LISTA PROVISIONAL DE EXCLUIDOS/AS

This section provides an overview of the structure of the thesis and the main arguments in each chapter.

The thesis consists of seven chapters. The first part includes Chapter 1, which sets the scene for the study by introducing the purpose, some historical context and literary background, along with two chapters (Chapters 2 and 3) that discuss the historical background and characteristics of the Lagos press as well as of the educated elite’s associational lives, laying the groundwork for the examination of newspaper representations of three types of voluntary associations in the second part.

Chapter 2 provides a chronological overview of seven English-language newspapers, which were published in Nigeria between 1880 and 1920. It examines characteristics of each newspaper, visions of journalists behind their press enterprises and the position of newspapers in a historical context of Lagos society—such as literacy rates, living costs and earnings of the population, as well as the reaction of the Colonial Government toward the local press. Previous studies treated the Lagos newspapers as an organ exclusively for the African educated elite, however, the examination in this chapter will show that Lagos newspapers were not the result of the single effort of their editors, but of collaborative works of editors and various contributors, inside and outside Lagos, that reflected the changing needs of the readers.

Chapter 3 gives an overview of the educated elite’s associational life in south western Nigeria between 1880 and 1920. It categorises into seven types the voluntary associations that appeared in the Lagos newspapers—religious associations, recreational

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associations, literary societies/educational societies, political and ethnic associations, memorial associations, occupational associations, and associations relating to the British Empire—and provides the reasons for focusing attention, in this thesis, on the latter three categories. It also discusses some useful concepts in examining associational life in colonial Lagos, such as unity, progress and respectability.

The second part comprises Chapters 4, 5, 6 and 7. The first three chapters examine the newspaper articles on memorial associations, industrial and agricultural associations, and associations relating to the British Empire respectively, and Chapter 7 serves as a conclusion of the thesis.

Chapter 4 discusses the newspaper descriptions of memorial associations—such as the Dr. N. T. King’s Memorial Association, the Glover Memorial Fund, the Lady Denton Memorial Committee, Mrs. Sapara Williams Memorial Committee, the Blyden Memorial Committee and the James Johnson Memorial Fund—which were organised for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of great men and women. These commemorative associations can be interpreted as an attempt to make a history of their own, and to share this history with illiterate and partly-literate people by visualising charismatic figures in the form of portraits and tablets. Memorialisation, namely, the act of recording their “own history”, was described in the Lagos press as the essence of

“civilised” society, which the Lagos educated elite aimed to achieve. This chapter also considers changes in the form of commemoration in the early twentieth century, including the rising practice of inserting memorial poems in newspapers and the establishment of Memorial Day.

Chapter 5 examines descriptions of industrial and agricultural associations, and related educational institutes—such as Rebecca Hussey Slave Charity Institution, Isaac A. Cole’s Technological Institution, R. B. Blaize’s Memorial Industrial Institute, the

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Lagos Agricultural Society and the Agege Planters’ Association—whose objective was to support artisans and farmers. From the late nineteenth century, the press began to devote more and more space to discussions on the need for skilled labourers and farmers. This chapter elucidates that there were not only practical issues—such as the poor quality and shortage of skilled labourers, the decline of commercial opportunities and severe competition with European firms—but also an ideological issue behind the press’s increasing attention to agriculture and industry. What the press called “moral advantages” of industry and agriculture were closely linked with discussions on how Lagos society should develop in its own way. Skilled artisans and farmers were idealised as examples of the spirit of independence, not requiring an unnecessary

“mimicry” of Western society. It was emphasised that if the youths took agricultural and industrial occupations Lagos society could regain self-respect and unity as an African race and eventually achieve suitable “natural” progress.

Chapter 6 deals with newspaper descriptions of public ceremonies of the British Empire in Lagos, such as the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, Queen Victoria’s Jubilees and Empire Day celebrations; and of related voluntary associations, as well as, during WWI, war relief fund-raising societies. It shows how these ceremonies and related associational activities influenced the self-perception of Lagos educated elite. This chapter demonstrates how an envisioned framework of the British Empire provided inspiration and an ideological base for the idea of the “oneness of Yoruba” and later Nigeria, with which the Lagos press attempted to encourage social cohesion and the economic improvement of society.

Chapter 7 provides a general conclusion to the whole study by drawing on all the preceding chapters. It concludes that the newspaper descriptions of associational activities were the educated elite’s conscious project to lead the future of Lagos toward

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a unified and civilised society in the African way. The chapter also evaluates the contributions and limitations of the research, and finally suggests areas for future research.⁴²

42 It is worthy of note that literature reviews of studies relating to Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6—the early Lagos newspapers, the educated elite’s associational activities in Lagos, memorialisation in southern Nigeria, agriculture and industry in Lagos, and the ceremonies and voluntary associations relating to the British Empire respectively—will be presented separately in each chapter.

27 CHAPTER 2