Factors That Led to the Independence Movement – JSS3 Nigerian History Lesson Note (Third Term)

The independence movement was the struggle of colonised peoples to free themselves from the rule of other countries and govern themselves.

Behavioural objectives

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

1. Explain what the independence movement was.
2. Describe the economic factors that led to the independence movement.
3. Describe the political factors that led to the independence movement.
4. Explain how social and cultural factors, leaders and world events helped the movement.
5. State some results of the independence movement.

What was the independence movement?

The independence movement was the effort by people ruled by foreign countries to win self-government.

• Colonial rule: many places, including Nigeria, were once ruled by stronger countries such as Britain.
• The wish: the people wanted to make their own choices and be free.
• Many causes: economic, political, social and cultural factors, strong leaders and world events all worked together.
• Nigerian example: Nigeria gained independence from Britain on 1 October 1960.

What were the economic factors?

Economic factors were the unfair money and trade practices of the ruling countries that made local people poor.

Unfair taxes

• Heavy taxes: local people paid high taxes and gave away much of what they grew or made.
• Little return: they got few services back for the taxes they paid.
• Nigerian example: the Aba Women’s Riot of 1929 was a protest by women in south-eastern Nigeria over fears of new taxes.

Taking away resources

• Raw materials: rulers took valuable things such as gold, silver, crops and other natural resources.
• Sent abroad: these goods went to the ruling country to feed its industries.
• Nigerian examples: palm oil, cocoa, groundnuts, cotton and tin were exported.
• Anger: local people saw their wealth being carried away.

Trade rules

• Selling only to the ruler: local people could sell their goods only to the ruling country.
• Buying only from the ruler: they could also buy only from it, and the goods were often costly.
• Unequal gain: the ruling countries grew rich while local people stayed poor.

What were the political factors?

Political factors were the ways the rulers denied local people a share in government.

No say in government

• No vote: most local people could not vote or choose their leaders.
• Decisions by outsiders: all big choices were made by people from the ruling country.
• Limited elections: in Nigeria, the 1922 Clifford Constitution allowed a few elected seats, only in Lagos and Calabar.

Harsh laws

• Strict rules: laws helped the rulers but hurt the local people.
• Heavy punishment: people who broke these laws were punished severely.

Different treatment

• Poor jobs: local people could not get good jobs in the government.
• Closed places: they could not join certain clubs or attend certain schools.
• Lower status: they were treated as less important than the rulers’ own people.

What were the social and cultural factors?

Social and cultural factors were the ways colonial rule affected people’s way of life and thinking.

Looking down on local ways

• Disrespect: rulers often thought their ways were better than local languages, clothes, food and customs.
• Pressure to change: they tried to make local people live like them.
• Result: people grew proud of their own culture and resented the insult.

Bringing new ideas

• Ideas of freedom: the rulers also brought ideas about freedom, rights and equality.
• Local response: local people learned these ideas and wanted them for themselves.

Education

• Study abroad: some people studied in the ruling country or in schools set up by the rulers.
• New knowledge: they learned new things and met new ideas.
• Questions: on returning home, they asked why they could not be free like people elsewhere.
• Nigerian examples: Nnamdi Azikiwe and Obafemi Awolowo studied abroad and later led the struggle.

How did the rise of leaders help the movement?

Leaders helped the movement by speaking for the people and organising them against colonial rule.

Strong voices

• Speaking out: leaders wrote, gave speeches and led protests.
• The press: newspapers such as the West African Pilot spread nationalist ideas in Nigeria.
• Confidence: they showed people that they could fight for change.

Working together

• Joining hands: workers, farmers, students and others worked together against the rulers.
• Setting differences aside: groups put aside their differences to seek freedom.
• Nigerian parties and groups: the Nigerian Youth Movement, the NCNC, the Action Group and the Northern People’s Congress.

Peaceful and fighting ways

• Peaceful ways: some leaders urged people to boycott the rulers’ goods or refuse to pay taxes.
• Armed struggle: others urged people to fight with weapons.
• In Nigeria: the struggle was mainly through petitions, newspapers, political parties and constitutional talks.

How did world events help the movement?

World events weakened the ruling countries and gave hope to people who wanted freedom.

Big wars

• Weaker rulers: after World War I and World War II, the ruling countries had less money and fewer soldiers.
• Harder control: it became harder for them to keep control of colonies.
• Returning soldiers: many African soldiers who fought in World War II came home with new ideas and experiences.

Other countries getting free

• Hope: success in one place gave hope to people in other places.
• Nearby example: Ghana became independent in 1957 and encouraged Nigerians.

Help from outside

• Support: other strong countries sometimes gave money or weapons to freedom fighters.
• Voice abroad: they also spoke up for them in world meetings.
• Effect: this help made the fight easier.

What were the results of the independence movement?

The results of the independence movement were new countries, new challenges and a stronger sense of pride.

New countries

• Self-rule: many new countries were born.
• National symbols: they got their own flags, anthems and governments.

Ongoing challenges

• Weak systems: new countries had to fix broken systems.
• Poverty: they had to help poor people.
• Self-government: they had to learn how to rule themselves well.

Pride and unity

• Pride: the fight for freedom gave people a sense of pride.
• Unity: it helped them feel united as one people.
• Nation building: this pride and unity helped them face the hard work of building their new countries.

What is a summary of the factors?

The factors can be grouped into five types, shown in the table below.

Evaluation

1. What was the independence movement?
2. State three economic factors that led to the independence movement.
3. Explain how education led some local people to ask for freedom.
4. How did World War I and World War II make it harder for ruling countries to keep control?
5. State two problems that new countries faced after getting freedom.

Assignment

Write a short paragraph explaining how two political factors made people want independence.