Herbert Macaulay is widely recognised as the “Father of Nigerian Nationalism.” In his era, he earned the tag: “Champion and Defender of Native Rights and Liberties.” Although he died 71 years ago on May 7, 1946, at age 81, he remains relevant as Lagos State celebrates its 50th anniversary. The celebration will climax on May 27.
On May 25, with the support of the Lagos State Government, the inaugural Herbert Macaulay Gold Lecture will take place at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja. The lecturer, Ambassador Dapo Fafowora, will speak on “Herbert Macaulay and his relevance to the excellence of Lagos.”
Between 1915 and 1921, Herbert Macaulay was involved in the Apapa Land Case, a celebrated legal battle that pitched him against the colonial government over land ownership in Lagos. The British authorities held that the colony status of Lagos meant that the indigenous landowners could not be compensated should the government decide to acquire their land for public use. Based on this policy, the government acquired 255 acres of land in Apapa that belonged to the family of Chief Oluwa, Amodu Tijani, a Lagos white-cap chief of the landowning class. The government offered to pay Oluwa compensation equivalent to the rent for the land, but Oluwa demanded a greater compensation since the government was taking over the land and not renting it. The ensuing dispute became a court matter, and dragged from 1915 to 1918.
The court eventually upheld the government’s position, and Oluwa, who was dissatisfied with the judgement, initiated an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain which was the highest court of appeal in the British Empire in those days. The matter came up before the Privy Council in 1920, and Oluwa had to travel to Britain to present his case.
Oluwa had the backing of Herbert Macaulay who encouraged him to fight to the finish. This was typical of Macaulay. In view of Macaulay’s anti-colonial credentials, his mastery of English and his oratorical power, the unlettered Chief Oluwa readily appointed him as his interpreter and private secretary, and took him to Britain in connection with the case. The Eleko, the King of Lagos, Oba Eshugbayi, supported the move and gave Oluwa a silver-headed staff to show in Britain that he was a genuine Lagos chief. Eshugbayi was the custodian of the staff that agents of Queen Victoria of England presented to King Akitoye of Lagos in 1852.
Chief Oluwa was received by His Majesty, King George V, at the Royal Botanical Gardens, London, on July 24, 1920, with Herbert Macaulay holding the silver-headed staff as a symbol of royalty and royal authority. Oluwa and Macaulay spent 15 months in Britain over the land case. On June 14, 1921, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council gave judgement in favour of Chief Oluwa, and ruled that the colonial government in Lagos should pay proper compensation to the Oluwa land-holding family.
Following this ruling, the government in 1926 paid Chief Oluwa and his family 22, 500 pounds as compensation for the acquired land. Oluwa in turn paid Macaulay 2, 083 pounds for his services. It is said that Oluwa also offered him a piece of land at Apapa which he refused.
While Macaulay was in Britain over the Apapa Land Case, he seized the opportunity to draw public attention to the plight of the Eleko, the King of Lagos, Oba Eshugbayi of the Dosumu royal family. The traditional power of the occupant of the throne of Lagos had been circumscribed by the colonial authorities from the time the British overran Lagos in 1851. The Eleko’s financial position also suffered as a result of British rule which blocked his sources of revenue by weakening his control over the external trade as well as internal affairs in Lagos.
Nevertheless, to cushion the Eleko, the British gave him what they deemed a compassionate grant. This practice predated Eshugbayi’s reign and the grant was changed from time to time. In Eshugbayi’s time, his supporters asked the government to increase the grant. Macaulay was one of those that called for a review of Eshugbayi’s grant.
When Herbert Macaulay raised the issue in Britain, the government in Lagos felt he had carried it too far, and suspected that Eshugbayi had asked him to press the point home. The colonial government reacted by sponsoring some bendable locals who told the Eleko to send his town crier round to condemn Macaulay’s actions abroad. Eshugbayi found himself in a difficult situation. He couldn’t denounce Macaulay; and he had to be cautious lest he was seen as supporting Macaulay.
There was a deadlock; and in December 1920 the colonial government stopped paying Eshugbayi the compassionate grant. More fundamentally, apart from depriving Eshugbayi of the annual payment of 300 pounds, the Governor, Sir Hugh Clifford, declared that the Eleko held “no official position and no political significance.”
News of this development reached Macaulay in Britain, and he took it as a challenge. When Macaulay returned to Lagos after Chief Oluwa’s land case had been resolved, he focused on the “Eleko Question.” The Eleko matter took a turn for the worse in August 1925 when the colonial government decided to expel Eshugbayi from Lagos. The king relocated to Oyo. The government’s move fired Macaulay’s fighting spirit. He considered Eshugbayi’s expulsion unjust and rose against it.
The lawyers representing the Eleko eventually took the case before the Privy Council in Britain after failed efforts to get the government in Lagos to bring Eshugbayi to court. In its judgement delivered on March 24, 1931, the Privy Council ruled that Eshugbayi’s expulsion should be examined by the courts in Nigeria within the context of native law and custom. This ruling changed the tide. Governor Donald Cameron issued an order dated June 29, 1931, cancelling Eshugbayi’s expulsion.
Eshugbayi made a triumphant entry into Lagos on July 4, 1931, welcomed excitedly by the multitude that turned out in the rain to lead him to Iga Idugaran, the palace, with joyous singing and dancing. Macaulay’s reputation sparkled for he clearly played a significant role in the battle for justice for Eshugbayi.
As Lagos celebrates at 50, Herbert Macaulay’s spirit is around.
