as split into Native Court areas administered by British officers or Ibo men designated as warrant chiefs (Morgan, 1996).The usurpation of womens rights was the main cause of Ogu Umunwanyi, the Womens War of 1929, called the Aba Riots by British historians. The war was triggered by a census and property count which resulted in taxes for men. Women leaders in several tribes organized to prevent taxation and held meetings at which women decided not to comply with the count and to riase an alarm if an official demanded information" (Morgan, 1996). On Nov. 23, 1929, women from all over the province portested at the local Native Administration Centers district office. The women protested, demolished or burned 16 Native Courts and released prisoners in several jails (Morgan, 1996). Religious influence, especially by the Christianity missionary intensified during the 1930s. The missionaries banned participation in traditional rituals such as the mikiri, an Ibo womens forum for example. In 1959, women again revolted against discriminatory colonial policies. The Kon women of Eastern Nigeria protested when the colonial government wanted to sell their lands to the Ibo. Nearly 2000 women marched on a nearby town and burned down the marketplace. They demanded the closing of all foreign schools, courts, and other institutions, and the expulsioin of all non-Kon peoples from the area (Morgan, 1996).On October 12, 1960, Nigeria gained Independence. Since Nigeria was colonized by the British who set up government in the northern, Hausa section of Nigeria, leadership naturally passed to these people after independence. The Ibos have historically been egalitarian, settling disputes among family kindred. Military rule has been the major ruling form established in the "democratic" government of Nigeria, although there were many civilian presidents after indendpence and through the 1980s. More recently, on June 8 1998, Nigeria's ruler at the...
