British Colonization of Nigeria Territories – JSS3 Nigerian History Lesson Note (Second Term)

Colonization is the taking over of political control of a territory by a foreign country.

The British ruled the Southern and Northern Protectorates of Nigeria through direct rule and indirect rule. Indirect rule was used in the north and most of the west. Direct rule was used in Lagos.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define colonization;
2. explain direct rule and indirect rule;
3. state the reasons the British adopted indirect rule;
4. describe how indirect rule worked in northern, western and south-eastern Nigeria.

What is colonization?

Colonization is the taking over of political control of a territory by a foreign country.

• Colonizer: the foreign country that takes control. In Nigeria, this was Britain.
• Colony or territory: the land and people brought under foreign control.
• Colonialism: the system by which the colonizer governs the territory for its own interests.

Since the British had taken over the territories of Nigeria, the territories were under British colonialism.

• The British created offices and appointed people to control affairs in the Southern and Northern Protectorates.
• They used a system of direct and indirect rule to control these protectorates.

What were the two systems of British rule in Nigeria?

There were two systems of British rule in Nigeria: direct rule and indirect rule.

Direct rule

Direct rule is a system of administration in which British officials were the rulers and controlled the affairs of the people directly.

• Who ruled: officials sent by Britain.
• Where used: Lagos.
• Power: the foreign power controlled the legislature, executive and civil administration.
• Culture: the ruling power often imposed its own culture and used the land for its own interests.

Indirect rule

Indirect rule is a system of administration in which traditional rulers continued to rule under the control of British colonial officers.

• Who ruled: traditional rulers such as Emirs and Obas, supervised by British officers.
• Where used: the Northern Protectorate and most of western Nigeria.
• Local elites: existing local leaders and native institutions were brought into the government.
• Culture: for the most part, local culture continued.
• Lord Lugard: his success in northern Nigeria came from the indirect rule policy he introduced.

What is the difference between direct and indirect rule?

Some British colonies were ruled directly by the Colonial Office in London. Others were ruled indirectly through local rulers, who were supervised by British advisers.

How did the British use both systems before amalgamation?

Before the Southern and Northern Protectorates were amalgamated to form Nigeria, the British used both direct and indirect rule.

• British officers in the eastern and western provinces of southern Nigeria saw that indigenous rulers were important in administration.
• The mode of operation was different in each place.
• Indirect rule was tried in the north first.
• After the experiment, Lugard extended it to the amalgamated Nigeria when he became Governor General.

Why did the British adopt indirect rule?

The British adopted indirect rule for practical reasons of cost, control and cooperation.

• Cooperation of rulers: using existing rulers made it easier to win the people’s obedience.
• Purifying Nigerian institutions: the British claimed they would remove harmful practices, such as the slave trade, from existing institutions.
• Preservation of customs and tradition: local laws and customs were allowed to continue.
• Consolidation of British hold: working through local rulers helped the British keep control of Nigeria.
• Past resistance: the British had met resistance in the past, so ruling through local rulers reduced the risk of conflict.
• Manpower and financial limits: Britain had too few officers and too little money to rule directly.
• Preparing Nigeria for self-governance: Nigerians would gain experience in administration.

How did indirect rule work in the north, west and south-east?

Indirect rule worked well in the north and most of the west, but it met with frustration in the south-east.

Northern Nigeria

The traditional rulers had to meet set conditions.

1. Accept British authority.
2. Cooperate with the British in modernising their administration.
3. Abandon the slave trade.

• The Emirs kept their titles.
• They had to report to district officers, who had the final say.
• The traditional rulers were reduced to salaried district heads.
• They acted as British agents for peacekeeping and tax collection.

Western Nigeria (Yorubaland)

• The system also worked in most parts of western Nigeria.
• Existing rulers, such as the Obas, were used in the administration under British supervision.

South-eastern Nigeria (Igboland)

• The British met with frustration when they tried to introduce indirect rule here.
• Many Igbo communities had no single ruler with wide authority, so the British had no ready-made rulers to use.
• The British appointed chiefs, known as warrant chiefs, who were often not accepted by the people.

Evaluation

1. What is colonization?
2. Explain direct rule and name the place in Nigeria where it was adopted.
3. State four reasons for the adoption of indirect rule.
4. What conditions were set for the traditional rulers in the north?

Assignment

Write short notes on direct rule and indirect rule, and describe the role of the Emirs in northern Nigeria under indirect rule.