Imperialism and Human Rights

Bonny Ibhawoh

Description

2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

In this seminal study, Bonny Ibhawoh investigates the links between European imperialism and human rights discourses in African history. Using British-colonized Nigeria as a case study, he examines how diverse interest groups within colonial society deployed the language of rights and liberties to serve varied socioeconomic and political ends. Ibhawoh challenges the linear progressivism that dominates human rights scholarship by arguing that, in the colonial African context, rights discourses were not simple monolithic or progressive narratives. They served both to insulate and legitimize power just as much as they facilitated transformative processes. Drawing extensively on archival material, this book shows how the language of rights, like that of "civilization" and "modernity," became an important part of the discourses deployed to rationalize and legitimize empire.
List of Illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations

1. The Subject of Rights and the Rights of Subjects

2. Right, Liberties, and the Imperial World Order

3. Stronger than the Maxim Gun: Law, Rights, and Justice

4. Confronting State Trusteeship: Land Rights Discourses

5. Negotiating Inclusion: Social Rights Discourses

6. Citizens of the World’s Republic: Political and Civil Rights Discourses

7. The Paradox of Rights Talk

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Sujets

• África
• History of Africa
• Africa

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 03 janvier 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791480922
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

IH R
IMPERIALISMAND
HUMANRIGHTS
Colonial Discourses of Rights and Liberties in African History
Bonny IbhawohIMPERIALISM
AND
HUMAN RIGHTSSUNY series in Human Rights
Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat, editorIMPERIALISM
AANNDD
HUMAN RIGHTS
Colonial DDiscourses oof
Rights aand LLiberties iin
African HHistory
Bonny Ibhawoh
State University of New York PressPublished by
State University of New York
© 2007 State University of New York Press, Albany
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic,
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without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press,
194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384
Production by Ryan Hacker
Marketing by Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ibhawoh, Bonny.
Imperialism and human rights : colonial discourses of rights and liberties in
African history / Bonny Ibhawoh.
p. cm.—(SUNY series in Human Rights)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6923-1 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-7914-6923-9 : alk. paper)
1. Human rights—Africa, Sub–Saharan—History—19th century.
2. Sub–Saharan—History—20th century.
3. Colonies—Africa, Sub-Saharan—Law and legislation.
I. Title. II. Series.
KQC572. I24 2007
323. 096—dc22 2005037168
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1For
OmoaruniContents
List of Illustrations ix
Foreward xi
Acknowledgments xiii
List of Abbreviations xv
1. The Subject of Rights and the Rights of Subjects 1
2. Right, Liberties, and the Imperial World Order 29
3. Stronger than the Maxim Gun: Law, Rights,
and Justice 55
4. Confronting State Trusteeship: Land Rights
Discourses 85
5. Negotiating Inclusion: Social Rights Discourses 115
6. Citizens of the World’s Republic: Political and Civil
Rights Discourses 141
7. The Paradox of Rights Talk 173
Notes 181
Bibliography 207
Index 221
viiIllustrations
Figure 2.1 Map of Nigeria 30 2.2 Map of Nigeria Showing
Ethno-linguistic Groups 31
Figure 6.1 Illustration: “Victory Is Vital!” 146 6.2 Illustration: “Yes, She Would Look Best in
this New One” 156
Figure 6.3 Illustration: “The People’s Choice” 157
ixForeword
The interdisciplinary field of human rights is rather new
but rapidly expanding. The SUNY series in Human Rights
attempts to advance scholarship on the political and social
processes of human rights and disseminate research findings to
a large audience in an accessible style. It intends to address
vital issues related to the full spectrum of human rights
recognized by the International Bill of Rights, as well as different
conceptualizations that expand or contract the scope of human
rights. Including volumes that examine cultural, economic,
political, and international factors that contribute to the
violation or improvement of human rights or analyze the
consequences of human rights violations, the series aspires to promote
human rights, offer policy guidelines that would help improve
human rights practices, and contribute to the theory-building
efforts in social sciences.
Bonny Ibhawoh’s Imperialism and Human Rights is the
first book in the series. As such it holds privileged position, and
by presenting interesting data and analysis in an engaging
style, it lives up to the expectations above and sets a high
standard for the other books to follow. This historical analysis,
which focuses on the human rights discourse in the Niger delta
area under the British colonial rule, seems to be examining
largely what happened before the establishment of the global
human rights regime under the leadership of the United
Nations. However, by introducing the complexities surrounding
the use of human rights language by different groups—by
the colonists to legitimize their presence and empire, by the
religious humanists to advance their “civilizing” mission, and
xixii Foreword
by the colonized to negotiate with the dominant groups
and seek liberation—the volume alerts us to the fact that a
rights-oriented discourse is not always emancipatory or
empowering, yet once introduced, the meaning of the terms or
their applications can be altered and subverted to support
different causes. The dualism in British law and justice, as
revealed by the different levels of respect for human rights in
the motherland and those of the colonial subjects, established
a foundation to claim for the universal application of rights.
Although the colonized people and their leaders could not
participate in drafting the international human rights documents,
it is also noted that the Atlantic Charter, and to a lesser
extent the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, resonated
with the African nationalist elites who welcomed and invoked
the principles and content of these documents in their
struggles. Nevertheless, they too fell short of applying human
rights universally. The independence constitution of Nigeria,
for example, was adopted without granting equality to
minorities and women.
This discourse analysis speaks to the power of rhetoric and
the legitimizing function of the concept of human rights, but it
also shows that the advancement of human rights is also about
power. Ibhawoh is too sophisticated to appeal to the cliché that
history repeats itself, but what he notes about the Nigerian
colonial experience also applies to a story that has been
unfolding in other parts of the world, including the Middle East
today, with significant ramifications for the future.
Zehra F. Kabasakal AratAcknowledgments
“Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.” So goes the famous
saying. Yet, human rights scholarship is one of those rare fields
where even those who teach can also attempt some doing. For
me, this has been one of the attractions of human rights work
and scholarship—the nexus between academics and activists
that provides unique opportunities to connect theory and
practice. Although this book explores a subject that many activists
would find more academic than practical, it has benefited
immensely from my frequent shuttles between the relatively
secure world of academia and the “trenches” of human rights
work. Along the way, I have incurred many debts among friends
and colleagues of both the town and gown. My association with
a number of institutions over the past few years provided me
with opportunities for research and scholarly interaction that
have been crucial to this project. I am grateful to the Centre for
African Studies of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London; the Danish Institute for Human Rights
(DIHR), Copenhagen; the Carnegie Council for Ethics and
International Affairs, New York; and the Constitutional Rights
Project for a series of collaborative work that provided
opportunities for research into the more recent history of human rights
in Africa.
I am indebted to many individuals and institutions that
made possible my research in Canada, the United Kingdom and
Nigeria. I owe a special debt to the staff of the Public Record
Office, London; DIHR library; University of Ibadan library;
and the Nigerian National Archives Ibadan, particularly the
archivist Mike Elumadu. I must thank Jane Parpart and Philip
xiiixiv Acknowledgments
Zachernuck, who supervised the dissertation that provided
the foundations for this project, and Omoniyi Adewoye, former
Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, who ignited my
interest in this subject. I am also grateful to Loris Gasparotto
for drawing the maps in this volume and to colleagues who
have offered suggestions along the way—Tunde Odutan,
Harvey Amani Whitfied, Mark Gibney, John Sainsbury, and
the graduate students in my “Human Rights and Social
Justice” class at Brock University.
Funding for this project came for varied sources. I am
grateful to the Izaak Walton Killam Trust and Dalhousie University
for a generous fellowship that provided much of the funding for
the early stages of this project; the Carnegie Council for Ethics
and International Affairs for a research grant and Brock
University and McMasters University for institutional support.
Finally, I am grateful to my parents and my family, Omo and
our boys, Ehiane, Osezua and Aivona, who endured my many
absences away for research. I can only hope that this work is a
fitting tribute to their love and support.Abbreviations
Abe. Dist. Abeokuta District Files
Abe. Prof. Abeokuta Province Files
AG Action Group
ANLR All Nigeria Law Report
AS-APS Antislavery Society and Aborigines
Protection Society
Ben. Prof. Benin Province Files
CMS Church Missionary Society
CO Colonial Office
Com. Col. Commissioner for Colony Files
CSC Council of Swaziland Churches
CSO Colonial Secretary’s Office
EUG Egba United Government
I