Lynn Schler - Nation on Board: Becoming Nigerian at Sea

Nation on Board

NEW AFRICAN HISTORIES

SERIES EDITORS: JEAN ALLMAN, ALLEN ISAACMAN, AND DEREK R. PETERSON

Books in this series are published with support from the Ohio University Center for International Studies.

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Nation on Board

Becoming Nigerian at Sea

Lynn Schler

OHIO UNIVERSITY PRESS

ATHENS

Ohio University Press, Athens, Ohio 45701

ohioswallow.com

2016 by Ohio University Press

All rights reserved

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Schler, Lynn, author.

Title: Nation on board : becoming Nigerian at sea / Lynn Schler.

Other titles: New African histories series.

Description: Athens : Ohio University Press, 2016. | Series: New African histories | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015044414| ISBN 9780821422175 (hc : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780821422182 (pb : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780821445594 (pdf)

Subjects: LCSH: Merchant marineNigeriaHistory. | Merchant marinersNigeriaSocial conditions. | Merchant marinersLegal status, laws, etc.Nigeria. | Nigerian National Shipping LineHistory.

Classification: LCC HD8039.S42 N557 2016 | DDC 387.509669dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015044414

ISBN 9780821445594 (e-book)

With love, to George, Amos, Ellie, and Mika

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Many research projects spring from personal experiences and connections to a certain topic, while others are born out of fascination with something extremely foreign or misunderstood. This project unquestionably falls into the second category. My curiosity about the lives and experiences of Nigerian seamen is undeniably linked to my own fear of the sea, and my sheer fascination with those whose livelihoods required them to spend days, months, and years crossing the oceans. As Nigerian seamen were recruited as an underpaid and undervalued labor force on both colonial and postcolonial ships, the hardships and challenges they faced were particularly pronounced. This research was thus driven by reverence for the struggles and adventures these seamen experienced in the face of endless difficulties both onboard ships and ashore. Because the project began with my lack of familiarity with this world, it required a full education into the many facets of African seafaring in the colonial and postcolonial eras. I slowly entered into a world of knowledge concerning life on board ships, including ship hierarchies, work regimens, and tasks, as well as deck-based social relations and cultural life. I also learned about the political economy of international shipping in general, and the politics of shipping in postcolonial nations in particular. To close the gaps of knowledge, I had to rely on countless sources of information and support. The final product is based on material gathered from a wide range of archives, interviews, and the published research of others. Thus, I am deeply indebted to a long list of people and institutions that made this book a possibility.

First and foremost, I am indebted to the former Nigerian seamen, officers, seamens wives, and former NNSL managers who generously gave me their time, opened up their homes and their offices to me, responded to a wide array of questions, and tolerated my lack of knowledge regarding the material lives of seafarers in the international shipping industry. More than seventy men and women shared their stories, some of which were uplifting, others that were testimonies of abuses suffered and disillusionment. Every interview opened up a world onto itself, and I never could have undertaken this project without the detailed and insightful testimonies that emerged in each meeting. In particular, I am grateful to Adeola Lawal, Capt. Alao Tajudeen, Ari Festus, Ben Achilefu, Evelyn Miekumo, Lawrence Miekumo, Muritala Olayinka alli-Balogun, Pa Agbaosi, Rita Anomorisa, and Jackson Anomorisa. Sadly, some of the most notable informants have passed away since we last met: Joseph Kehinde Adigun, Anthony Davies Eros, Capt. Cosmos Niagwan, and Reuben Lazarus. Although the final product will appear long after the last of the interviews was conducted, it is my hope that all those interviewed will find their stories accurately portrayed in the pages that follow.