People's Union (Nigeria)
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People's Union
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| President | John K. Randle |
| Secretary | Orisadipe Obasa |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Dissolved | c. 1928 |
| Ideology | Conservative |
The People's Union was an association in Lagos, Nigeria created in 1908 to promote the welfare of the city's residents regardless of race or religion. Its leaders included educated and traditional elites. An early goal was to stop a project to bring piped water into the city. All residents would pay taxes to cover the costs, but the wealthy Europeans and Africans with piped houses would be the main beneficiaries. The union lost popular support when the educated elites accepted a compromise on the water project in 1915. The People's Union was revived to fight an election in 1923 and continued until 1928, but could not compete with the more populist Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP).
Under governor Walter Egerton a proposal for a system of piped water in Lagos was submitted to the Legislative Council in 1907, with the cost to be covered by direct taxation of the city's residents. The project was opposed by the majority of residents because of the tax component. Water was already freely available from the lagoon and from wells. The main beneficiaries would be the Europeans and rich Africans who had water pipes in their houses. Another issue was that the colonial government was funding Christian organizations but refusing equivalent funds to Muslims, who formed over 70% of the population.
John K. Randle and Orisadipe Obasa founded the People's Union at a mass meeting in Enu Owa in 1908 in reaction to the preferential treatment of Christians. The organization was secular, open to people of all religious persuasions, and was dedicated to the welfare of the people of Lagos. Specific objectives were to oppose expropriation, changes in land tenure and the water rate. The organization also opposed the Seditious Ordinance. The People's Union was a political association rather than a political party. It was led by a coalition of educated and traditional elites. Randle was president and Obasa was secretary. Other key members included conservatives such as Sir Kitoye Ajasa, Dr Richard Akinwande Savage and Sir Adeyemo Alakija. Obasa's wife led the associated Women's Union.
By the end of 1910 the People's Union had the broader goal of promoting "the interest of the country in every legitimate way, by upholding what is right, and protesting against what is inimical to the interest of the country." In 1911 its members toured Yorubaland to agitate against the proposal by Governor Frederick Lugard to declare all land to be the property of the government. Randle and Obasa may have gone to London to press their case. The government dropped the proposal.
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