In my connections series so far I’ve talked about a few countries that we have a lot of pleasant and safe links, but when discussing the connection between Scotland and Nigeria, the Spectre of Empire must necessarily rise up. But is that all there is? From what I’ve read, that is far from all there is. We have individuals with mixed heritage, and these are interesting stories worth telling. We also have a Nigerian population in Edinburgh who I have sought out to ask for their input.
What I find while researching these articles is always more interesting than I first thought!
So what is the connection between Scotland and Nigeria? Let’s explore together.
British Empire (TW: Picture of London incoming)
Though Scots would be often keen to blame the English for a lot of the British Empire, there’s no getting around that it was only possible to form the British Empire because of our involvement. Talking about this subject would require multiple books, a couple of which you can find here T. M. Devine talking about that in his book ‘Scotland’s Empire‘. The British and Nigerian connection is also summed up by David Olusoga in ‘Black and British‘.
The British Empire in Nigeria
The Scottish school system when I went was very light on the topic of the British Empire. It’s a blindspot for so many in the UK, we know about the bits of pink on the map, we might know about a few of the evils, but specifically I believe the level of understanding and knowledge to be low. So here’s a quick note on Britain in Nigeria.
From 1861, the British Empire took over what is now Lagos through threat of force. The Empire formed protectorates in the area, which were administered by corporations. British control of Nigeria was formalised at the Berlin Conference of 1885. The protectorates were amalgamated in 1900 to make a state ruled by the Crown instead of via companies. Nigeria was to have 4 governors during this period.
The Imperialist Connection Between Scotland and Nigeria
Of the 4 governors Nigeria had between 1900 and independence in 1960, 2 of them were Scottish. Half of Nigerian colonial governors were therefore Scottish. And this is only covering the top position in the colonial government. When the first governor resigned his post as High Commissioner of the Northern Nigerian Protectorate, he left the post to an acting High Commissioner called Sir William Wallace. This suggests that, as with many other parts of the British Empire, the Scots were well represented in Nigerian colonial governance.
The Religious Connection Between Scotland and Nigeria
Presbyterianism as a form of Christianity had its roots in Scotland. It has since spread across the world and it is not accurate to say it is only because of Scots that that’s the case. In Nigeria, though, that is the reason.
A group of missionaries led by Rev. Hope Masterson Waddell were to set up the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. This now has almost 7 million members, there are at least 1.3 million more Presbyterians in Nigeria than there are people in Scotland. (Nigeria has 232.7 million people at time of writing which makes it 42 times larger than Scotland). One missionary who was Scottish, from Aberdeen, who was particularly important was Mary Slessor.
Slessor joined the Presbyterian mission at Calabar and was to evangelise in Okoyong where she learnt the Efik language. She introduced Western education in the area and sought to settle disputes amongst locals. There was a local belief against twins which meant they often got abandoned but Slessor tried her best to care for them and even adopted several. Slessor was dubbed ‘the white queen of Okoyong’, which turns out was based off an honorary title she was given in the Efik language. There are numerous statues of her in Calabar holding twins.
The medical connection between Scotland and Nigeria
The University of Edinburgh is a rich vein for connections with other nations, especially the medical school, which was the largest of its kind in the English-speaking world till the First World War ended. Amongst its many great alumni is Nigerian Richard Akinwande Savage. He had a significant life in its own right but my attention was drawn to the fact his wife was a Scot named Maggie S Bowie. The couple had two kids who were to follow in their dads footsteps as doctors. In particular…
Agnes Yawande Savage
One of my favourite topics of Edinburgh or research in recent years has been our women doctors. They faced so much discrimination to attain even a basic level of respect and yet they did it and went on to carve interesting lives which I’d say are worth at least a detailed Netflix series. (Bring me on as a consultant).
Agnes Yawande Savage was a highly skilled woman. She passed the entry exam to the Royal College of Music, but was instead to go into medicine. She graduated in 1929 and in her fourth year won a medal in Forensic Medicine. Savage was the first woman at the University of Edinburgh to attain this.
Agnes Yawande Savage was to go off to practise with the Colonial Service in Ghana – in a job for which she was paid less and was less respected than the men. Through numerous positions she proved she deserved much better respect, and when she wasn’t proving that women could be doctors, she was lifting others up.
Savage is clearly a woman who deserves her name to be remembered both as a great Scot and a great Nigerian. There is no statue of her in Edinburgh. Yet.
The connection between Scotland and Nigeria post-independence
Scotland is still waiting for our independence and it might be some time, yet. Nigeria however has been an independent nation since 1960, with all the struggles that entails. Since then, many Nigerians have made their way to Scotland. There is an organised Nigerian Community in Edinburgh who run charity and cultural events.
One of the most notable and entertaining stories I’ve come across in my exploration however, involves the Scottish football team, Dundee United.
How sport brings us together
In Nigeria, “Dundee” is slang for fool. Particularly, “Dundee United” is the full expression. Many Nigerians end up hearing the term and don’t realise it has a connection to Scotland because it’s pronounced differently. But there we have it. To be Dundee is to be foolish.
There has been competing theories about why this is the case. The story I’d heard before writing is that Dundee United went over to Nigeria to play a bunch of friendlies and lost every game, thus earning eternal derision. It turns out the truth is a little softer if still mortifying.
In the 1972 to 73 season, Dundee United had performed above a mid-table finish. The Scottish leagues were quite well-regarded at this point as we were still a regular fixture at World Cups. Let’s hope that becomes true again. So this was a solid side that was to go on a tour of West Africa. Dundee United went, scored two draws, one win, and then two losses. The thing is, these were amateur sides as the Nigerian game was not so well-developed at the time. They only started professional leagues in the 1990s.
It did not help that the Dundee United side did not report well on their trip and that led to calls for a public inquiry into why Nigeria had been subjected to this performance.
I suppose we can all take some solace in giving the gift of a really funny etymology.
Conclusion
There are a fair few promising connections between Scotland and Nigeria which are well worth exploring in greater depth. It seems to me we are two countries with the same national sport, we have the same language (with a fair few extra in Nigeria’s case), we’ve got imperial history albeit from different sides, and a mutual history of great women. There’s doubtless other connections I have missed, and if you know of any feel free to contact me via the contact page. For now though, I’m going to be hoping my Nigerian readers don’t find this article Dundee United.
The writer of this piece has a friend who supports Dundee United.
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