Grassroots Nationalism and the Role of Trade Unions in Nigeria’s Independence Movement

This study examines the contributions of trade union organisations and grassroots nationalist movements to the Nigerian independence struggle from the 1940s to 1960, arguing that the historiography of Nigerian nationalism has over-privileged elite political actors while neglecting the organised labour movement and mass populist mobilisations that created the social pressure for decolonisation. Key episodes including the 1945 general strike, the Enugu coal miners' shootings of 1949, and Zikist Movement radicalism are examined as expressions of worker-led anti-colonial militancy. Using a descriptive historical design, the study reviews trade union correspondence, colonial labour department reports, and newspaper accounts, supplemented by secondary literature published between 2019 and 2024. The Labour History Framework and the Subaltern Studies Approach provide the analytical lenses. Findings reveal that the 1945 general strike, led by Michael Imoudu, paralysed the colonial economy for 37 days and demonstrated the capacity of organised labour to challenge colonial authority in ways that formal political parties could not. The Zikist Movement's demand for immediate independence and its embrace of confrontational tactics represented a radicalisation of the independence movement that ultimately accelerated British concessions. Keywords: trade unions, nationalism, independence movement, 1945 strike, Zikist Movement.