Nation on Board

by Lynn Schler

  While regarded as an imprudent business decision, the political motivation for buying out the foreign investors was clear. The public outrage toward the partnership with Elder Dempster and the Palm Line embodied all the emotion and anticipation that accompanied a nation moving from colonialism to independence. The process of decolonization generated a sense of hope and optimism about the meaning of autonomy and self-reliance on the one hand, and optimism that soon Nigerians would be free from the oppressive and debasing status of colonial subjects on the other. The deal struck with the foreign monopolists incensed those who had invested hope in the prospect of decolonization, and the ongoing presence of foreign management in the national line threw into question the very meaning of independence. Politicians and the press wondered what was indeed Nigerian about a national line that was half owned and fully run by foreigners. The level of emotion could be seen in the 1960 remarks of J. A. Akinyemi, a member of the House of Representatives from the Western Region, regarding the foreign face of management of the NNSL. Akinyemi alleged that Leslie Passage, the head office manager of the NNSL, was a South African: “I refer to the head of the shipping line—the notorious shipping line. No wonder there has been a lot of confusion and a lot of mis-management in that section of the country’s undertaking, when we have a South African at the head of affairs to advise the Permanent Secretary. Who will in turn have to advise the Minister himself. I think this man, called Mr. Passage, should be given his passage back home!! (Hear, hear!)”98

  Akinyemi also named the foreign managers of the Electricity Corporation and the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, and claimed, “These three people are negrophobists, and there should be no room for them in this Government.” Leslie Passage was deeply disturbed by the allegations. In his response, he asserted that he was British and not South African, but nonetheless, he was fully committed to the Nigerian nation: “I have never visited South Africa nor am I remotely connected with that country but on the contrary have worked and lived in Nigeria amongst its people in amity and accord for over twenty years and have found much happiness here. I am certainly not a negrophobist and had I been anything but sympathetic and enthusiastic to the ideals and aspirations of Nigeria I would not have remained in the Country for so long a period of time.”99

  The incident surrounding Leslie Passage revealed the extent to which politicians were rallying around “Nigerianization” in the political and ideological buildup to independence. The Nigerian National Shipping Line was born out of an aspiration to Nigerianize the economy as a vital step toward autonomy, and the call to replace foreign managers with Nigerians provided an opportunity to see a tangible result of decolonization. But while the notion of Nigerianization was rhetorically powerful, it had far less potential as a practical operation. The history of the founding of the NNSL gives shape to the complexities of realizing the agenda of economic nationalism in an industry such as shipping, where foreign capital and expertise were fundamental to the successful founding and running of the company. Public critique undoubtedly played a hand in the buyout of the technical partners, and critics have argued that this move was ultimately detrimental to the enforcement of proper business practices in the national line.

  But while public outcry led to the removal of the British face of management ashore, it was far more difficult to replace the foreign officers and captains on board vessels. The Nigerianization of ships was a process largely removed from public scrutiny, and one that faced a unique set of challenges, implications, and outcomes, particularly for seamen themselves. The following chapter will examine the establishment of the NNSL from the perspectives of seamen. It will be seen that the NNSL provided an opportunity for seamen to engage with a nationalist agenda, but similarly to the broader political process of Nigerianization of shipping, seamen on board NNSL vessels confronted a more complex reality than they had imagined in their embrace of nationalist rhetoric and the idea of a national line. The broader political processes propelled by economic nationalism came to bear on the Nigerianization of ships, and in the working lives of seamen.

  5

  Nigerianizing the Sea

  Cultures of Work on NNSL Ships

  ON 11 MAY 1959, Derek Bailey joined the crew for the maiden voyage of the Oduduwa, the second ship purchased by the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) following the Dan Fodio. Appointed as fourth engineer, Bailey sailed under the command of Capt. F. Sam Weller, a man he described as “one of the gents of this world.” Bailey’s first trip on the Oduduwa “turned out to be one of the most unusual and entertaining voyages” he had ever been on. The ship left Rotterdam en route to Lagos, stopping at West African ports along the way. From port to port, the crew was feted and celebrated by local crowds, all exhilarated at the sight of the first Nigerian-owned and -operated vessel to arrive at their port. As Bailey recalled, the festivities began in Freetown, where the ship’s captain was whisked ashore by local dignitaries. He returned several hours later, Bailey claimed, “a little the worst for wear and dressed in the regalia of an African Chief!” The celebrations continued at each port of call, increasing with intensity as the ship approached Lagos. Bailey recalled the surprise and disbelief of the crew: “It should be understood that we had no prior knowledge of these celebrations which became more and more elaborate as the hitherto unremarkable ex-tramp steamer (now a LINER) continued her triumphal progress down the coast, interrupted only by the occasional breakdown.”1

  The reception the Oduduwa received across West Africa required extra work from the crew because at each stop, the ship had to be cleaned and readied, but as Bailey recalled, this was “well worth the effort, considering the parties laid on for us.” Alcohol ran freely at each port, and elaborate meals, called “small chop” by locals, were prepared by the chief steward. The ships were boarded by large crowds of those with official invites, as well as dockworkers, deckhands, and passersby who were happy to join the party: “Anyone who happened to be passing took up their imaginary invitations with alacrity, so the tables were soon cleared. ‘Like a swarm of locusts,’ as the Chief Steward gloomily observed.” The climax came in Lagos. There, representatives of the Yoruba Oduduwa Society arrived at the ship and carried all the officers away in a fleet of limousines. Not having any idea where they were headed, Bailey recalls, he was delighted to eventually find himself seated under the stars in a green pasture outside of Lagos, where each man was given a roasted chicken and a bottle of scotch. Immersed in the food and drink, he could not recall what all the speeches were about.2

  Derek Bailey’s memorable voyage on the Oduduwa embodied the deep complexities that characterized the newly founded Nigerian National Shipping Line. His account exposes the profound disconnect between public anticipation of the NNSL and the actual materialization of the venture. The NNSL was born in the nationalist fervor taking hold over the Nigerian political and business elite in the final years of colonial rule, but when the Nigerian ships finally set sail, they were largely indistinguishable from the Elder Dempster vessels that had dominated the West African trade since the nineteenth century. Minister Njoku glossed over this complexity as he celebrated the ship’s arrival in Lagos: “On the Oduduwa, out of a crew of forty-four, twenty-nine are Nigerians, two of them being cadets.”3 The minister’s political grandstanding concealed an uncomfortable truth: the colonial division of labor was largely preserved on the Nigerian ships. British captains and British officers commanded the vessels, and African crews continued to provide labor as greasers and firemen in the engine room, catering staff and deck ratings. It would take nearly a decade before Nigerian captains and officers would begin taking command over Nigerian ships, and European officers remained visible on NNSL vessels into the 1980s. While the Oduduwa was hailed as a symbol of decolonization throughout West Africa, the European officers actually manning the ship did not identify with, or fully comprehend, the ideological significance of the national line for the decolonized masses.

  For Nigerian seamen, there were also s
ignificant disparities between the anticipated national line and the ultimate manifestation of the Nigerian National Shipping Line. Slogans of economic nationalism paved the way for the establishment of the Nigerian national line, but the outcome of this political and ideological history was lived very differently “on the ground” by the seamen. An examination into seamen’s engagement with the NNSL demonstrates that while the broad strokes of history are largely written by politicians and the economic elite, there are equally significant agents of interpretation and change to be found among the working classes. In the lead-up to the founding of the NNSL, Nigerian seamen invested their own hopes and aspirations in the possibilities of working for a Nigerian line. While politicians linked the establishment of the NNSL to the broader political, economic, and ideological struggle for decolonization, for Nigerian seamen, the meaning and significance of the establishment of the NNSL, and their later experiences and reflections as employees of the national shipping company, were largely based on their own personal experiences and aspirations as seamen. As will be seen, the establishment of the Nigerian National Shipping Line had far-reaching consequences for those previously employed on Elder Dempster ships. The allure of the national line was inseparable from historical experiences of discrimination and exploitation on colonial vessels. At the same time, seamen’s identification with nationalism seems to contradict their ongoing reliance on mobility, fluidity, and cosmopolitanism that had characterized their transnational migrations in the colonial era. It is therefore important to unpack seamen’s identification with the promise of nationalism, and attempt to understand more precisely the underlying political, ideological, and economic aspirations seamen invested in “becoming Nigerian.” This chapter will describe the ways in which Nigerian seamen interpreted the changes brought on by the creation and operation of the NNSL, and the ways in which they portrayed and made sense of their participation in this ill-fated venture. The discussion will provide rich insights into how everyday Africans lived and responded to broader historical processes of decolonization and nationalization.

  The process of “Nigerianization” was both anticipated and lived by seamen on ships in the founding years of the NNSL. For seamen, the move to work for the national line held the promise of better working conditions. Seamen were lured by guarantees of better pay and fair treatment by the management, but they were also stirred by the opportunity to feel a sense of ownership and “home” on board the NNSL vessels. The initial manifestation of these dreams was largely a disappointment, as there was nothing very Nigerian about the NNSL ships apart from their flying the Nigerian flag. But as will be seen, ships of the NNSL with time did undergo a process of Nigerianization. We will examine what was “Nigerian” about the ships of the NNSL, and what the process of Nigerianization entailed and signified in the working lives of seamen on board ships. Historians and political scientists have studied the processes and outcomes of indigenization in postcolonial Africa as part of broader investigations into nationalist politics, statecraft, and development.4 In the context of postcolonial Nigeria, indigenization has been interrogated and evaluated with an eye to public policy and political ideology.5 An examination of how shipboard hierarchies, labor relations, and working cultures evolved over time and became “Nigerian” will enable a view “from below” and provide significant insights into how working classes lived through, interpreted, and shaped the history of Nigerianization in the postcolonial era.

  SEAMEN AND THE POSSIBILITY OF NATIONALISM

  A full appreciation of seamen’s engagement with the Nigerian National Shipping Line must take into account their experiences as colonial subjects on British merchant ships. As seen in chapter 2, seamen’s transnational travels enabled them to develop a cosmopolitan consciousness, and they nurtured social, cultural, and political ties that cut across national and racial boundaries. At the same time, Nigerian seamen suffered from discrimination on the basis of race and class both on board ships and ashore, and these experiences primed them for embracing nationalist ideology. The establishment of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) presented seamen with an opportunity to express a nationalist allegiance. The transfer of Nigerian crew from Elder Dempster to employment in the NNSL was negotiated at the level of management as part of the founding process of the NNSL. In the aftermath of the Salubi inquiry, the National Maritime Board was created to organize and regulate the recruitment of seamen for shipowners, and seamen were directed to employment by the NNSL through the Maritime Board.6 Nonetheless, the majority of Nigerian seamen interviewed described the move to the NNSL as their own decision.7 This is because, while the opportunities and choices seamen had in choosing to work for the NNSL were not fully of their own making, seamen’s engagement with nationalist ideologies and policies led them to embrace the NNSL as the answer to their frustrations and hopes. Seamen’s expectations of the national line reflected a unique engagement with nationalist discourse, framed in the context of their working lives.

  Many of the men interviewed claimed that they chose to move to the NNSL as an expression of their nationalist sentiment following the end of colonial rule. The declaration of independence was remembered as a time of great celebration, and Nigerians on board ships organized parties for their entire crews. One seaman recalled that European captains also joined in the festivities, having cakes baked and allowing the crew free drinks: “Oh yes, a man to a bottle of brandy, two cartons of beer, stout, everything was free on that day. Anything you asked was free, you didn’t pay for anything on that day.”8 Seamen were proud to have their own shipping company and claimed that they came to work for the Nigerian National Shipping Line as an expression of their patriotism. As one said, “I was very happy to work with national line because I was ready to serve my country.”9 Another replied, “It was our national carrier, so we must be happy working for it. It was our national flag!”10 Others simply assumed that it would be better to work for a Nigerian line: “Yes, we were happy. Because it was an indigenous company, so we assumed it will be okay once it is established. Like conditions of service, welfare—like what took place in the Congolese shipping company, where their seamen were taken care of.”11

  As soon as they went to work for the Nigerian National Shipping Line, seamen were issued Nigerian passports. This was hailed by some informants as a sign that Nigeria had joined the ranks of independent nations. In their work as colonial seamen, men were issued seamen’s certificates rather than international passports, and these identity papers limited their options for mobility at various ports of call. In 1960, when seamen began working for the NNSL, things changed for the better: “Yes, everyone of the crew had an international passport and with it we could go to anywhere in the world without any problem. An international passport is better [than a seaman’s certificate]. We used the international passport to enter Russia, Korea, and other areas including Europe—Germany, Holland, Belgium.”12 Seamen’s satisfaction with their new status must be understood against the backdrop of the colonial era, when they were issued a form of identification they viewed as second-class. Seamen’s experiences of mobility in the colonial era and their encounters with border regimes fostered a longing for national status and the benefits it could bring. As Craig Calhoun has argued, the turn to nationalist identification among cosmopolitans is often linked to a longing to “join the ranks of those with ‘good’ passports.”13 Thus, the identification with patriotism was often linked to tangible benefits that national status could bring.

  In the same way, seamen’s enthusiastic embrace of the NNSL was rooted in the hope that conditions of work would be better under the national lines. The enthusiasm with which Nigerian seamen greeted the creation of the NNSL was a direct reflection of the discrimination they had suffered at the hands of white officers. As one said, “I remember that one of the chief officers, a white man, often made racist comments addressing us—we blacks, and then I knew him to possess the South African white man’s attitude, a racist attitude. . . . Do you know w
hy they wanted us to work for them? It was because of cheap labor, we were so cheap, that was why they kept on doing business with us.”14

  While seamen hoped that employment for the national line would mean an end to discrimination, they were specifically drawn to the prospect of better salaries. Following the Salubi report, the National Maritime Board formulated new rates of pay for seamen. At its founding, the NNSL promised Nigerian seamen to adopt the new pay scale and to begin paying for overtime. This was a benefit they did not receive on Elder Dempster ships and a long-standing point of contention between the Nigerian Union of Seamen and Elder Dempster management throughout the 1950s. Many seamen interviewed claimed that they were attracted to the promise of overtime pay, but this financial benefit was also linked to an overall sentiment that they would be treated with more dignity on board the Nigerian ships. Seamen’s hopes (and ultimate disappointment) can be seen in the following seaman’s testimony regarding the move to the national lines:

  It was my choice to be paid off [the ED Line] because we Nigerians now had our own ships and we left the European shipping line and joined our local line. It was because the national line paid us a lot of overtime, but there was nothing like overtime in the ED Line. We came because of this and also with the intention to serve our country, but later we suffered and regretted our action, joining national line. Really, apart from the money, we had this patriotism in us, but it was unfavorable to us.15