Death and the Textile Industry in Nigeria
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Death and the Textile Industry in Nigeria This book draws upon thinking about the work of the dead in the context of deindustrialization—specifically, the decline of the textile industry in Kaduna, Nigeria—and its consequences for deceased workers’ families. The author shows how the dead work in various ways for Christians and Muslims who worked in KTL mill in Kaduna, not only for their families who still hope to receive termination remittances, but also as connections to extended family members in other parts of Nigeria and as claims to land and houses in Kaduna. Building upon their actions as a way of thinking about the ways that the dead work for the living, the author focuses on three major themes. The first considers the growth of the city of Kaduna as a colonial construct which, as the capital of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, was organized by neighborhoods, by public cemeteries, and by industrial areas. The second theme examines the establishment of textile mills in the industrial area and new ways of thinking about work and labor organization, time regi- mens, and health, particularly occupational ailments documented in mill clinic records. The third theme discusses the consequences of KTL mill workers’ deaths for the lives of their widows and children. This book will be of interest to scholars of African studies, development studies, anthropology of work, and the history of industrialization. Elisha P. Renne is Professor Emerita in the Departments of Anthropology and of Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, USA. Routledge Contemporary Africa Series Corporate Social Responsibility and Law in Africa Theories, Issues and Practices Nojeem A. Amodu Greening Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa Ralph Luken and Edward Clarence-Smith Health and Care in Old Age in Africa Edited by Pranitha Maharaj Rethinking African Agriculture How Non-Agrarian Factors Shape Peasant Livelihoods Edited by Goran Hyden, Kazuhiko Sugimura and Tadasu Tsuruta Toward an Animist Reading of Postcolonial Trauma Literature Reading Beyond the Single Subject Jay Rajiva Development-induced Displacement and Human Rights in Africa The Kampala Convention Romola Adeola Death and the Textile Industry in Nigeria Elisha P. Renne Modern Representations of Sub-Saharan Africa Edited by Lori Maguire, Susan Ball and Sébastien Lefait For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge .com/Routledge-Contemporary-Africa/book-series/RCAFR Death and the Textile Industry in Nigeria Elisha P. Renne First published 2021 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Elisha P. Renne The right of Elisha P. Renne to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. With the exception of Introduction, Chapter 2 and Conclusion, no part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Introduction, Chapter 2 and Conclusion of this book are available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. They have been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-46552-0 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-05813-7 (ebk) Typeset in Bembo by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India KTL workers, their widows, and children James 1:27: Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. The New Testament The Women 4:36: Pay homage to God, and make none his compeer, and be good to your parents and relatives, the orphans and the needy and the neighbours who are your relatives, and the neighbours who are strangers and the friend by your side. The Qur’an- Late Kaduna Textiles Ltd workers’ ID cards Contents List of illustrations viii Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 The city of Kaduna as colonial construct 19 2 New work-time regimes: The rise and fall of Kaduna Textiles Ltd 37 3 Workers’ health and deaths after the closure of Kaduna Textiles Ltd 58 4 Burying the dead: Hometowns, houses, and cemeteries 74 5 Widows’ dilemmas and experiences of hardship 92 5 Interlude: Widows’ portraits 106 6 Consequences for children, problems for families 115 Conclusion: Death, deindustrialization, and time 135 Index 153 Illustrations Figures Late Kaduna Textiles Ltd workers’ ID cards v I.1 Member wearing Coalition of Closed Unpaid Textile Workers Association Nigeria-Kaduna branch jacket, 26 January 2017, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 2 I.2 Letterhead of list compiled by the Coalition of Closed Unpaid Textiles Workers Association Nigeria of KTL textile workers who died, with names and dates of death (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 2 I.3 Map of Nigeria indicating Kaduna and Middle Belt states (Courtesy of the World Bank). 4 I.4 Oliver Bijip came from the village of Kauyemu, in Kachia Local Government, to work in the Weaving Department at the Kaduna Textiles Ltd in 1976. He died in 2003 and was buried in Kauyemu (Photograph of ID card by E.P. Renne, courtesy of Martina Oliver, Kaduna). 7 1.1 Lugard Hall, 1960s, Kaduna (Photograph courtesy of Nicholas Rutherford, Minchinhampton, UK). 22 1.2 The entry gate to the Kabala Cemetery, a small African Christian cemetery in Constitution Road, 9 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 28 2.1 Drawing of Kaduna Textile Ltd, the first industrial textile mill in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, which was established in collaboration with the textile manufacturing firm, David Whitehead and Sons, Ltd, Rawtenstall, Lancashire, UK (Courtesy of David Whitehead and Sons, Ltd, Archives, Parbold, Lancashire, UK). 40 2.2 Kaduna Textiles Limited Employee’s Handbook with motto: “WORK, HONESTY, OBEDIENCE,” undated, Kaduna Illustrations ix (Photograph by E.P. Renne, 15 May 2018). 48 2.3 Weaving room workers at Kaduna Textile Ltd, note wristwatch worn by worker on the right (Courtesy of David Whitehead and Sons, Ltd, Archives, Parbold, Lancashire, UK). 49 3.1 Kaduna Textiles Ltd clinic for general mill workers, Kaduna, 2018 (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 62 3.2 List of workers attending the KTL clinic and health problem diagnoses, 26 March 2002 (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 63 3.3 Death certificate for Dauda Sani, form used by the Gwamna Awan Hospital, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 66 3.4 Death certificate for Abubakar Iliya, RTA (Road Traffic Accident), General Hospital, Kafanchan (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 70 4.1 Graves at Barnawa Muslim Cemetery. These two graves contrast with the more usual plain mounds of other graves, 7 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 75 4.2 Coffin sold in stall near the Television Garage, 7 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 81 4.3 Crucifix with Christ, detail of coffin cover, 7 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 82 4.4 Funeral program for the late Daniel Anche, see also Chapter 5 Interlude, Widow Portrait 1 (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 83 4.5 Family members wearing white during the burial of the late Daniel Anche; see also Chapter 5 Interlude, Widow Portrait 1 (Photograph of photograph by E.P. Renne). 84 4.6 Grave for Ishaya Netsi Musa, inside the family compound in Anguwan Gika, with the new style of patterned tiles with a cross, 15 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 86 6.1 Benedict Taru Yashim, who remembers his father’s generosity, 23 July 2019, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 117 6.2 Former KTL worker, Taru Yashim, received a Certificate of Long Service after he had worked in the Weaving Department for 20 years, 15 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 117 6.3 Kaduna State Bureau for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (KADBUSA) signboard, which reads: “Message From: KADBUSA, Children and Adults, You Should Avoid Taking Drugs,” 15 January 2020, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 127 C.1 Photograph of the former KTL worker, James Agene, who died in August 2009, Kaduna (Photograph of photograph by E.P. Renne). 145 C.2 Ezekiel Levinus was interviewed on 17 July 2019. He died in February 2020, a second generation of KTL deaths, 17 July x Illustrations 2019, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 146 C.3 Television Cemetery, where James Agene and members of his family are buried, 9 May 2018, Kaduna (Photograph by E.P. Renne). 146 Table 4.1 KTL widows’ ethnicity and place of husbands’ burials 77 Acknowledgments I would like to thank leaders of the Coalition of Closed Unpaid Textile Workers Association Nigeria, who generously took time to meet with me and to introduce me to many of the widows whose husbands had died after the Kaduna Textile Ltd mill closed, as well as to their children. Rahab Gajere and Adama David expertly organized our meetings, while Wordam Simdik and Ishar Iorngulum oversaw my participation in Coalition events.