In 1929, Nwanyeruwa, a widowed Igbo woman from Oloko, ignited one of the most significant acts of resistance against British colonial rule in Nigeria. When a colonial tax official, Mark Emereuwa, ordered her to count her household and livestock, signalling an impending tax on women, she refused and publicly challenged the demand. Her defiance sparked widespread outrage that quickly spread.

Mobilising around 10,000 women, she played a central role in the Women’s War, a coordinated uprising against unfair taxation and the exploitative warrant chief system. The women used traditional protest tactics like gathering outside officials’ homes to sing, dance, and demand change. Their resistance forced reforms, including the removal of several warrant chiefs and the inclusion of women in native courts.

The movement she led has been credited with inspiring future revolts, including the Tax Protests of 1938 and the Oil Mill Protests of the 1940s.