Mrs Agatha

Am not so sure then in Biafran land if there was 50 people that can read anything written in any language, including igbo language 40 percent.

British colonial Masters on their part couldn't speak igbo language 20 percent, yet, they were the ones that came out with written form of it. I was wondering how one can write 100 percent language one found difficult to speak 20 percent. 

To breached the gaps, force, injustice, disrespect had to marry, for the culture and traditions of the people In question warrants that indirect rule was the only option available for the British that found it difficult to be master over the subjects that refused to be Royal.

Yes, the year was 1930 in biafran land in Eastern part of the entity called Nigeria. The venue was Aba the commercial city. It will be interesting to let you know that 1930 was equivalent of 1730 in western world here in Aba in terms of human and infrastructural development and understanding etc.

British colonial masters to make it easier for them to coordinate both ruling and sourcing of raw materials for Queen Elizabeth and her compatriots back home had chosen the city as base to link port Harcourt, calaba and Enugu. The stationing and the building of railroads to transport it back home, the locals understand, but the idea of coming with a paper they called reciept to force them to part with the money they found extremely difficult to get in the first place, the women of Ariari market couldn't understand for there was nothing to understand there.

 Understand what?, stealing they nicknamed tax?.

Well, that very year, the Ariari women knew that Queen Elizabeth have crossed yellow, green and red line at the same time. They equally heard that the woman don't pay taxes. They were wondering seriously why they would be forced to pay tax. Their husbands pay taxes, all the timber in Biafran land were finding their way into the high seas heading to Liverpool and yet, they were being subjected to pay taxes from the vegetables they sweated to cultivate. Most of them in that market were there just for human interactions, what was in their baskets were not up to the taxes they were subjected to. Most, their lands were being taking over by the warrant chief and their hangers on.

Mazi mgburi was about 55, weighs about 87kg, he was one of the warrant chiefs the British Masters imposed on the people of Aba. His main duty was tax collections and settling cases etc.

He couldn't read or write anything including his own name 10 percent and he was the most efficient and wealthiest warrant chief operating in Aba city and environ. He was a brute known in his locality as nobody. 

He took to the sea instead of farm like his peers were doing then and it became his profession. In his late 20s and early 30s, he had had about 5 masters for his behavior kept following him around, stealing, drinking and womanizing, all manner of vice he kept picking from Aba to calaba. As the saying goes, traveling is part of education, he acquired the ways of British in the port of major cities from port harcourt to calaba where the British based their main operations full-time. He learned how taxes were being collected and vice that goes with wharf life. He squandered his savings on women of easy life. At times, he would leave with his master from Aba and his master will return alone and when asked about mgburi, the answer were always:

" I don't know, after loading, i waited for him to show up, i couldn't wait any longer so, took the passengers and loads back." 

After few months, he will return with another person that will became his master for few months and story would repeat itself. At 36, he got married to a lady from neighboring town for no one agreed to handover his daughter to him in their town. He pregnant the girl and left her with his mother and went to the sea with another ship owner and story had it then that he had about 5 kids from different women in calaba and port harcourt.

According to the report making round then, at times, he tampers with peoples load while loading them, authorities will get involved at times and he would end up in custody for months before being released. He was seen as terror in his village.

In his early 40s, he was made second in command to the warrant chief, when the chief suddenly died from nothing, he was made warrant chief. Tax Returns to the British increased drastically and prison became congested with people, most people land got seized and death among young people increased in the community. Men practically turned into a women and women into men.

That was when one 23 years newly married woman by name mrs. Agath okoli decided that something has to be done. She gathered all the women selling things in Ariari market in her compound and told them that:

"It is time for we women to say enough is enough to the oppression we recieve in the hands of chief Mgburi and his foreign masters" she begun.

" yes, since our husbands has turned into cocoa yam, we must step in their shoes and do something." Another enjoined.

" there's no way we can be making 20 naira and be paying 15 naira taxes to whiteman to take back to Queen Elizabeth to feed her family, it doesn't work that way."

"Yeah, I have not eaten any decent meals since one year now, saving money to send to Queen Elizabeth"

" No, no, it can not work"

" We must march to that holigan house called warrant chief or whatever  paper he was given and tell him to return to the sea and leave us alone."

" What have they done for us since years they came here?"

"Nothing, only imprisonment and taxes"

"Enough is enough"

They all dispersed to their houses and agreed to march to the warrant chief house on the next market day table their grievances"

On the D-Day, the warrant chief had gotten wind of what was happening and sent message to the British and they dispatched soldiers to the man house and what was planned as peaceful airing of grievances turned into a mini war they named riots later.

When the soldiers ordered the women numbering about two hundreds to stop and they refused, they opened fire and killed about 57 of them and others rushed them, over powering them and killed all. They stormed the warrant chief house who was escaping from backyard and killed all the family, marched to the prisons and freed all the prisoners and set the prisons on fire. 

The British reinforced after three days, by them, the city had turned into ghosts town. Many had taken to the bush, many relocated.

They the British callled for peace talk and the representative of the women including their organiser went and tabled their requests; which most were met.

Now 2021, that organiser mrs Agatha okoli age 112 with most of her senses still intact would always stay in her granddaughter house compound, calling all who came to see her by name and answering their questions. Most of the questioners were students writing their projects.