Nigerian General Strike (1945)

Fri Jun 22, 1945

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Image: A depiction of labor leader Michael Imoudu

On this day in 1945, a general strike involving 42,000 - 200,000 workers began in Nigeria, starting with railway workers, later spreading to other nationalized industries and enjoying solidarity from private sector workers.

The labor action was one of the largest strikes in colonial African history at the time, and took place in the context of an inflationary crisis and a callous colonial government, who issued a statement blaming the public for their own grievances:

“Unless the public is willing to do without, or reduce the consumption of commodities which are scarce, or to substitute other commodities for them, instead of taking the least line of resistance and buying (regardless of value and price control) in the black market, no benefit will result from increasing cost of living allowance.”

In response, a worker’s communiqué stated “the situation can no longer be sustained…not later than Thursday, June 21st, 1945, the workers of Nigeria shall proceed to seek their own remedy with due regard to law and order on the one hand and starvation on the other”.

The general strike took off on June 22nd and continued for 45 days. Nigerian labor leader Michael Imoudu (shown) played a key role in initiating the strike.