THE ROLE OF THE PRESS IN ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE DAILY COMET AND THE WEST AFRICAN PILOT IN KANO, 1933-1960

THE ROLE OF THE PRESS IN ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE DAILY COMET AND THE WEST AFRICAN PILOT IN KANO, 1933-1960

Abstract:

This study examines the establishment, development and the role of some of the major nationalist newspapers, Daily Comet and the West African Pilot, which were essentially established and edited in Kano and Lagos respectively. It should be remembered that the two papers were an offshoot of Pan-Africanism at the local level. This is because the personalities that established the papers, Duse Mohamed Ali and Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe were bye-products of Pan-Africanism. Daily Comet was originally named The Comet, which was owned and edited by a radical Egyptian born pan-African crusading journalist, Duse, which was established in 1933. It was however acquired by another leading pan-African journalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe in 1945, and was transformed into Daily Comet. In his attempt to galvanize the various elements to fight against colonial oppression in the country, Azikwe, eventually moved the Comet to Kano in 1949 and gave it for the socio-political and economic emancipation of the oppressed Talakawa of the province. Fundamentally, the alliance that ensued between the two parties since the early 1950s strengthened the relationship between the two papers. Thus, Comet was declared an official political organ of the radical NEPU, while Pilot remained for the NCNC. While the radical Pilot was established by Azikwe when he returned to the country in 1930s. Thus, a new era of radical journalism was born in the country. Likewise, in his bid to radicalize all the sections of the country, Azikwe moved to other key towns of the country: Ibadan, Onitsa, Warri, Port Harcourt and Jos and established other subsidiaries of Comet and Pilot. However, in Kano, unlike in other parts of the southern Nigeria, the papers were confronted with dual persecution, viz: from the ruling aristocrats and the colonizers. In other words, the plight of the poor masses in Kano was to a large extent compounded by the policies of the colonizers who invented a new political structure in form of Native Authority (N.A.), thereby, the aristocrats had now become an integral part of the new system. Therefore, the history of the papers in the area was a history of struggle for emancipation and the establishment of a just and free society. However, in their attempt to suppress the influence of these papers, the colonizers and their collaborators deviced some measures for actualizing that. Thus, the radical elements suffered a lot, more especially its editors and critical patronizes. Also, the vendors were frequently harassed and newspapers were confiscated. In fact a number of them were brutally murdered. But in spite of all these measures, the people of the province considered the papers as vehicles for socio-political and economic emancipation

THE ROLE OF THE PRESS IN ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY OF THE DAILY COMET AND THE WEST AFRICAN PILOT IN KANO, 1933-1960