British colonial master in Lagos, 1861
On the 6th August 1861, the Union Jack was formally hoisted and saluted in Lagos after the successful signing of a cession treaty between then king of Eko Oba Dosunmu and Acting – British Consul William Mc Coskry.
The agreement guaranteed the pension of Oba Dosunmu who retained his title as King, while Mc Coskry became the Acting – Governor of Lagos . Whereas the day’s events appeared routine at the time and culminated in a stately dinner aboard Her Majesty’s ship The prometheus, they marked the official beginning of Britain’s colonization of Nigeria and the start of a century- long arduous journey towards regaining independence.
King of Eko, Oba Dosunmu , 1861
As far back as the 15th century, European ( chiefly Portuguese) sailors, traders and explorers had begun visiting the ports of Lagos. Over time, they developed a successful trading network with the hinterland though confining their influence to the coasts.
Early in the 19th century, slave trade, which was for over three centuries the most lucrative commercial activity of the area, had been abolished and European traders , not least the British, turned their attention to commodities such as palm produce and pepper.
While Britain battled other European sailors and merchants on the seas to eradicate the traffic in slaves and protect their fledgling trade relationship, the empire faced even more challenges ashore; since some of the local ruling class of Lagos who enjoyed the rich proceeds from slave trade were unwilling to give it up.
With the pact in place, British military forces dethroned Kosoko and installed Akintoye. Kosoko was exiled to Epe but later return to Lagos as a highly influential figure after Akintoye’s death, despite the instalment of Oba Dosunmu- Akitoye’s son as the new King.
With Oba Dosunmu in charge, British wielded more influence over Lagos , Badagry, Lekki and Iddo then reaped the dividends of increased trade but remained apprehensive that the lingering conflicts and political disputes in some interior cities would eventually spill over to Lagos .
In 1861, the British Foreign Office issued instructions for annexation of the port and coastal regions of Lagos, claiming that only permanent occupation of Lagos would guarantee success in suppressing slave trade in the Bight of Benin and check the activities of the neighbouring King of Dahomey; a powerful figure in the slave trade network. Lagos was thus annexed and placed under the jurisdiction of a Governor.
The coastal town would later serve as a base for incursion into interior territories replacing the nearby island of Fernando Po which was previously used by the Royal Navy as a base of operations but reclaimed by the Spanish in 1855.
Oba Dosunmu, King of Eko
Under the protection of the Royal Navy, Lagos flourished commercially as traders went about business without any harassment from pirates and slave raiders. Being the more invested in the region, Britain easily beat other European nations like Germany and France- both interested in colonising the area to claim the Lagos area as a protectorate at the Berlin Conference of 1884.
Culled from Nigeria…..
