Loko London: Nasarawa’s land of colonial relics

Loko town in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State is a riverine settlement on the edge of the River Benue that hosted some colonial masters and served as one of the entry routes to northern Nigeria for the British military.  Popularity known as ‘London’ because of its many colonial relics, the town is a […]

Loko town in Nasarawa Local Government Area of Nasarawa State is a riverine settlement on the edge of the River Benue that hosted some colonial masters and served as one of the entry routes to northern Nigeria for the British military.

 Popularity known as ‘London’ because of its many colonial relics, the town is a tourist attraction for British citizens including researchers, students and tourists who visit the grave of a prominent royal British military commander who was killed there in 1915.

 Most of its present inhabitants are fishermen, traders and commercial boat paddlers who convey traders and their wares from Loko to boundary communities in Benue State for daily transactions.

Although most of the relics were evacuated by the colonial military when they left the country according to residents, there some historical monuments still left in Loko, especially the grave of late Colonel AC Coveney of the Royal Berkshire Regiment (ATT Nigeria Regiment) who was killed on May 13, 1915 at the age of 38.

The grave is still visible in Loko with an emblem of Royal Berkshire, his age and date of death. It is a major relic in Loko and every year British citizen a visits.

 Muhammed Sani owns the house very close  to the grave. He said, “Every year, British citizens visit the grave of their brave military commander who was killed here in 1915, and they buried him at a location beside my house when the area was a virgin land. The visitors come in numbers varying between 10 and 15,  sometimes less than 10 persons and they observe short prayers, jot down words, take pictures and videos. Even last January, some British citizens from their High Commission came to visit the grave, they took pictures and left.”

Sani said when development spread in Loko, houses, including his, were built around the grave. 

“When a group of British citizens came and changed the structure, they shifted the grave and attached the tomb to my house,” he said.

Another resident of Loko, 58-year-old Jibrin Muhammed, said the grave was initially constructed with pressure stones and one of the outer layers was used by residents to sharpen their knives, cutlasses and other sharp objects. When a team of Europeans visited at a time and discovered the practice, they demolished the former structure, rebuilt the grave and cast gravel and cement on it.

Muhammed said the grave was initially close to the communication center called ‘Gidan Waya’. Residents of Loko in those days were afraid of going to the grave site even after the colonial masters left because their forefathers told them that the deceased was a notorious warlord who killed many black people that opposed his colonial doctrines, but met his death when he attempted to kill a popular hunter transformed into a lion.

Muhammed added that the killing of Colonel  Coveney marked the beginning of victory for residents of Loko against the colonial masters even though at that time people could not come out to jubilate because they were under colonial rule. The colonial masters were hurt by the killing.

Muhammed added that the team that rebuilt  the grave also changed the signpost attached to it because the former one faded.

Another resident of Loko, 46-year-old Abubakar Matalata, a boat paddler who was found siting beside some empty tanks, said, “These empty tanks were put in Loko by the colonial masters over 100 years ago. They placed the tanks at the bank of the river for loading their gas or diesel.”

They usually came with their ship and parked by the edge of the river and loaded gas for their vehicles, machines and other uses. They also constructed two zinc stores popularly known as containers beside the tanks for keeping their goods and other tools they shipped into the country from England.

“I remember when I was young about 30 years ago we used to come and play around the tanks, when you put a long  stick at the entry pipe it would soak the leftover gas. Since they left the country the tanks and the containers still remain at their locations there in Loko. “

A 75-year-old resident, Hassan Ahmed, said the colonial masters lived in Loko, which is why the town was nicknamed ‘London’, adding that the compound beside his house was the communication station where they had a telephone set which was used for communication with their base in Keffi and other stations in the northern part of the country.

“This house popularly known as Gidan Waya  is where the communication center was and wherever you go or ask of Gidan Waya even now, this is  the place they will bring you to because the station was once a home to some  senior officials and it was from where they handled information within and outside the country. There was a place where they built some houses called Bariki and they lodged their guests on the outskirts of Loko.

“We were living here one day when Governor Lugard arrived in Loko to pass to the northern part of the country. The town is well-known because colonialists once lived here.”

Ahmed added, “To the best of my knowledge the only thing they left with us in Loko is the ugly story of enslaving our parents and grandparents because they did not invest anything that could benefit the present generation, even a primary school. The only thing they left behind is the communication equipment but they later came back and removed and took them back to their country.”

“The grave of the fallen military commander has remained in Loko and is now a tourist attraction because every year British citizens, especially his relatives and some other Europeans visit the town. I think they visit the grave because of his prominence, he was a big man among the colonialists that lived in Loko.”