. 2012. p.
xii. and 26-27.
which is the
number one factor that signifies physical expansion, there were as at 1934
about 20 mud-builders and bricklayers
as well as 2 thatchers in Gusau particularly domiciled at Sabon-Gari.65 These
categories of people
participated in the construction of modern buildings
which almost replaced
the indigenous mode of
building in the area.66
At
Kaura-Namoda, the most glaring example of such physical expansion was the establishment
of Sabon-Gari, a settlement,
according to Sani and Bello, that is a kilometer away from the main ancient town of Kaura-Namoda. Though the
settlement is situated at the main railway terminus, the development of the inter-group relations among over fifteen
ethnic tribes at Sabon-Gari symbolizes how
effective transformation brought by the railway touched the lives of the people
of Kaura- Namoda and the entire
northern Nigeria by extension.67 The estimated population of the major
towns of the former Sokoto province in 1911 was given by Nadama as Gusau
having 8,612 while Kaura-Namoda had
13, 067,68 but with the coming of railway and the establishment of
Sabon-Gari Kaura-Namoda, as a result
of influx of people from different areas for a greener pasture, so the long years of the socio-economic interaction in
this new settlement remain one of the most outstanding legacies of the railway to the people and community of
Kaura-Namoda as asserted by Sani and Bello.69
They added that, today the population of the people of Sabon-Gari represent
between 15- 18% of the total population of Kaura-Namoda Local Government.70 While the population
of Tsafe at that time was not all that
significant because the town was not railway terminus, only that the railway stopped there sometimes before it
passes to Gusau and Kaura-Namoda 71. In 1931, an increase in population of both native and
the Europeans has been witnessed in Gusau and Kaura- Namoda. This has been attributed to the increase of the number
of immigrants as a result of the different
opportunities brought by the railway. The total population of Gusau as at
October, 1931 was 14,850 and 21 Europeans, while Kaura-Namoda had a total number of 13,185 people respectively.72
In fact, most of the immigrants that came as a result of the railway
construction to Tsafe , Gusau and
Kaura-Namoda were labourers of southern Nigerian origin especially Igbo and Yoruba who were mostly unskilled labourers working on the rail line. There was also quite a number
of them who were clerks and other administrative personnel associated with the
colonial administration.73
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65
NAK Prof.: Gusau
District-Sokoto, Division Re-assassement of. 1934-35.
66
The reason for this assertion is because most of the buildings done in the railway quarters, ‗Yarloko,
Sabon-gari, the schools, hospitals,
government reserve quarters, the post-office, headquarters and other building
of the business companies available
at Gusau then and perhaps other
buildings by the Native Authority were done by these category of people instead
of indigenous builders
who used local method in the process
of their construction.
67
A. Sani and M. Bello, ―The Impact of
the Collapse
of Kaura-Namoda Railway
Terminus
on Nigeria-Niger
Economic Relations, in A. M. Ashafa et-al (ed),…pp. 465-466.
68
A.G. Na-dama, ―Urbanization in the Sokoto
Caliphate: A Case of Gusau and Kaura-Namoda‖ in Y. B. Usman (ed), Studies
in the History of the Sokoto Caliphate, Sokoto Seminar Papers, Logos, Third
Press International, 1979. pp.158-159.
69
A. Sani and M.
Bello,
―The
Impact of
the
Collapse of Kaura-Namoda Railway Terminus…p.447.
70
Ibid.
71
Oral Interview with Mal. Ali Tsohon Soja, 69 Years, Rtd and Farming,
interviewed at Yar yara Tsafe, He
added that yet, people especially from neitghbouring villages
used to come to Tsafe more especially the day that railway arrives
for them to carry
out one business
or the other and probably go back
home till next time.
72
NAK/ SOK Prof. 5176: Gusau Hospital, Policy,
1931-39. pp. 2-3.
73 M. N. Abubakar, ―Colonial Economy and Colonial…p. 186.
It should
however be noted that before the extension of railway to both Gusau and Kaura-Namoda, there existed about five European Trading
companies operating around our area of study. In Gusau and Kaura-Namoda, in particular, these companies were the BCGA,
John Holt ltd., GB Ollivant London
and Kano and Merss Ambrosine.74 With railway extended there was
increase in the number of companies in these areas
that came for trading purposes.
The increase necessitated for the demand of plots by the companies which
would be developed and use as their headquarters and offices. To this effect therefore, after the necessary
formalities have been concluded, the secretary
Northern provinces wrote many memos 75 to the Resident of the
Sokoto Province requesting for the approval
of the plots allocation to these companies as well as other important offices
to be used by the colonialist like
post office and Telegram as well as European Reservation Area.76
There were also other plots that were
specifically allocated for trading activities, and they can be seen in the table below:
Table 1: Trading Plots in Gusau
S/No |
Name Companies/Holders |
Plots’
No. |
Cert. of Occ.
No. |
Nature of Plot |
1. |
British Cotton Growing Association |
… |
1153 |
Trading |
2. |
Vacant. Reserved for Sokoto Native
Authority |
25 |
… |
For Native Authority‘s use |
3. |
G. Gottschalck &
Co. |
26 |
2273 |
‖ |
4. |
M. Antone |
27 |
1883 |
‖ |
5. |
G. B. Ollivant & Co. |
28 |
1795 |
‖ |
6. |
Compagnie Francaise de I‘ Afrique Occidentale |
29 |
1824 |
‖ |
7. |
― ― |
30 |
1730 |
‖ |
8. |
Vacant. |
31 |
.. |
‖ |
9. |
Shell Company |
32 |
1584 |
‖ |
10. |
Vacant |
33-34 |
.. |
‖ |
11. |
United African Company |
35 |
1810 |
‖ |
12. |
G. B. Ollivant |
36 |
1795 |
‖ |
13. |
Vacant |
37 |
.. |
‖ |
14. |
Companie Francaise I‘ Afrique
Occidentale |
37 |
1730 |
‖ |
15. |
Vacant |
39-76 |
.. |
‖ |
Source: NAK/Sok
prof. 207 Vol. II: Gusau Lay-Out. 1933-38. p. 191.
74 Ibid. pp. 186-187.
75
For examples of such Memos for the plots to both companies
and offices, see NAK/SOK Prof. 207. Vol, II: Gusau Lay
out. 1933-38. pp.146, 156,159, 160, 161, 164, 172, 190, 239, 250, 254, 286, 288 and 289.
76 Ibid.
From the above table, all these companies applied
for the plots and when approval was given to them
by the N. A., the plots were allocated to them to build as their headquarters
to perform their businesses. The
company serial number 10 was given 2
slots which were vacant. Then
serial number 15 was given slots
39-76 which were equally vacant with the total number 37 vacant plots. The reserved or vacant plots were either
given to other companies or used by the Native Authority. Plot number was not properly issued as
plot number was not given, so also certificate number was not issued to plots number 25, 31, 33, 34,
37 and 39-76 totaling to 40 plots. That is to say 45 plots were not issued with the certificate number.
All others don‘t have any problem with either allocation number or number of certificate of occupancy.
Similarly, colonial
administration directed roads and railways
to the area producing crops for overseas markets. Nadama summarizes the
role of the railway in bringing about transformations in Gusau and Kaura-Namoda which he refers
to as urbanization. He showed
how these towns that were connected with the railway replaced
the old commercial towns as well as the replacement of the local crafts with the new colonial trade that introduced new
and cheap goods to the areas. It was summarized in the following:
The extension
of the motorable roads from Zaria to Sokoto passing through Gusau and linking up town and Kaura-Namoda the North-Western terminus…
But gradually these crafts
such as weaving lost ground to the new colonial trade based on the import of cheaper machine produced
articles. With the new pattern of transport,
traditional urban centres which were not on the rail line or other major routes gradually lost their position as
centres of commercial activity, while those like
Kaura-Namoda and Gusau prospered attracting new type of immigrants – Yan cirani
(seasonal immigrants). It was because of this new commercial activity that Gusau town was nicked named ta Sambo Dandin Hausa and Kaura ta Namoda
Kano yan isa.77
The increase
in the commercial activities is glaring in Gusau as buying and selling
manifested in all nooks and corners of the town and especially in the markets
shown above as well as Sabon Gari
area. Some Nigerians derived their daily earnings from the services of
the railway trains in the country since inception. Abdulsalam provided an estimated
figure of employee
with Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) which covered
around 42,000.78 To Alli, railway afforded employment for people who were not able to engage
themselves in farming activities. He added that it could be said that railway
was the first major wage labour provider
in Nigeria. In furtherance, it also provided some revenue to the government.79
Employment
opportunities became more prevalent some years after the extension of railway
to Gusau, more particularly in Sabon
Gari which came into existence as a result of the railway line. As at 1934, there were 88 railway employees
at Sabon Gari Gusau, 29 N.A. road labourers, 21 messengers
and 23 casual labourers with 3 contractors. This does not mean that there
wasn‘t these group of people in other areas in Gusau.
There were, of course, only that the concentration was
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77
A.G. Na-dama, ―Urbanization in the Sokoto
Caliphate: A Case of Gusau and
Kaura-Namoda.. pp. 157-158.
78
M. Abdulsalam, The Development of Railway System and its Impacts on Offa, Kwara State: 1912-1955, in Global Journal of Human and Social Sciences, Vol. 14, Issue 5, Version 1.0, online. pp. 1-8.
79
A. D. Alli, Trade and Transport in Lower Niger, 1830-2011, Lagos,
Adenuga Concepts. 1982.
pp.134-138.
higher in
Sabon-Gari. All the railway workers were found in Sabon Gari, but 5 messengers
dwelled at Sarkin Fada while 3 at
Mayana. 8 N. A. road labourers at Sarki Fada ward and 1 at Mayana. So also as for casual labourers, their number
is higher at Sarkin Fada ward with 93, 32 at Mayana and 3 at Galadima ward respectively.80
No one will deny the fact that ever before the coming of railway there were a number of artisans in our
area of study,81 but, some of them might not be all that important compared to the time when
railway was extended to these areas. Butchers and Barbers for example, were and are still necessary as
people need their services occasionally, as such they were available. But the study confirmed that,
more professional ones migrated to the area.82 By 1934-35, the number of these crafts increased. For example
Barbers increased to 19, drummers 20, 32 Butchers, Calabash
makers 19, rope makers 18, potters 18, tanners 10, leather workers
32, confectioners 2, makers of kola nut bags 3.83
Conclusion
The study established that both roads and railways were constructed by colonialist with a view to siphon the riches of Africa and northern Nigeria in particular. It also elaborated that roads were the first infrastructure constructed followed by the railway in 1929 which was extended to Gusau and Kaur-Namoda in 1929 through Tsafe. The construction of the roads led to the emergence of automobiles by both government and private individuals in our study area. The major roads constructed in the area included the one from Zaria that passed through Funtua, Tsafe, Gusau and finally to Sokoto. So also another notable one was the one from Gusau that passes through Kaura- Namoda to Zurmi- Jibia up to Katsina and that, two types of roads were in existence during colonial era, the Trunk A and Trunk B roads which all served the same purpose. The railway on the other hand though served many purposes but it was principally constructed with the sole aim of evacuating both agricultural and other available resources in the area. Thus the essence of colonialism.
80
NAK/Sok Prof: Gusau District-Sokoto Division
Re-assessment of. 1934-35.
81
See Nadama A. G., ―Urbanization
in the
Sokoto Caliphate:
A Case
Study of
Gusau and
Kaura-Namoda‖ in B. Usman,
(ed), Studies in the History of Sokoto Caliphate Sokoto Seminar Series,
Publish by Department History, Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria, 1979. p.156. Nadama categorically pointed out that as
the Gusau and Kaura- Namoda towns
developed, other occupations were attracted and some of them included the
indigenous crafts emerged like
smithings, weaving and dying and also specialists in iron-ore mining and
smelting. All these crafts were attracted
before the coming of railway
but with the coming of railway, the number of the craft and thecraftsmen and women increased.
82
Oral Interview with Mal. Musa Dan-Fanta, 68 Years, Farmer, Interviewed at Sabon Fegi Tsafe,
on 11/2/2019.
83
NAK/Sok Prof. 3176: Gusau District-Sokoto Division
Re-assessment of. 1934-35.
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