Historian. Writer. Engineer. Author of The Handle is One of Us - Hitler, Biafra and Benin City
Joined October 2010
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π§Ά In 1941, Nigerian schoolgirls were knitting socks for British soldiers. But that wasnβt the most remarkable thing they did.
π£ Thousands of miles away, German bombs were falling on British cities.
Schools were being destroyed. Families were sleeping in shelters. Children were being separated from their parents.
In Brass, a small coastal town in southern Nigeria, a young woman named Violetta Kemmer was following the news.
She and other Nigerian girls were far from the bombing.
They could eat their meals without wondering whether an air raid would interrupt them. They could sleep without the sound of sirens.
But they were not indifferent. β€οΈ
πͺ They collected pennies from their pocket money.
π§Ά They knitted socks and sweaters for soldiers.
π Some wanted to train as nurses or ambulance drivers.
βοΈ And Violetta wrote a letter to the girls of Britain.
It was published in the West African Pilot on 26 April 1941.
She expressed sympathy for those who had lost their homes and relatives, admired their courage, and offered prayers for their safety.
Then she made a remarkable appeal.
ποΈ She hoped this would be the last war, because she could not bear the thought of bringing sons into a world where they might be sent to die.
There was no military strategy in her letter.
No diplomatic negotiation.
Just a young woman in colonial Nigeria imagining the lives of girls she had never met.
π We tend to remember the Second World War through its generals, prime ministers, battles and treaties.
But the war also lived in the pocket money of Nigerian schoolgirls.
In the sweaters they knitted.
And in the words they sent across the Atlantic.
π One of the quieter stories in Damola Awoyokunβs The Handle Is One of Us: Hitler, Biafra and Benin City reminds us that history was not shaped only by those who commanded armies.
It was also experienced, understood and answered by people who never appeared on a battlefield.
#HiddenHistory #WorldWarII #AfricanHistory #WomenInHistory #TheHandleIsOneOfUs
Remember us who built Canary Wharf annex β Wood Wharf.
The think is the Canary wharf was purely commercial office complex. During the night and weekend the place a ghost town. Wood Warf was redeveloped to be only residential high-rise buildings to complement Canaray Wharf like ying yang.
One of the site constraints were the specialised fibre-optic cables running from Canary Wharf thorough Wood Wharf all the way to e New York Stock Exchange.
It was a pleasure to work on it.
We need reverse the exodus of our smart minds abandoning engineering and construction for financial sector.
I still think living in Canary Wharf is one of the best London hacks.
But it's an easy choice imo. Modern, clean, private security. But most importantly so incredibly well connected. DLR, Elizabeth, Jubilee, cycle highway. Not sure I could live somewhere with just the Northern line and a train. It would be tedious
The only negative about living in a tower is when storms hit. Storm Boelo hit CW last weekend and you have to be ok with the tower swaying side to side, creaking. The first time you experience it, it's horrible. Like being on a ship in the middle of the ocean but hundreds of feet up. But after a while you just put your trust in the architects and builders lol
Nigeria did not technically have a First Lady until Maryam Babangida invented it in 1986.
The wives of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa were a total embarrassment to the nation. When he became prime minster two of his wives were underaged. They could not read or write and they were always in niqab as their religion demanded they must not be seen by other men.
Anytime they are having foreign dignitaries to the state house or when ambassadors come to visits for lunch or dinner, they always got to get Nora who was Dr Majekodumiβs Health Ministerβs Irish wife to come and supervise the meals and setting the table to ensure the comfort of their guestsβ stay.
She did her job without judging.
Am doing a post about all First Lady title holders in Nigeria from 1963 to present day holder.
Am starting with Chief Mrs Flora Azikiwe.
Happy reading people:
Before anyone else carried that title, it was Flora Azikiwe.
She was born Flora Ogbenyeanu Ogoegbunam on August 7, 1917, in Onitsha, Anambra State. She was the daughter of Chief Ogoegbunam, the Adazia of Onitsha.
She met Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in Onitsha in 1934, and they married on April 4, 1936, at Wesley Church in Accra, Gold Coast, now Ghana.
When Nigeria became a republic on October 1, 1963, and her husband became President, she became the very first First Lady of Nigeria.
She served in that role until January 16, 1966, during the First Republic.
She and Zik had four children together, three sons, Chukwuma, Chukwuemeka and Nwachukwu, and one daughter, Ngozi.
She was known for her quiet dignity and grace.
She was the first Patron of the Home Science Association and was active in the Eastern Working Committee of the NCNC.
She passed away on August 22, 1983, at the age of 66.
Na she be the very first Mama for Nigeria. If you never know her story before, now you don know am. Make una stay with me as I go bring the next First Lady come, na we go learn am together.
I have had this book in my library for over a decade not until now did it occur to me itβs that same @simonmontefiore who wrote the introduction.
Now I can no longer unsee it.
If you donβt mind give us a little bit of background.
π A five-year-old boy sat on his fatherβs shoulders, unaware he was seeing him for the very last time.
π Lagos, Nigeria. January 1966.
A celebration was underway at Brigadier Zakariya Maimalariβs home. Music, laughter, elegant guests. Among them were some of Nigeriaβs most powerful military officers.
Years earlier, Maimalari had tragically lost his wife. He was left with two young children.
That evening, his five-year-old son, Abubakar, ran up to him.
His father lifted him onto his shoulders and spoke hopefully about a better Nigeria. A country where his son could grow up without ethnic divisions and hatred.
He had no idea that within hours, his little boy would lose his father too. π
Among the guests was Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna.
He had helped organise the celebration. The invitations, the music, the entire evening.
Yet just hours later, he would take part in a military coup and murder the very man whose party he had arranged.
The man who helped organise his celebration was also preparing his death.
We like to believe we can recognise our enemies. That betrayal always comes from the outside.
But sometimes, betrayal sits at our table, smiles at our children, and raises a glass with us. π₯
π This heartbreaking story is told in The Handle Is One of Us β Hitler, Biafra and Benin City by Damola Awoyokun.
Because history isnβt just about wars, politics, and powerful men.
Sometimes, itβs about a little boy who didnβt know he was sitting on his daddyβs shoulders for the very last time. β€οΈβπ©Ή
#TheHandleIsOneOfUs #UntoldHistory #AfricanHistory #HistoricalStories #BooksWorthReading
If you are riding Elizabeth line today, remember us who built it.
Also remember RenΓ¨ TkΓ‘Δik the Slovakian concrete sprayer who died in the line of duty. π«Άπ
This quoted post is unavailable.
They believed everything was under control.
But in August 1967, Benin City was about to discover how dangerous false confidence could be.
History is not always what we were told.
Discover the stories behind the headlines in The Handle Is One of Us by Damola Awoyokun.
#TheHandleIsOneOfUs #AfricanHistory #NigerianHistory #Biafra #BeninCity #HistoryUncovered
One poem. One little girl in tears. One poet who never saw his own ending coming. π
Christopher Okigboβs story is a haunting reminder that even the most beautiful words cannot protect us from history. ποΈ
#ChristopherOkigbo #AfricanHistory #Biafra #History #BooksWorthReading
I found this gem in my library.
As we grow older, we evolve.
We laugh at the past
@charliegilmour
Unfortunately true. Without compensating the enslavers, abolition would not have worked. Madam Tinubu tried to assassinate Consul Campbell of Lagos twice over this abolition issue. Then she ordered Governor Glover arrested when she realised he was using one of her runaway slaves as his body guards. All the elites of Lagos got credit facilities and compensations that allowed them to transition to trade in agricultural produces.
Without that British abolition would not have worked.
The slaves got freedom not financial compensation unfortunately. It was the same in Calabar, Ghana all the way to the Caribbean.
Britain was pragmatic.
The state and the missionaries were working hand in hand. Abolition first originated from the CMS and the Quakers before they invited the crown and the state to the cause through Prince Albert. The Canon of Windsor once took Ajayi Crowther to meet the Prince and the Queen Victoria in Windsor Palace. The Queen then asked what he wanted done to this Lagos; Crowther said bomb the place.
The Queen ordered Admiral Francis Baring head of the admiralty to get it done. December 1851, Lagos was bombed and seized.
State and missionaries were working together. Everywhere the British marines and consuls penetrated in West Africa, they always included in the treaty protection and freedom for the missionaries to operate. They were the two faces of the same coin.
Nowhere would you find in this post Britain built this as the first modern university for the slaves they freed. All the good deeds of Britain are normally reported in the passive voice to cut Britain out of the good guys narrative ("It was established on..."), while the relatively few negatives of British rule are put in active sentences where Britain is prominently the subject: (Britain destroyedβ¦Britian took..)
This is the trick that books taught in schools for seventy years have relied on to create the false impression that colonisation and the British Empire were nothing but evil and exploitation.
Freetown was modelled to be the Athens of West Africa, and it was. Lagos was the Liverpool of West Africa, or Venice on the Lagoon. Only Britain Empire in the history of empires could turn freed slaves and their children into pioneers in Engineering, Medicine, Law, Civil Service etc all over Africa.
But you will never read that in any book.
We will fix that.
We will make it normal to say the truth about Britain again.
Samuel Ajayi Crowther became the first pupil to register at Fourah Bay in 1827.
Fourah Bay College is a public university situated in the Mount Aureol district of Freetown, Sierra Leone.
It was established on 18 February 1827, and is regarded as the first Western-style university constructed in Sub-Saharan Africa, and also the first university-level institution on the continent.
Early Nigerian students include:
1. Samuel Ajayi Crowther: He became the first pupil to register at Fourah Bay in 1827.
2. Alexander Babatunde Akinyele: He earned a university degree and founded Ibadan Grammar School in Ibadan, the first secondary school there.
3. Professor Kenneth Onwuka Dike: He became the first Nigerian vice-chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
4. Samuel Osarogie Ighodaro, QC: He served as Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Western Region of Nigeria from 1959 to 1963, and later as a Justice of the High Court of the Mid-Western Region from 1968 to 1973.
5. Seth Irunsewe Kale: A Nigerian Anglican bishop who was Principal of CMS Grammar School, Lagos from 1944 to 1950, and Bishop of Lagos from 1963 to 1974.
6. Thomas Babington Macaulay: A Nigerian priest and educator, founder and first principal of CMS Grammar School, Lagos, and father of Nigerian nationalist Herbert Macaulay.
7. Samuel Onunaka Mbakwe, also known as Dee Sam: A Nigerian politician who served as the first executive governor of Imo State from 1 October 1979 until 31 December 1983.
8. Reverend Solomon Odunaiya Odutola: An Anglican clergyman who was bishop of Benin-Ondo Diocese from 1952 to 1960 and bishop of Ibadan Diocese from 1960 to 1970.
9. Isaac Oluwole: A Nigerian bishop of Sierra Leonean and Egba heritage, one of the most prominent Sierra Leone emigrants resident in Lagos during the second half of the nineteenth century, and Principal of the CMS Grammar School, Lagos from 1879 to 1893.
10. Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti: A Nigerian teacher, father of musician Fela Kuti, and of physicians Olikoye Ransome-Kuti and Beko Ransome-Kuti.
11. Festus Oluwole Segun, 20 March 1915 to 2024: A Nigerian Anglican bishop.
12. Ladipo Solanke, born around 1886: A political activist born in Nigeria who campaigned on West African issues.
Whenever I think of this school, I always remember my childhood friend Chidi Ogbuagu, whose father was an alumnus of Fourah Bay.
Read my book for individual African stories behind those figures and you will see why Queen Victoria was beloved in West Africa.
There was no one, no one, seeing slavery as bad until Britain intervened.
Even slaves in the coastal cities like Lagos when they bought their freedom entered the business and began to enslave others too.
Ibadan in the hinterland was even weirder because it had a practice never encountered anywhere in history of the world: slaves there had their own slaves while still being slaves. There were perhaps building up their portfolios for when they would buy their freedom and then continue the trade themselves.
Queen Victoria ended all these.
We are blessed to have her and we are grateful to the Royal Navy too and their African accomplices who guided them to where the evils resided.
Eisenhower hated Monty. He couldnβt stand Monty in private. And decided to humiliate him in the end. Contrary to Montyβs plans, Ike let the soviets take Berlin to deny Monty victory lap. That error placed large swathe of Eastern Europe behind the Iron Curtain fro decades to come. Meanwhile Montyβs effort in the north prevented Denmark and naval entrances in the Balkans from fallen to the soviets. Why did Ike do that? Well, it started right before Operation Torch. Americans were eager to join in the European theatre and fight the Germans straight away in France, but Monty said it was too risky that Americans were not experienced and battled hardened enough to fight yet. Let them go and try themselves in Africa first.
Since then Ike never forgave Monty. As the war was concluding, he pivoted American troops away from Berlin and allowed the Soviets to take it.
Very spiteful.
The end of the beginning. Monty's finest hour begins.
The Second Battle of El Alamein starts today in 1942.
Us Brits get a little defensive about Monty. I'm a fan; I will never forget my grandmother talking about how Monty was a god when they won, and how church bells rang across Britain.
Our first victory since 1939. Three grim years of death and loss and humiliation.
Churchill: "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
Churchill also said: "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat."
What's your verdict on Monty?
This is the Dominican Chapel in Ibadan
As a structural engineer, people ask me why is it that we dont build beuty like this anymore.
It is not because of time or cost.
Its because we dont know how.
The knowedge is lost.
It was never passed on to the universities when they became centres of knoweledge.
Beauty is obvious. Ugliness requires a lecture.
No lecture but here is what I found.
At the top of the Spanish Steps the twin towers of TrinitΓ dei Monti rise above the city, a French church begun in the early 1500s. Inside, the single nave holds Daniele da Volterraβs Depositionβdrawn from Michelangeloβs handβand other Mannerist works that still reward a quiet look. From the terrace the view falls down the 135 steps and out across the roofs; the place itself stays comparatively still. Beauty here is immediate; the rest needs no lecture.
Hopefully your discovery will change your attitude towards the British and the colonial past.
It took me a while to understand but the British were builders.
They found muck and left gold.
We were lied to about colonisation.
I cant wait to see other people's reponse to your discovering. I have seen them. The townplanning maps of Port Harcourt, Lagos, Kaduna, the engineering blueprints of multiple buildings still standing.
They did that in every British colony. Every.
Salute to the greatest nation in history.
Architects and building engineers on X, I have colonial files with drawings and works of some of the buildings built during British colonial rule.
I would get the PWD, Surveyor-General, and Lands & Town Planning files.
You better stick around cos from November it will be daily release of these unseen files.
Some of these drawings and designs are before 1900.
Stick around ok.
