Pol 112

Study Session 1-Pre-Colonial Political Institutions and Processes
Introduction
In every political system, power and responsibilities are shared and performed by different political
institutions. The continued existence of a political system depends on the successful performance
of the functions allocated to different political institutions. ‘In pre-colonial Nigeria, the Yoruba,
the Hausa, the Kanuri, the Edo, the Jukun and the peoples and societies influenced and/or
conquered by them had the centralised forms of state’ (Atanda, 1973). Ehiedu (1982), assert that
the ‘distinguishing feature of this system is the existence of one ruler as the focus of power and
source of authority’. In the Nigerian States, these rulers were variously referred to as Sarki, Oba,
Obi, Aku, etc. Such rulers were often hereditary. The historical background to their assumption of
power is often lost in myths and legends. This amnesia over the origins of the kings is often actively
fostered by the rulers themselves in order to confer on themselves antiquity and the social
legitimacy deriving therefrom. Because of the seeming agelessness of the monarchies, they have
come to be referred to as "natural" or "traditional" rulers as if they always were part of the natural
environment of their societies. Hence, claims of state leadership often go with claims of having
founded the particular political community. In reality, these leaders acquired their state power
either through the manipulation of peoples' religious and spiritual beliefs or because they had
economic power. In structural terms, monarchical systems are generally complex, elaborate and
hierarchical. The kings often governed in alliance with titles and position either from their families,
wards or they had it conferred on them by the king. The kings and their councils constituted the
apex of the centralised state systems.
In Nigeria pre-colonial system, the political institutions also performed these roles in one way or
the other although there were no written records of these pre-colonial political systems. These
system of government in pre-colonial times was no doubt rudimentary with no visible and
discernible structures of government such as modern legislatures, executive and judiciary but all
those functions were performed by various institutions but sometimes the powers and
responsibilities assigned to each institution are fusion in one institution. In spite of all this, the
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affairs of the people were organized and managed in one form or another. This study session
presents knowledge about pre-colonial institutions and processes.
Learning outcomes for Study Session 1

At the end of this study session, you should be able to:
1.1 Discuss the Hausa/Fulani Pre-colonial political system
1.2 Explain the structure of the Hausa/Fulani political system
1.3 Examine the Yoruba Pre-colonial political system
1.4 Enumerate the structure of the Yoruba pre-colonial political institution
1.5 Describe the Igbo pre-colonial political system
1.6 Highlight the structure of the Igbo pre-colonial political institution
1.1 The Hausa/Fulani Political system/Emirate

Before colonial rule, the dominant political group in the Northern part of Nigeria before the
Uthman Dan Fodio’s jihad of 1802 was the Hausa traditional political system. However, a large
part of the Hausa kingdom was conquered by the Fulani who imposed their own system of
government on the conquered territories. In other words, the political hegemony of the Hausa was
overthrown and Fulani emirate system imposed. Therefore, the Northern Nigeria was divided into
emirates. The Emirates were created after the Fulani jihads. An emirate is under the controlled of
Emir. The government of an emirate was carried out by an Emir and some other political
institutions. Moreover, the political headquarter of the empire was Sokoto. The Fulani emirate was
a theocratic state based on the tenets and injunctions of the Holy Quran and Islamic religion.
1.2 The structure of the Hausa/Fulani political system

i. The Emir: Emir was the most powerful official in the emirate. He performed legislative,
executive and judicial functions. He was also the religions head of the emirate. He assumed
office by hereditary and equally obeyed by his people because it was believed that his laws
and orders came from God. It is imperative to note that since Sharia and Islamic laws were
supreme in the emirate then the emir had little role to play in law making. He only made
law in some areas which were not covered by the Islamic law and the Sharia.
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ii. Advisory Council: The Emir was assisted in the administration of the emirate by an
Advisory Council. This was a Council of the most senior Chiefs. They were appointed by
the emir. Therefore, they assisted the emir to maintain law and order in the emirate.
Therefore, for emir to performed executive functions, he must consult and seek the advice
of important public officials including the following who constituted his cabinet:
a. Waziri: He was the Prime Minister and head of the official.
b. Madawakin: Calvary Commander and Head of the Military.
c. Galadima: Administrator of the emirate capital.
d. Sarkin-Fada: Chief of Palace Staff.
e. Maaji: The Finance Minister.
f. Dogari: Chief of Police.
iii. Alkali Court: This court performed judicial function. The court was assigned with the
responsibilities to interpret Sharia and Islamic laws and punished offenders. The court
handled serious land and criminal cases and were important in the administration of justice
in the emirates.
iv. District Head: The emirates were divided into districts and each district was headed by
‘Hakimi’ (District Head). Hakimi assisted the emir in maintenance of law and order and
collection of taxes while he was required to retain part of taxes collected for the
maintenance of the administration of the district.
v. Village Head: The villages in an emirate was administered by village chiefs who were
appointed by the District head. They assisted in collection of taxes and tributes, settled
minor disputes and imposed sanctions for minor offences committed by the people of the
village. However, several villages were grouped together and placed under an official
called Hakimi (District Head).
1.3 The Yoruba Pre-colonial political system

The Yoruba people originated from Ile-Ife. Oduduwa was the progenitor of the race, he had seven
sons who later became the first set of seven Yoruba kings (Oba) to rule the various Yoruba
kingdoms. The Pre-colonial government in Yorubaland was constitutional monarchical. The head
of government was a king called Oba. The system of government was centralized and Yoruba
operated state societies. The spiritual capital of the kingdom was at Ile-Ife while Oyo was the
political capital. Originally, the kingdom was divided into smaller states or kingdoms such as Oyo,
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Egba, Ekiti, Ijesha, Ondo and Ijebu. Most of these were later brought together under the control of
Oyo. After the Yoruba inter-tribal wars, the smaller kingdoms re-asserted its independence and
refused to recognize the political leadership of Oyo Empire. However, by procreation and
extension, the number of kingdoms increased, each ruled by an Oba and with largely similar
administrative structures. The Oyo Kingdom had a well-defined structure representative of the pre-
colonial political system of the Yoruba.
1.4 The structure of the Yoruba Pre-colonial political institution
The Yoruba kingdom developed an efficient governmental system which existed for centuries
before the coming of Europeans into Africa. The system was based on checks and balances in
which the various organs of government checked the activities of one another to avoid dictatorship.
The institutions of government were as follows:
i. The Oba: The Oba was the political, cultural and sometimes spiritual/religious head of
the kingdom. In most cases, the Oba must be the eldest son of the deceased king and in any
case, should belong to one of the royal families. The Oba was not an absolute ruler but had
chiefs with whom he held consultations and both of whom served as checks and balances
on each other. It was the Oba who appointed these chiefs following tradition. The Oba with
his chiefs exercised judicial powers especially over serious crimes such as murder,
allocated land to people, settled land and other inter-ward disputes and saw to the general
welfare of the people. However, the king was an executive Head of State. Therefore, the
power to appoint, promote, demote and dismiss the senior chiefs was vested in the Oba.
The political powers of the Oba were entrenched by religious and magical powers. He was
the head of the various cults and secret societies in the kingdom.
ii. The Council of Chiefs/Elders: The council of chiefs called ‘Oyomesi’ were also the
kingmakers. In Oyo, members were prominent chiefs drawn from seven notable wards that
made up the capital of the empire. The leader of the council of chiefs in the old Oyo empire
was the ‘Bashorun’ who also acted as the prime minister of the kingdom. The seven
kingmakers acted as organ of checks and balances to the powers and excesses of the Oba.
They were not only empowered to elect a new king at the demise of one, but also to remove
or impeach an Oba who violated the traditions of the community. The chiefs served as an
adviser to the king that’s why sometimes they are called an Advisory council. The chiefs
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as the Oba’s advisers, met to discuss issues and took decisions which they presented to Oba
who usually accepted such decisions or advice, but was not bound to accept. Such decision
was publicised as the ‘voice of Oba’ and then became law.
iii. Secret Societies: In Oyo empire, there was a powerful secret society called ‘Ogboni
Fraternity’. The Ogboni fraternity was one of the political institutions of the Yoruba
kingdom. The secret society which comprised of prominent elders and headed by the
‘Oluwo’. The fraternity checked the excesses of the kingmakers in the area of
dethronement of an Oba. They mediated between the king and the kingmakers whenever
there was a disagreement, and performed rituals on behalf of the kingdom.
iv. The Army: This institution was headed by ‘Are-Onakakanfo’. The Aare-Onakakanfo was
a chief appointed by the Oba as a war-general, to defend the territorial integrity of the
kingdom from internal insurrections and external aggressors. The constitution provided
that an Aare-Onakakanfo must commit suicide should kingdom suffer defeat in the
battlefield. As a result, some war generals returned to the kingdom after battle defeat, but
established new settler instead of committing suicide. He collected booty for the king in
the war front such as slaves and properties.
v. The Village Head: In Yorubaland, the village head is called ‘Baale’. He’s appointed by
the king to administered the villages in the kingdom. The village head annually brought
tributes (Isakole) and dues from their people to the king. Generally, there was no formal
system of taxation (Owo-Ori) among the Yoruba. He settled disputes among his people
and maintained laws and orders in their community. Moreover, the judicial system was
also hierarchical in nature. Minor cases were tried at the Baale court but serious cases such
as murder were referred to the Oba’ court, which served as the highest court of the land.
vi. The Family Head: In Yoruba kingdom, the head of the family is called ‘Mogaji’ He’s
the most senior member of the family. The family heads collected tributes from either their
farming or trading to the village head for onward transferred to the king. He settled disputes
in the family while the one he couldn’t resolve will be transferred to the village head. They
are important institution in Yorubaland.
vii. Age Grade Organisation: In part of Yoruba kingdom, age grade organisations existed.
They were called ‘Eleegbe’. These were groups of young men born around the same period.
They were organised and give a name with defined leadership. The age grade organisations
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assisted in the execution of public works and enforcement of decisions reached at the town
meetings such as clearing of path ways, environmental sanitation, joint planting,
harvesting, mass hunting and construction of market place. They also performed police,
and security functions too.
1.5 The Igbo pre-colonial political system
As a result of the existence of many political institutions in Igboland, there was no centralisation
of power in Igboland. Instead, political institutions were performing similar or different functions.
There were no traditional rulers in the form of kings as we have it among the Yoruba and
Hausa/Fulani and so no hereditary claims to traditional tools. In this setting, there was never an
Igbo kingdom or empire. The largest political unit was the village. However, Igboland was a
stateless society and operated an ‘acephalous system’, this means political power and authority
were not concentrated in the hands of traditional rulers. It was essentially republican and
democratic in governance. Power was distributed among several institutions more of which was
superior to another. The various institutions that exercised governmental power included the
following:
1.6 The structure of the Igbo pre-colonial political institution

i. The Village Assembly: The village administration was made up of kindred’s who had
patrilineal relationship called ‘Umunna’. One of the major political institutions that
controlled the affairs of the villages was the council of elders which comprised heads of
families that held staff of authority called ‘ofo’ titled holders. The village assembly was
a meeting of all adult males in the community. Where every adult male had the right to
air his views on any issues under discussion and decisions were reached through a
consensus of the people in attendance. The meeting was presided over by the ‘Okpara’.
The political institution that often attended that meetings were the council of elders, age
grade organisation and the ozo title holders. Moreover, there was freedom of expression
at village meetings and final decisions must be unanimous. The assembly could bring
the village to a halt if the Council of Elders was recalcitrant.
ii. The Family: The family was the basic unit of social organisation and administration
among the Igbo during the pre-colonial period. The Igbo family was and still patrilineal,
that is, a family relationship which is still reckoned through the father or through the
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male alone. A family could be small or large enough to form a village or a clan. The
head of the family settled minor disputes within the family; he performed rituals,
customary rites and sacrifices; he equally represented the family at the village meetings.
The family head held the ‘Ofo’ title.
iii. Age Grade Organisation: One of the traditional political institutions in Igboland was
the age grade societies. The age grade consisted of young men divided into various group
according to their ages. Each age grade had a leader who coordinated the activities of
the group. They performed functions such as maintenance of law and order, arrest of
offenders and implementation of judgements pronounced by the council of elders and
the entire village assembly. In addition, they mobilised young men for the defence of
their territories, maintained security checkpoints, cleared, bush paths and performed
environmental sanitation.
iv. Titled Holders: There were many secret societies and cults among the Igbo but there
were stringent conditions for their membership. In the case of the “ozo” title,
membership was restricted to people of wealth and influence in the society. Although
they were not traditional rulers, Ozo titleholders played important roles in the
administration of the village. They offered advice to the elders, settled family disputes
and assisted in settling inter-village conflicts. The enormous powers conferred on ozo
titleholders whose only claim to the pre-eminent position was wealth indicated the
importance attached to material success in the Igbo society.
v. The Priest and Priestesses: They are equally known as the diviner. The diviner of “Nde
Dibea” was also important in village administration. As the intermediary between the
village deity and the people, the utterances of the diviner were more or less laws in the
society. The priest interpreted spiritual events, pronounced sanctioned on those who
committed abomination against gods and performed rituals. The village priest therefore
wielded a great deal of power in the administration of the village.
Summary of Study Session 1

In this study session, you have learnt the historical background and structure of Hausa/Fulani pre-
colonial political system. Also, the historical trajectory of the Yoruba pre-colonial political system
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was discussed in detailed while the structure of the Yoruba pre-colonial political institutions was
fully enumerated. Both the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba political institution were the same, both was
centralized and operated state society but despite this they still have their differences because in
the Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial system there was an absolute monarch where the power of an emir
cannot be checked while in Yoruba pre-colonial system they operated constitutional monarchical
system whereby the power of an Oba can be checked. Lastly, the Igbo pre-colonial political system
and the structure of the Igbo pre-colonial political institution were fully discussed.
Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 1

Now that you have come to the end of this study session do you know how well you have fared?
Would you like to test your understanding of the session? Then, see if you could answer the
following assessment questions. Do not forget to write down in your notebook any topic you do
not understand or that needs further clarification. Discuss this with your lecturer in the next tutorial
you will have.
SAQ 1.1 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.1)

1. Before colonial rule, the dominant political group in the Northern part of Nigeria before the
Uthman Dan Fodio’s jihad of 1802 was ______________________
a) Fulani traditional political system
b) Hausa traditional political system
c) Kanuri traditional political system
d) Sokoto traditional political system

2. _________________ performed judicial functions in Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial political
system.
a) The Emir
b) District head
c) Waziri
d) Alkali court
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3. In Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial political system ____________ was the Prime minister and
head of the official.
a) Madawaki
b) Galadima
c) Waziri
d) Maaji

4. _______________ was the administrator of the emirate capital in the Hausa/ Fulani political
system.
a) Galadima
b) Madawakin
c) Maaji
d) Sarkin-fada

5. In Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial political system ____________ was the chief of palace staff.
a) Madawaki
b) Galadima
c) Maaji
d) Sarkin-fada

6. _______________ was the financial minister of the emirate in the Hausa/ Fulani political
system.
a) Waziri
b) Maaji
c) Galadima
d) Dogari
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7. In Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial political system ____________ was the chief of police for the
entire emirate.
a) Galadima
b) Madawakin
c) Maaji
d) Dogari
e) Maaji

8. _______________ was the district head of the emirate in the Hausa/ Fulani political system.
a) Maaji
b) Sarkin-fada
c) Madawakin
d) Hakimi
9. ____________________ was the progenitor of Yoruba race.
a) Oduduwa
b) Lamurudu
c) Orunmila
d) Ooni

10. The spiritual capital of the Yoruba kingdom is ____________________
a) Iwo
b) Oyo
c) Ibadan
d) Ile-Ife
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11. _________________ was the political capital of Yoruba kingdom.
a) Iwo
b) Oyo
c) Ibadan
d) Ile-Ife

12. ______________ was the political, cultural and sometimes spiritual/religious head of the
kingdom.
a) Ogboni fraternity
b) Aare-Onakakanfo
c) Oyomesi
d) Oba

13. The leader of the council of chiefs who also acted as the prime minister of the kingdom in
the old Oyo empire was known as _________________
a) Mogaji
b) Akogun
c) Bashorun
d) Aare-Onakakanfo

14. _______________ was the head of the institution that was assigned with the responsibilities
to defend the territorial integrity of the Yoruba kingdom from external aggressors.
a) Akogun
b) Balogun
c) Oluwo
d) Aare-Onakakanfo
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15. The powerful institution that checkmate the power of the king and mediated between the
king and the kingmakers whenever there was a disagreement in Yoruba pre-colonial system
was known as _____________________
a) Oyomesi
b) Ogboni fraternity
c) Baale
d) Mogaji

16. In Yoruba kingdom, the head of the family who equally was the most senior member of the
family is known as ___________________.
a) Baale
b) Olori-ebi
c) Mogaji
d) Eleegbe

17. The traditional pre-colonial political system who operated stateless and acephalous system
of governance is known as _____________________
a) Yoruba
b) Igbo
c) Hausa/Fulani
d) Benin

18. In Igbo pre-colonial political system, there were stringent conditions for their membership
of _______________ title, membership was restricted to people of wealth and influence in
the society.
a) Umunna
b) Okpara
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c) Ofo
d) Ozo

19 __________________ served as the intermediary between the village deity and the people
in Igbo pre-colonial political system.
a) Amadioha
b) Ofo
c) Nde Dibea
d) Okpara

20. The most recognized as the most senior among the council of elders in the administration of
village in Igbo pre-colonial political system is known as ___________________
a) Ozo
b) Ofo
c) Umunna
d) Okpara
References and Suggestions for Further Readings

Anifowose, Remi & Emenuo Francis (2006), Elements of Politics, Lagos: Sam Boanusi
Publications.
Oyediran, Nwosu, Takaya, Anifowoshe, Badejo, Ogboghodo, Agbaje (2007), New Approach
Government: Longman Nigeria Plc.
Awa, Eme O. (1964). Federal Government in Nigeria. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press
Oyebola, A. & Ojelabi A. (1971), a Textbook of Government for West Africa. Ibadan: Educational
Research Institute.
Olusanya, Gabriel (2 June 1968). "The Lagos Branch of the National Congress of British West
Africa". Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria.
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Luke Uka Uche (1989). Mass media, people, and politics in Nigeria. Concept Publishing
Company.
Riker, Williams (1964). Federalism, Origin, Operation, Significance, Boston: Little Brown and
Co.
Wheare, C. Kenneth (1943). The Limit of Federalism, in Patrick Ransome (ed) Studies in Federal
Planning, London: Macmillan.
Wheare, C. Kenneth (1963). Federal Government, New York: Oxford University Press.
Ehiedu E.G. Iweriebor (1982). State Systems in Pre-Colonial and Post-Colonial Nigeria: An
Overview, Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente Anno 37, No. 4, pp. 507-513
Atanda, J.A (1973). Government of Yoruba-land in the Pre-Colonial period", Tarikb, Vol. 4, No.
2, pp. 1-12, This content downloaded from 197.210.65.213 on Wed, 08 Jul 2020
15:30:44.
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Study Session 2: Colonial Rule and the Formation of the Nigerian Colonial State
Introduction
The acquisition of the territory now known as Nigeria by the British government was done in
‘piece-meal, hesitant and plan-less’. In other words, it was not a sudden and once-and-for-all
acquisition. Beginning with the annexation of Lagos in 1861, the British government in successive
stages, gradually established her authority in the inter-land. This started first in the Western and
Mid-Western parts and later extended to the Eastern and Northern areas, through the combination
of diplomacy and coercion and threat of using it (Awofeso, 2014). From January 1, 1900 date
Nigeria was administered either directly or indirectly by the British Government in three separate
units: first, the colony and protectorate of Lagos which consisted of areas of authority of the present
Western States and Lagos State government. Second, the protectorate of Southern Nigeria which
comprised the areas of authority of the present three Eastern States and of the Mid-Western State.
Third, the protectorate of Northern Nigeria which comprises the present three geo-political zones.
In 1906 the Colony and Protectorate of Lagos and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria were merged
into one administrative unit known as the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria. In 1914,
the Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria was amalgamated with the Protectorate of
Northern Nigeria, and thus emerged the Nigerian state. In this study session, you will learn about
how British colonial administration govern Nigeria in the period when the country was under her
rule.

2.1 Examine colonial administration in Nigeria
2.2 Discuss the reasons for colonization
2.3 Examine the structure of colonial administration in Nigeria
2.4 Highlight the features of colonial administration in Nigeria
2.5 Examine the strategies of colonial domination
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2.6 Discuss the impact of colonialism in Africa
2.1 Colonial Administration in Nigeria

The people of the various kingdoms and empires in the territories now known as Nigeria, first
came into contact with Europeans from about 1450 through the trade in slaves. British colonial
rule in Nigeria commenced with the annexation of Lagos as a Crown Colony in 1861. In January
1914, Lord Lugard the then Governor – General amalgamated Lagos colony and Southern
protectorate with Northern protectorate to form a single colony called protectorate of Nigeria.
Britain, therefore, governed Nigeria by means of a system popularly referred to as “Indirect Rule”.
(You will learn more about indirect Rule in the next study session). These Protectorates had been
administered separately under colonial rule until the period of amalgamation. With immediate
assumption of office by Frederick Lugard, it became of utmost importance to set up new
administration to govern the colonies under the British government.
The British colonies were often subdivided into provinces headed by provincial commissioners or
residents, and then into districts headed by district officers or district commissioners. The North
was administered as a separate political unit. Each section was divided into provinces for
administrative convenience. Provinces in the North were Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, Bornu, Bauchi,
Zaria, Yolo, Muri, Nupe, Kontagora, llorin, Nasarawa, and Munshi. Southern provinces
comprised: Abeokuta, Benin, Ondo, Oyo, and Warri for the West and Calabar, Owerri, Onitsha
and Ogoja for the East. Each of these provinces was under the control of a British Resident.
Responsible to the British Resident were other administrative officers who in turn controlled the
subdivisions of the provinces, the districts. In each of the districts, traditional rulers and head chiefs
remained in charge of their area of authorities but were responsible to the district officers who in
turn were responsible to the chief executive of Lagos Colony, the governor, through the Resident.
2.2 Reasons for Colonization

Many reasons were adduced for colonization of the occupied territories of the British government.
Let us examine some of the reasons.
1. Emergence of the industrial revolution which brought about a rapid change in the socio-
economic transformation and technology of the European countries. The industrial revolution led
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to increase in production. The progress in the industry went faster than the progress in agriculture.
It was becoming increasingly hard or difficult for the agriculture to satisfy the demand for raw
materials required in the industries. There was therefore, the need for the European powers, for
example, the British to go outside the country to look for additional raw materials.
2. Increasing population and fast-growing urbanization necessitated the need for market, not only
for the production of raw materials but for food to sustain the increasing population. As a result of
rapid increase in technology, new products were produced at a faster rate than the populations
could dispose of. Africa with her large population was seen as a ready market for such products.
3. Another reason for the colonization of Africa as is that the colonialists required additional food
supply and spices for the fast-increasing urban population as a result of the industrial revolution.
The industrial revolution initially came with decline in agricultural production in Europe and as a
result it was hard for the rural areas to produce enough food for the increasing urban population.
There was therefore the need for market not only for the population of raw materials but for the
food to sustain the increasing population
4. There was under-utilization of capital in Europe at this time, and a need to find where these
capitals will be transported and invested for the creation of new products. It was during this process
of investment of the surplus capital that imperialism emerged.
5. There was need for the colonialist to take direct control of the African economy and political
administration in order to reorganize the economy and the markets to make it possible for
integration into the world market and international economy.
2.3 The Structure of British Colonial Administration

The Colonial Institutions
There were certain institutions of governance created by the British government to administer the
colonized territories. These colonial institutions comprise the following:
A. The Governor
The governor was a representative of the crown. He was answerable to the crown through the
secretary of the state for the colony. And was saddled with the responsibility of:
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i. The appointment, discipline and dismissal of public of officials including judges
ii. Directing the legislative and executive policy
iii. He had power to make grants of land
iv. Exercising the prerogative of mercy
B. The Executive Council

This was created to serve as an advisory body. The governor was expected to seek the advice of
this body, though he was not bound by the council’s advice. The composition of this body
particularly in Nigeria, were the executive body consisted of chief secretary, lieutenant –
Governors of the Northern and Southern provinces of the protectorate, the Administrator of colony,
the Attorney – General, the commandant of the Nigeria regiment, the Director of medical and
sanitary services, the treasurers, the Director of Marine, the controller of customs and the secretary
for the Native Affairs.
C. The Legislative Council

This body was at initial stage started with official members and one or two unofficial members.
And was saddled with the responsibility of making laws in Nigeria particularly, under the 1922
Clifford Constitution, the legislative body consisted of the Governor, 26 officials 15 non- officials
nominated by the Governor and 4 elected members, 3 for Lagos and one for Calabar. The British
administration having gained their full ground between the period of 1900- 1906 in the northern
part of the country adopted indirect rule system. By 1914, the Northern protectorate and Southern
protectorate were amalgamated to what is called Nigeria (Abdulsalami, 2013).
2.4 Features of Colonial Administration in Nigeria

a. The component units of the new state were the colony of Lagos, the Northern provinces
and the Southern provinces. The capital of the country was Lagos.
b. The Governor-General, Lord Lugard became the first occupant of the office and he served
as the head of government. Each province was headed by a governor.
c. The Lagos colony had a legislative council, which comprised the Governor as the chairmen
and six officials and four nominated members, two of whom were Africans.
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d. A legislative council called the “Nigerian Council” was set up to make laws for the whole
country.
e. The council met once in a year to discuss the governor’s speech and any decision taken
could be vetoed by him.
f. The indirect rule policy was introduced throughout the country.
g. The British colonial rule consolidated various smaller chiefdoms and districts into larger
jurisdictions and chose one of the traditional chiefs to govern the now larger area.
2.5 Strategies of colonialist to maintain political and economic domination of the colonies
The colonialists used a number of methods and strategies to compel Africans to submit to
colonialism and colonial administration. Below are some of them:
1. The first method or strategy used by the colonialist to colonize and maintain effective
occupation and administration of African territories was by conquest. The various African states
or territories were conquered politically, economically, culturally, socially and enslaved. Conquest
made it possible for the European powers who were the colonizers to take direct control and
effective occupation of African territories.
2. Another effective instrument or strategy which enabled the colonialists to maintain direct
control and effective occupation of the African territories was the use of forced labour. Africans
were forced to work in the colonial plantations and industries. Since Africans were not used to
colonial economy and system of production, there was need to compel them by force to work for
the colonialists.
3. Another method used by the colonialists to compel labour from Africans was the use legal
coercion. Through forced labour the colonialists were able to maintain direct control and effective
occupation of the African territories. Their control and effective occupation of the African
economy and political administration were unchallenged.
4. Another effective strategy which the colonialist used to maintain direct control and domination
of African territories was taxation. Taxation in the form introduced by the European colonizers
was alien to most African people. Some African communities such as in Northern Nigeria paid tax
to their rulers but this could be in cash or kind. The colonial authority insisted that Africans should
19
pay their tax in colonial currency. The implication of this was that Africans would be compelled
to work either in the colonial civil service or in the industries and plantations in order to earn the
colonial currency to pay their tax.
5. Monetization of African economy was another effective instrument or strategy used by the
colonialists to take direct control and political administration of the African territories. Prior to
colonization, African economy was essentially based on barter system. Furthermore, even where
a sort of currency was introduced these currencies lacked general acceptability, were too heavy or
bulky and hardly divisible into smaller units of exchange. It was necessary for the colonialists to
monetize African economy in order to integrate it into the world market and international trade.
6. The last strategy used by the colonialists to maintain direct control and administration of African
territories was the payment of low wages to Africans employed in the colonial service. The
payment of low wages to Africans was seen by the colonialists as a method or strategy to compel
more Africans to make their labour services available to the colonial plantations and industries
(Ocheni and Nwakwo, 2012).
2.6 Impact of Colonialism in Africa

§ One of the important impacts of colonialism in Africa is the disarticulation of their
economy. Colonialism distorted African pattern of economic development in many
different ways. There was disarticulation in production of goods, markets, traders,
transport, provision of social amenities and pattern of urbanization etc. the colonialists
introduced a pattern of international division of labour which was to the disadvantage of
Africans.
§ Colonialism also disarticulated African markets and trades. The traditional or original
African marketing centres were distorted by colonialism. Most of the traditional African
marketing centres or routes were formed based on local needs. When colonialism came
and introduced a different need, this changed the original or traditional marketing centres
to new marketing centres because it rendered them irrelevant.
§ Colonialism integrated African trade and economy prematurely into the world market and
international trade. African economy had not adequately developed its internal dynamics
and forces of production before it was introduced to the world economy.
20
§ The colonialists distorted and disarticulated the development of a comprehensive transport
system in Africa. The transport network developed was not to link different towns and rural
areas for purpose of effective communication and development. Transport routes were built
by the colonialists to enable them to evacuate easily the raw materials from their sources
or base to the destination point where they could be effectively exported abroad.
§ Colonialism also brought about disarticulation in the provision of social amenities and the
urbanization pattern in Africa. Most of the little social amenities provided during the
colonial period were concentrated at a place. This made most people to migrate from the
rural areas where these amenities were virtually non-extent to colonial urban centres where
they could be found.
§ Colonialism shaped both the economic and political structure of African colonies to be in
line with the need of the metropolis. It ensured that African economic and political
structures both in form and content serve the interest of their home government (European
powers) (Ocheni and Nwakwo, 2012).

In this study session, you have learnt how the British colonial administration occupied their
territories and how those territories were administered. You now know why the British colonized
their territories. Some of these reasons included increasing population and fast-growing
urbanization and underutilization of capital in Europe. You also learnt that various methods and
strategies were adopted by the colonialists to maintain their domination of the occupied territories.
All these had some impacts and consequences for the colonized territories. Of utmost importance
is the fact that colonialism shaped both the economic and political structure of African colonies.

Would you like to test your understanding of what you have learnt in the session? Then, see if you
could answer the following assessment questions. Make sure you write down in your notebook
any topic you do not understand or that needs further clarification. Discuss this with your lecturer
or course facilitator in your next tutorial.
21
1. British colonial rule in Nigeria commenced with the annexation of ____________ as a
Crown Colony in 1861
a) Calabar
b) Lagos
c) Benin
d) Kaduna
SAQ 2. 2 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.2)

2. One reason for colonization was under-utilization of capital in Europe and this necessitated
the need to find where the capitals will be transported and invested for the creation of
____________.
a) new markets
b) new products
c) goods
d) more supplies

3. As one of the reasons for colonization the increasing population and fast-growing urbanization
necessitated the need for market for all except ________________
a) production of raw materials market
b) surplus products
c) building more houses
d) food to sustain the increasing population

4. The governor under the colonial administration was answerable to the crown through the
_____________of the state for the colony.
a) secretary
b) official
22
c) administrator
d) lieutenant

5. The governor as the representative of the crown under the colonial institution has the
responsibility of all the following except _____________________
a) The appointment, discipline and dismissal of public of officials including judges
b) Directing the legislative and executive policy
c) He had power to make grants of land
d) Lending money to the people

6. The component units of the new state created by the colonialists were the colony of Lagos,
the _____________ provinces and the Southern provinces.
a) Eastern
b) Calabar
c) Northern
d) Mid-Western

7. The British colonial rule consolidated various smaller _____________and districts into
larger jurisdictions
a) towns
b) chiefdoms
c) villages
d) settlements

8. Through ____________ the colonialists were able to maintain direct control and effective
occupation of the African territories.
a) crisis
23
b) war
c) forced labour
d) toiling

9. The payment of low wages to Africans was seen by the colonialists as a method or strategy
to compel more Africans to make their _________ available to the colonial masters.
a) wards
b) labours
c) materials
d) work

10. All of these except ________________ are the impacts of colonialism.
a) banning of local languages
b) integration of Africa’s trade and economy prematurely
c) disarticulation of Africa’s economy
d) disarticulation of social amenities and urbanization patterns

Abdulsalami, M. D. (2013). Historical Background of Nigerian Politics, 1900-1960. IOSR Journal
of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 16, Issue 2 PP 84-94.
Awofeso, O. (2014). Constitutional Development in Nigeria- Historical and Political Analysis.

Lagos. MacGrace Publishers.
Utuk, E. I (1975) Britain's Colonial Administrations and Developments, 1861-1960: An Analysis

of Britain's Colonial Administrations and Developments in Nigeria. Dissertations and
Theses. Paper 2525. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds.
Ocheni, S., and Nwakwo, B. C. (2012), Analysis of Colonialism and its Impact in Africa. Cross-
Cultural Communication, 8 (3), 46-54.
Mai-Lafia, M. D. (undated). Nigerian Government and Politics. National Open University of

Nigeria (NOUN).
24
Odegowi, T. (2011) From Conquest to Independence: The Nigerian Colonial Experience. HAOL,
Num. 25 pp 19-29.
25
Study Session 3: The Nature of Colonial Administration in Nigeria (Indirect Rule)
Introduction
There were many methods adopted by the British colonial powers to govern their respective
occupation zones. One of these was through indirect rule. Lugard introduced a system of indirect
rule in northern Nigeria to allow the colonial rulers to govern the inhabitants of the regions through
their traditional rulers (Emirs, Obas etc.). Indirect policies as a whole can be considered to involve,
the following main strands: Support for pre-existing elites within society, the placing of elites that
favour the colonising power or suit the colonizers policy in positions of power, maintaining laws
and norms and values deemed acceptable or beneficial by the occupying power, focusing on giving
indigenous populations control of local affairs, and to some degree listening to advice from local
rulers and elites on how to shape subsequent policy. this study session is all about indirect rule in
Nigeria. So, you are going to learn about indirect rule, its structures and processes in Nigeria.

3.1 Examine the nature of colonial administration in Nigeria
3.2 Discuss the reasons for the adoption of indirect rule in Nigeria
3.3 Highlight the features of Indirect rule system
3.4 Enumerate the advantages of indirect rule system
3.5 Highlight the disadvantages of indirect rule system
3.1 Colonial Administration in Nigeria – Indirect Rule System

The basic principles guiding British policy in administering its colonial territory called Nigeria
was that of divide and rule encapsulated in the “Indirect rule”, a system of government where the
British had to rule their vast empire through chiefs.
26
What is indirect rule? Indirect rule system is a system of administration used by the British colonial
government to govern the people through the use of traditional rulers and political institutions in
colonial territories. Lord Lugard defined Indirect Rule as ‘rule through the native chiefs who are
regarded as an integral part of the machinery of Government, with well-defined powers and
functions recognized by the Government and by law, and not dependent on the caprice of an
Executive Officer’ (Okafor, 1981). The indirect rule system was introduced into Nigeria by Lord
Frederick Lugard, who was known to be a father of Indirect rule. Lord Lugard in his book The
Dual Mandate in Tropical Africa identified the two most important administrative principles to
employ in ruling alien people. The first was the principle of decentralization, in which he stressed
importance of recognizing and ruling people through their indigenous authorities. He argued that
the role of the British officers, except in critical areas such as taxation, military forces and the
alienation of land, was to advise, not demand. The second principle, was the principle of
continuity. Lugard argued that the British should utilize indigenous institutions and authorities,
thereby preserving “continuity” with the past, while laying foundations for what he saw as the
progressive improvement of indigenous society.
The British played an active role in enhancing the traditional powers of the chiefs and, in doing
so, modiﬁed certain local government institutions. Indirect rule altered the institutional structures
and the functions of existing tribal chiefs by (1) Paying the chiefs a salary, (2) consolidating
smaller chiefdoms into larger areas and (3) removing the opportunity of citizens to ‘‘de-stool’’ bad
chiefs—i.e., to coordinate his punishment. They eliminated coordinated punishment that was in
existence before the colonial rule for example the British no longer allowed the citizens to depose
their chiefs and elect new ones.
The British officials in Nigeria formulated and enforced policies and laws through the traditional
rulers who only served as intermediaries between the people and the British government. However,
the cultures and traditions of the people were respected and retained by the British authorities in
order to make them more acceptable and welcomed by the people. This system worked out well
due to the cooperation of the traditional chiefs who claimed that since their cultures and traditions
were not tampered with, they have no problem dealing with the British officials, but this was to
some extent as the indirect rule system measure of success differs from one area to the other.
27
3.2 Reasons for the adoption of Indirect Rule System of Administration
The British adopted the system of indirect rule in Nigeria because of certain reasons. These
include:
a) Finance: The British government knew the implication of huge cost of running a
government with European staff at all levels of administration. This will involve salaries,
accommodation and medical services for the staff and families. This would create financial
burden on the British government. British government from the beginning was not ready
to carry the administrative cost of the governed colonies, but to generate revenue through
taxes levied on the local people. Indirect rule became a suitable form of administration for
the purpose of reducing the cost of administration. Therefore, indirect rule was
implemented because it was cheap and practical.
b) Area and Population Size of Nigeria: The large size of Nigeria’s territory coupled with
the limited British personnel informed the British on the preference of indirect rule system.
c) Weather and Language Barrier: The Whiteman found the Nigeria’s hot weather
intolerable coupled with the prevalence of malaria disease caused by mosquitoes in tropical
Africa.
d) The Willingness of the British Government to preserve Indigenous Political
Structure: From the very beginning the British introduced the indirect rule system, there
was no conscious attempt at replacing the indigenous political structure among the natives
with the British personnel. The British government was comfortable with the indigenous
structure and the prospect of indirect rule and therefore adopted it for the administration of
the colonies.
e) Cultural Diversity and Inadequate Knowledge of the Country by the Colonial
Masters: The diversity and complexity of the culture of various peoples of Nigeria was
initially beyond the understanding of the British colonial masters who for this reason
preferred to retain the existing structure of administration via the indirect rule system.
f) Experience in other British Colonies: Lord Lugard’s experience of indirect rule in
Singapore, Uganda and Malaya may have also convinced him on indirect rule as the most
appropriate administrative system for the natives (Awofeso 2014).
28
3.3 Features of Indirect Rule
The listed are the features of indirect rule in Nigeria
i. Traditional rulers and chiefs were used in governing the people;
ii. The traditional political system of government in place was utilized;
iii. The customs and traditions of the people played a significant role in the administration of
indirect rule;
iv. The cultural values of the people were respected by the British officials;
v. The British officials were to guide and where need be, enforce colonial regulation. For
instance, resident and district officers;
vi. The traditional rulers were respected and given exalted positions in the administration
which made it easy for the colonialist to operate and rule;
vii. The cost of administration was not high because those involved were paid peanuts. The
traditional rulers and chiefs were poorly remunerated;
viii. The whites made use of natural agricultural produce in the collection of taxes;
ix. Native courts were used for administration of justice;
x. Native police and prisons were utilized in the system;
xi. Officers or chiefs were appointed where there were no traditional chiefs or rulers and
xii. The system did not disrupt the existing traditional system of administration and political
order (Mai-Lafia).
3.4 Advantages of Indirect rule system

The main advantages of the indirect rule are the following:
1. Respect for the people’s traditions and culture
2. The use of the traditional rulers and chiefs in the administration made it less costly.
3. Indirect rule administration was a fertile ground for the training of traditional rulers and
chiefs especially, in the area of local administration.
4. Indirect rule system was more accommodating than the French direct administration in
West Africa. The former allowed the formation of political parties but the latter did not.
5. The indirect rule system helped to put a stop to some evil practices in some parts of the
country.
29
6. Traditional institutions, native courts were developed, making indirect rule more effective
and durable.
7. Indirect rule helped in introducing a new method of collecting taxes.
8. The political system was stable especially in the north, where the traditional rulers had the
over-whelming support of the people.
3.5 Disadvantages of Indirect rule system

The following are some of the disadvantages of indirect rule:
1. Indirect rule failed to recognize educated elites not chiefs in the system.
2. The experiment of appointing artificial rulers where none traditionally existed, failed
because it was in accordance with the peoples’ customs.
3. The native rulers were deprived of effective power to defend the interests of their people
against the British overlord.
4. Indirect rule system was an imposition.
5. The democratic rights of the people were abused. People were denied of their rights.
6. Most of the traditional rulers were involved gross abuse of power during colonial rule and
the system could not prosecute them.
7. Progress and development were relatively low especially in northern Nigeria.
8. The system had no universal application because it could not be applied to all environments
(Mai-Lafia).

In this study session, you have learnt about indirect rule and how it was operationalized in Nigeria.
The indirect rule system had support for pre-existing elites within society, the placing of elites that
suit the colonizers policy in positions of power, maintaining laws and norms and values deemed
acceptable or beneficial by the occupying power, focusing on giving indigenous populations
control of local affairs, and to some degree listening to advice from local rulers and elites on how
to shape subsequent policy. you have also learnt that indirect rule was preferred by the colonisers
for certain reasons. You also have the knowledge that indirect rule has both its advantages and
disadvantages as reflected in its practice in different colonies.
30
Would you like to test your understanding of what you have learnt in the session? Then, see if you
could answer the following assessment questions. Make sure you write down in your notebook
any topic you do not understand or that needs further clarification. Discuss this with your lecturer
or course facilitator in your next tutorial.

1. The indirect rule system was introduced into Nigeria by ________________
a) Sir Macpherson
b) Mayor Lugard
c) Hugh Clifford
d) Lord Lugard

2. Indirect rule altered the institutional structures and the functions of existing tribal chiefs by
doing all these except _________________
a) paying the chiefs, a salary,
b) providing opportunity for chiefs to make money
c) removing the opportunity of citizens to ‘‘de-stool’’ bad chiefs
d) consolidating smaller chiefdoms into larger areas and

3. All these except __________ are the reasons for the introduction of indirect rule system
a) Weather
b) Housing problem
c) Finance
d) Language barrier

4. ______________________ were used for administration of justice;
31
a) Native courts
b) Traditional chiefs
c) Traditional courts
d) Magistrate courts

5. Traditional rulers and _____________ were used in governing the people
a) kings
b) emirs
c) chiefs
d) obis

6. Indirect rule system was more accommodating than the ___________ direct administration
in West Africa.
a) British
b) French
c) German
d) India

7. Indirect rule helped in introducing a new method of collecting ____________.
a) tributes
b) wages
c) taxes
d) revenues

8. As a result of indirect rule, progress and ______________ were relatively low especially in
northern Nigeria.
a) growth
b) modernity
32
c) modern life
d) development

9. Indirect rule failed to recognize ________________ elites not chiefs in the system.
a) powerful
b) educated
c) traditional
d) professional

10. Under indirect rule, the native rulers were deprived of effective ___________ to defend the
interests of their people against the British overlord.
a) revenue
b) power
c) influence
d) administration


Okafor, S. O. (1981). Indirect Rule: The Development of Central Legislature in Nigeria. Surrey.
Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd.

Nigeria (NOUN).
Odegowi, T. (2011) From Conquest to independence: The Nigerian Colonial Experience. HAOL,
Num. 25 pp 19-29.
33
Study Session 4: Indirect Rule System in Northern Nigeria (Hausa/Fulani Empire)
Introduction
The policy of indirect rule was first introduced in the Northern Nigeria by Lord Lugard. As
discussed in the previous study session, the British officials in Nigeria formulated and enforced
policies and laws through the traditional rulers who only served as intermediaries between the
people and the British government. In the northern region of Nigeria, the British indirect rule
system made use of the Emirs and modified the existing traditional institutions to administer. In
this study session, you will learn how the British indirect rule was instituted and practiced in the
Hausa/Fulani Kingdom.

4.1 Examine the nature of indirect rule in the north
4.2 Discuss the reasons for the adoption of indirect rule in Hausa/Fulani empire
4.3 Highlight the functions of the Residents and Commissioners under indirect rule system
4.4 Discuss certain reforms introduced by indirect rule in the northern part of Nigeria
4.5 Examine the factors responsible for the success of indirect rule in Hausa/Fulani empire
4.1 Nature of Indirect Rule in Northern Nigeria

To make use of the principle of indirect rule, the north was divided into six provinces. each
province was under British official known as Residents. Each province was subdivided into
districts and placed under District Commissioners. Residents official were appointed to direct and
supervise the Emirs within their provinces administratively. The resident themselves were to
follow the directive of the high commissioner. The system of administration in northern Nigeria
rested upon Native Courts and authority ordinances. The Courts were presided over by the
residents. The Moslem’s courts were left intact. The right to legislate was reserved for the British
officials.
34
4.2 Reasons for the Adoption of Indirect Rule System in Northern Nigeria (Hausa/Fulani
empire).
Recall that we discussed in the previous study session that Indirect rule altered the institutional
structures and the functions of existing tribal. In Northern Nigerian, the British paid the chiefs to
carry out British demands and to perform the traditional functions of governance.
Lord Lugard was of the opinion that the Fulani Caliphate which had already a developed system
of administration based on the Islamic principles could not be abolished easily. He therefore
suggested the idea of ruling the Caliphate through the emirate model. In addition to this, there were
other reasons which drove Lugard to keep the traditional political institutions of the Fulani
government. This was mainly due to the lack of finance and experienced administrators which
impeded him to provide a direct administration. Thus, reliance on the native authorities was the
cheapest and most effective system since it would preserve order and stability and would serve
the colonial rule as well.
4.3 Functions of Residents and District Commissioner

The functions of the Residents and the District Commissioners include the following: -
i. They are concerned with supervising the emirs and was responsible for the native
administration of the province.
ii. They have the authority to retain and use native treasuries in the emirates.
iii. They also retained both the traditional executive official of emirates and the law courts of
the Muslim parts of Nigeria.
iv. They were to advise and guide the emirs and their officials, educating them to their duties
and functions under the new British system.
v. To enforce through them all the laws of the High Commissioner of the protectorate of
Northern Nigeria. These laws involve the supervision of courts, assessment of taxes, native
authority expenditure and the maintenance of law and order.
vi. To ensure that tax revenue was shared between the colonial government and the province.
vii. They should provide intelligence, political, military or civil reports on which the colonial
government could act in making policies.
35
4.4 Reforms introduced by indirect rule in Northern Nigeria
Indirect rule introduced various reforms in various aspect of the Hausa/Fulani empire.
i. Economic Reforms
For the sake of consolidating their colonial rule, the British imposed a new economic regime
through which they introduced many changes. The first step was to develop the means of
communication and transport. Thus, in order to make the North accessible to the South and to
develop its commerce, the colonial government started the construction of the railways.
ii. Fiscal Reforms

The system of taxation which had existed during the era of the Caliphate was developed and
became an essential feature of the British administration. Lugard, who believed that taxation was
the main source of revenue, did not find problems in imposing his direct tax on peoples who were
already accustomed to pay taxes. After studying the old system of taxation, Lugard found it
complex and unsuitable to his colonial needs. He then replaced it by one tax for the sake of
simplifying its collection. Part of this tax was given to the emirs and his councils, whereas what
remained was given to the Colonial government.
iii. Educational Reforms

Since Islam preceded Christianity and Muslim education had already a developed system and a
strong position inherited by the Caliphate, the colonial government could not ignore such
education. Thus, although Lugard had favoured Christian education, he was very careful in
imposing it on the Muslim territories. So, for the sake of preserving order and in addition to the
maintenance of Islamic schools, the British restricted the work of the missionaries in the Muslim
areas. They also established schools for the sons of chiefs to win their confidence.
iv. Judicial Reforms

As far as justice was concerned, the British, who preserved the Native and Alkalis courts,
introduced many changes which affected the judicial system of the Caliphate. Under the Native
Courts Proclamation of 1906 and the Native Courts Ordinance of 1914, the establishment of the
Native Courts and the appointment of the alkalis was the work of the resident. The latter had power
to modify or abolish decisions of the Native Courts. He was also able to dismiss any alkali or his
36
judicial council who would not follow his advice. Under British rule, all punishments which
opposed British ideals of “natural justice and humanity” were abolished (Hallouch 2018, 259-262).
4.5 Factors responsible for the success of Indirect Rule in Northern Nigeria
There are many factors responsible for the success of indirect rule in the northern part of Nigeria.
Some of them are:
a. The political system was highly centralized:
Because of the nature of the Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial administration which was highly
centralized, it as easy for the colonial masters to identify the source of authority -the Emirs,
within these societies.
b. The nature of the existing system of taxation;
The northern region had long before the advent of colonialism introduced several methods
of taxing the people. The British only needed modify an already existing and familiar
practice which made no difference to the people because they are already use to the system
of taxation.
c. High level of illiteracy
The North, because of its late contact with the British was not exposed to western education
early enough, and consequently was lacking in required exposure and awareness to
effectively criticize the indirect rule system of administration.
d. Islamic religion and power of the Emir:
The Emir being a theocratic leader was able to effectively use Islamic religion to enforce
compliance to his order, whether coming directly from him or as instructed by the colonial
masters. Besides this, the Emir was considered the intermediary between Allah and the
people, therefore, any disobedience to his orders was tantamount to disobedience to Allah.
Whereas, Christian missionaries worked to transform the traditional society and its ways
of life in the parts of Nigeria where they operated, and this included the Middle Belt areas
of the historical north, the colonialists using the Indirect Rule system worked with the
Emirs to preserve existing traditions instead (Awofeso, 2014).
37
In this study session, you have learnt how indirect rule was practiced in the Northern Nigeria
(Hausa/Fulani Emirate). It was a fact that the British indirect rule system made use of the Emirs
and modified the existing traditional institutions to administer the northern region of Nigeria. Lord
Lugard believed that the Fulani Caliphate which had already a developed system of administration
based on the Islamic principles could not be abolished easily and therefore suggested the idea of
ruling the Caliphate through the emirate model. You have also learnt many reforms were
introduced by indirect rule system in the north some of which include; education reforms, fiscal
reforms, judicial reforms and economic reforms. You also have a knowledge of the reasons why
indirect rule was a success in the north.

you will have.

1. Under indirect rule in the North, Residents official were appointed to direct and supervise the
_______________ within their provinces administratively
a) Alkali
b) Emirs
c) Judges
d) Mallams

2. Lugard suggested the idea of ruling the Caliphate through the emirate ____________
a) staff
38
b) model
c) administration
d) courts
3. This was mainly due to the lack of finance and _________________ .

a) experienced administrators
b) professional administrators
c) local administrators
d) educated personnel

4. Residents and District Commissioners under Northern indirect rule were responsible for
supervising the ____________ and the native administration of the province.
a) Native courts
b) Alkali
c) Emirs
d) northern people

5. Residents and District Commissioners under Northern indirect rule were responsible for
educating the emirs to their duties and functions under the new ____________system.
a) modern
b) Administrative
c) British
d) governance

6. Indirect rule system introduced various reforms in various aspect of the Hausa/Fulani empire.
All these except _____________ are the reforms.
a) economic reform
b) population reform
39
c) judicial reform
d) fiscal reform

7. For the sake of preserving order and in addition to the maintenance of Islamic schools, the
British restricted the work of the missionaries in the ____________ areas
a) traditional
b) muslim
c) indigenous
d) local

8. Under the judicial reforms, the British, preserved the Native and _________ courts in the
North.
a) Alkalis
b) local
c) magistrate
d) indigenous

9. The Emir being a theocratic leader was able to effectively use __________________ to
enforce compliance to his order.
a) traditional power
b) Quranic injunctions
c) local knowledge
d) Islamic religion

10. Because of the nature of the Hausa/Fulani pre-colonial administration which was highly
_________________ it as easy for the colonial masters to identify the source of authority.
a) indigenous
b) spread
40
c) centralized
d) influential

Awofeso, O. (2014). Constitutional Development in Nigeria – Historical and Political Analysis.

Hallouch, N. (2018). British Indirect Rule and the Islam in Northern Nigeria (1900-1940).
International Journal of Social Sciences. Volume 4 Issue 2, pp. 249-267.

Nigeria (NOUN).
41
Study Session 5: Indirect Rule System in Western Nigeria (Yoruba Kingdom)
Introduction
Although the indirect rule was a huge success in the Northern protectorate (Hausa/Fulani empire),
the story was a ‘mixed bag’ in the southern protectorate (Yoruba and Igbo land). Remember that
we discussed in one of the study sessions that Indirect rule altered the institutional structures and
the functions of existing tribal chiefs in the Northern and Southern Nigeria during indirect rule era.
What the British did in Southwest Nigeria was to a select a number of these chiefdoms—selected
more for their geographical position than for any other considerations—and to appoint their chiefs
as salaried headmen of administrative districts. You will be learning in this study session about the
British administration (indirect rule system) in the southwest Nigeria.

5.1 Examine the nature of indirect rule in the Southwest (Yorubaland)
5.2 Discuss the operation of indirect rule in the Southwest (Yorubaland)
5.3 Discuss the indirect rule and judicial system in the southwest (Yorubaland)
5.4 Enumerate the factors responsible for the partial success of indirect rule in Southwest
(Yorubaland).
5.1 Nature of indirect rule in Southwest Nigeria (Yoruba Land)

Unlike what happened in the northern part of Nigeria, the introduction of indirect rule system in
the Southwest (Yorubaland) was met with little success. The native authority Ordinance of 1916
formally introduced indirect rule to Western Nigeria. The Yoruba areas which constituted the
Western part of Nigeria had a centralised traditional political system with authority flowing from
the Obas at the centre, to the chiefs and to the district and village head. However, Lugard did not
recognize that there was incompatibility between the northern and western administration in
42
Nigeria prior to their coming. One of the issues is that the system in the north was more or less an
autocratic system while the west was monarchical. Again, the north had a centralized system of
administration which Lugard found very easy to adapt for the purpose of indirect rule governance.
However, the indirect rule tends to widen the power at the Oba’s disposal to the total neglect of
the senior chiefs. Aside, the introduction of regularized taxation was incompatible with the Yoruba
Traditional System.
5.2 Operations of indirect rule in the southwest (Yorubaland)

Among the Yoruba–speaking peoples of the southwest, city-states predominated -- each with its
own chief and political institutions. Although legislative, judicial, and executive powers were
vested on the ruler, he still had to consult his council of state and often depended on priestly
religious sanctions to enforce his authority. The traditional rulers in the southwest did not have
autonomous power like their counterparts in the North. There was a system of checks and balances
by the presence of the chiefs and other title-holders in their territories. Therefore, Oba in Yoruba
land had no absolute authority over his subjects as a result of this. With the advent of the British
indirect rule system, when the traditional ruler started making decisions unilaterally, acting on the
directives of the British administrators, the local population began questioning the integrity of the
Obas and their chiefs. The situation was aggravated when a system of taxation was introduced in
the Yoruba region (Umaroho, 2006). Again, the introduction of taxes during the British rule did
not go down well with the people of the southwest, Nigeria. The outcome was the limited success
the indirect rule experience in the southwest.
5.3 Indirect rule and the judicial system in the southwest (Yorubaland)
At the judicial level, Lugard devised a judicial system whose primary objective was to leave the
administration of justice, as far as possible, to local courts following their own laws and
procedures. In this way Lugard hoped to secure continuity in the administration of justice using
broadly the same judicial institution and personnel as each community had evolved for itself prior
to colonial rule. He therefore introduced a policy which would preserve the traditional legal system
and as many of its legal ideas and procedures as acceptable to British standards. The effect of the
judicial system was to give the paramount chief more control of the people in his region (Umahoro,
2006).
43
5.4 Reasons for the partial success of indirect rule in Southwest Yorubaland
Several factors contributed to the partial success of indirect rule in southern Nigeria.
a) Absence of traditional system of taxation
Indirect rule was successful in areas where the people used to the payment of tax to the traditional
authorities. Until the introduction of indirect rule, the people of southern Nigeria were alien to
taxation. Therefore, when it was introduced by the British, they vehemently opposed it and once
there was not enough money in coffers of the colonial officials, the policy of indirect rule met with
some challenges.
b) The system of government

Unlike the emirs in the North, the Obas in Yorubaland did not possess absolute powers. The system
of government was constitutional monarchy based on a number of checks and balances. Although
the traditional political structure was well organized but the Oba was just a first among equals, the
people were not used to an Oba wielding enormous powers. The traditional administrative
structure that existed in southern Nigeria was not suited to the policy of indirect rule. The British
colonial masters conferred so much power on the Oba against traditional norms and this led to
failure.
c) Presence of educated elite in southern Nigeria

There were a lot of educated elite, resident in southern Nigeria who constantly kept the British
officials on their toes. These educated elite, some of whom were lawyers and journalists, were
British-trained. They opposed the policies of the British if it was found to be detrimental to the
interest of the local people. That is why the indirect rule did not succeed in southern Nigeria.
d) Introduction of taxation
The indirect rule system introduced a system of taxation. This was not popular in the West like it
happened in the North. The native authorities needed funds to operate, and traditional rulers made
attempts to force the people to pay taxes. These attempts proved abortive. Many riots were
recorded in many parts of the West because of the introduced taxes (Oyediran et al., 2014).
e) Non participation of educated elite
The educated elite were sidelined in the workings of the policy of indirect rule. Apart from that
the system gave enormous powers to the chiefs, to the detriment of the educated elite. These
44
educated elites were radical and articulate. They reacted negatively to the rule by the chiefs and
this posed a challenge to indirect rule in Yorubaland.

In this study session, you have learnt about the operation of indirect rule system in southwest
Yoruba land. Unlike their northern counterparts, the traditional rulers in the southwest did not
have autonomous power. There was a system of checks and balances by the presence of the chiefs
and other title-holders in the southwest. The implication of this was that an Oba could not become
autocratic. You also learnt about indirect rule and the judicial system as well as those factors that
made indirect rule less successful in the southwest Yorubaland.

you will have.

1. The native authority Ordinance of ____________ formally introduce indirect rule to Western
Nigeria.
a) 1918
b) 1916
c) 1914
d) 1926

2. The system of governance of the southwest prior to indirect rule was ______________
a) monarchical
45
b) autocratic
c) democratic
d) oligarchic

3. An Oba still had to consult his _______________ before he could take any decision.
a) chiefs
b) council of state
c) co-Obas
d) priest

4 The traditional rulers in the southwest did not have autonomous __________ like their
counterparts in the North.
a) rule
b) authority
c) influence
d) power
.
5. The primary objective of Lugard’s judicial system was to leave the administration of justice,
as far as possible, to local _______________ following their own laws and procedures.
a) chiefs
b) courts
c) administration
d) government.

6. The effect of the judicial system was to give the paramount chief more _________ of the
people in his region.
46
a) domination
b) oppression
c) control
d) direction

7. The __________________ constantly kept the British government on their toes during
indirect rule in the southwest.
a) people
b) traditional chiefs
c) educated elite
d) chief-in-council

8. The system of government shows that the Obas in Yorubaland did not possess absolute
_________
a) control
b) power
c) authority
d) rule

9. When _____________ was introduced by the British in southwest, the people opposed it.
a) taxation
b) money exchange
c) stringent rule
d) cash payment

10. Non participation of the educated elite was also one of the failure of indirect rule in
the southwest Yorubaland.
47
a) local chiefs
b) educated elite
c) professionals
d) traditional chiefs

Akinbade, J.A (2008), Government Explained (Plus Questions and Answers), Lagos: Macak Book
Ventures.
Oyediran, O., Nwosu, H., Takaya, B. et al. (2014). New Approach Government. Ikeja. Learn
Africa Plc.
Umaroho, B. (2006). A Case for Political Decentralisation in Nigeria. School of Global Studies,
Social Science and Planning, RMIT University (Thesis).
48
Study Session 6: Indirect Rule System in Eastern Nigeria (Igbo Land)
Introduction
If indirect rule succeeded in the northern part of Nigeria, fair in the Yorubaland, the same cannot
be said for the east because it failed in Igbo region of eastern Nigeria. Because the Igbos had no
tradition of chieftaincy institutions, the British appointed willing participants or collaborators and
gave them "warrants" to act as local representatives of the British administration among their
people. These invented chiefs became known as “warrant chiefs.” Though they lacked traditional
relevance, their warrant to rule was expected to enhance the authority now bestowed on them (Raji
2017). You will learn in this study session how the British tried to force indirect rule system on
the Igbos of eastern region of Nigeria.

6.1 Discuss the nature of colonial administration in the eastern region of Nigeria
6.2 Discuss the reasons why the ‘Warrant Chiefs” were used to administer the eastern region.
6.3 Describe the “Warrant Chiefs” and Indirect rule in Igbo land.
6.4 Explain why indirect rule system was not a success in the eastern region of Nigeria.
6.1 Colonial Administration in Igbo Land

British influence in the Igboland was established in the first decade of the 1900's and it took about
five more years to actually register an overall presence. Just then, the First World War broke out.
The political goals of the Colonial Office were to quell opposition and build a new economic order
and a new administrative organ through the Residents, District Commissioners with their
Assistants and the Native Courts. The aim was to do these while maintaining core indigenous
political and cultural structure (Ogbu, 1977).
49
Thus, the officials attempted to select warrant chiefs who also had viable authority within the
indigenous political structure. Traditional cultures would be left intact as long as they neither
constituted opposition to British rule nor impeded the new administrative structure (Ogbu1977).
With the rise of indirect rule through institutions such as warrant chiefs system, British colonial
administration thwarted the traditional government of the Igbo people. The warrants chiefs were
selected arbitrarily for their opulence and influence in their respective areas.
6. 2 Reasons why the “Warrant Chiefs” were used to administer in Igbo Land
1. The Igbo region of eastern Nigeria, which had no tradition of chieftaincy institutions.
2. The Ibos had no centralized political authority.
3. The Igbo political organization has been described as being decentralized. And its
government referred to as ‘Republican’. Decentralized is used to described the political
organ of societies without central government. In decentralize societies, stable government
is achieved by balancing small, equal groups against each other and by the ties of clanship,
marriage and religious association.
4. The Igbo political authority was largely a fragmented one. The highest political authority
was the village government where the elders could only make political decisions with
popular consent. The egalitarian systems of government which recognized authority as
coming directly from the people made the British to decide on the ‘warrant chiefs’ for
administration.
6. 3 The “Warrant Chiefs and indirect rule in Igbo land
Following the failure of the colonial masters to find a Supreme authority in the east, they decided
to introduce the warrant chiefs, whom they gave powers to control some of the political affairs of
eastern Nigeria. Warrant chiefs were influential men appointed by the British to take charge of the
local administration. The Warrant Chief System was an attempt by the British government to rule
the natives through their traditional political organizations. it is believed that the Warrant Chiefs
were appointed in order to maintain British laws within the Igbo territory. Basically, the Warrant
Chiefs consistently protected British interest over the interest of the natives and, as a result,
emerged as the new ruling class in Igboland (Raji 2017).
50
The functions of these Warrant Chiefs included but not limited to imposition and collection of
monetary taxes and dues both in cash and kind, extraction of court fines and levies, mapping out
and allocation of land to the Colonial Government for building projects like, Police Post, Prisons
and Courts as well as leasing of land to the trading companies, encouraging the peasants to raise
crops that will serve as raw materials for Colonial Government (Ezeogidi, 2019).
6.4 Reasons why indirect rule failed in the Eastern part of Nigeria
1. Decentralized nature of government

One of the major reasons why indirect rule failed in the east was because of the decentralized
system of government in the east. The east was made up of majorly Igbo, and the precolonial
political system of the Igbos was democratic in nature where no single individual had absolute
power. Thus, when the British brought indirect rule to the system it did not work smoothly for
them. They had to look for authorities in the Eastern part of Nigeria who they could use, but they
did not find any.
2. Opposition by educated elites

Some of the educated elites at that time started enlightening the young and illiterate ones among
them, not to accept whatever the colonial masters proposed. This was very fatal to indirect rule in
that region. Even before the coming of the colonial masters, easterners already had educated elites
in the society who understood exactly what the colonial masters were trying to do. Thus, most of
the educated elites in the East strongly opposed the system. They did everything possible to
frustrate all the things colonial masters did to ensure the success of indirect rule.
3. Introduction of the tax system

The system of taxation introduced in Igboland by the colonial government was completely alien
to the people. The Warrant chiefs who tried to impose taxes were opposed by the people.
One of the consequences of this was the Aba Women’s Riots of 1929. During this riot, market
women walked naked on the street to show that they were against the tax system.
51
4. Non-participation by the educated elites
In Igboland, the growth of Christianity brought about an increase in the number of educated people.
This elite were completely excluded from the process of government. They therefore opposed the
indirect rule system.
5. Absence of chiefs with absolute powers

Among the Igbos, there were no chiefs with absolute powers as it pertained in northern Nigeria.
Chiefs in Igboland ruled with a Council of Elders. The Council sat and discussed issues of
importance. At the end of deliberations, the chief took a decision based on the discussion that was
held. Lack of this centralized authority weakened indirect rule system in Igbo and.

In this study session, you have learnt that the indirect rule was not successful in the eastern part of
Nigeria this is because there was no central political authority like what existed in the north. The
absence of this greatly affected the operation of the indirect rule system. Since it was the intention
of the British government to make indirect rule work in Igboland, warrant chiefs and district heads
were appointed. The negative consequence of this was that the warrant chiefs and districts heads
that had no traditional roots in the areas they were supposed to administer were appointed. Aside
this, you now have the knowledge of many other reasons why indirect rule was not a success in
Igboland.

you will have.
52
1. British influence in the Igboland was established in the first decade of the __________
a) 1900
b) 1800
c) 1770
d) 1886

2. The Igbo political organization was described as a ______________ organization as against
centralized system of the North.
a) unitary
b) decentralized
c) federate
d) autocratic

3. The highest political authority was the ____________ government where the elders could
only make political decisions.
a) village
b) clan
c) town
d) district

4. British colonial administration through the institution of ________________ thwarted the
traditional government of the Igbo people
a) village chiefs
b) Obi’s
c) warrant chiefs
53
d) Igwe’s

5. Which authority emerged as the new ruling class in Igboland?
a) traditional authority
b) warrant chiefs
c) Chief-in-council
d) local authority

6. The ________________ system was an attempt by the British government to rule the natives
through their traditional political organizations.
a) village elders
b) warrant chief
c) traditional authority
d) local

7. The Aba Women’s riot took place in ____________________.
a) 1939
b) 1919
c) 1949
d) 1929

8. One of the major reasons why indirect rule failed in the east was because of the
_____________ system of government
a) decentralized
b) autocratic
c) democratic
d) centralized
54
9. The system of ____________ introduced in Igboland by the colonial government was
completely to the people.
a) farming
b) taxation
c) ruling
d) discourse

10. Indirect rule was introduced in Igboland because of the __________ of chiefs with absolute
powers
a) community
b) existence
c) meeting
d) absence

Ezeogidi, C. (2019). British Conquest, Colonization and Administration in Nigeria.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334377114
Raji, A. T. (2017) The Colonial Interlude and Igbo Judicial Systems, Changes and Continuity;
Colonial Impacts on the Judicial Systems of Administration. Online source:
https//www.grin.com/en/privacy-en/.
Ogbu, U. K. (1977). Missionaries, Colonial Government and Secret Societies In South-Eastern

Igboland, 1920-1950. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 75-90
55
Study Session 7: Nationalism and Nationalist Agitations in Nigeria
Introduction
Nationalism is the recognition by the people in a common geographical setting, that they together
and belong to a nation with some common history, interests and goals and the need to free
themselves from any socio-economic or political domination by other nations. Nationalism
embraces both this awareness and the activities towards obtaining or maintaining independence.
However, nationalism is defined as “an expression of feeling of common identity by a group”
(Barkindo, etal, 1994). In most cases, what bind those people together range from language and
culture to ancestry. The nationalist awareness usually arouses in the people, the desire to break
free from any form of domination or enslavement. In the case of Nigeria before 1960, nationalism
could be said to have been built on resistance to foreign rule of the British colonialists, and it
manifested in several ways and dimensions. Moreover, nationalism is also defined as “a policy
designed to achieve self-determination by the removal of alien rule” (Prince, 1970). Although it is
not every nationalism that is aimed at the removal of alien rule. The kind of nationalism that took
place in British West Africa before the Second World War was not aimed principally at the
termination of colonial rule but to seek accommodation for African elites in the colonial society
which had neglected them. During colonial era in Nigeria, some notable people took the front line
and resisted the rule of the British up until Nigeria achieved independence. Some of those people
are, primarily, King Jaja of Opobo, Masaba of Nupeland, Nana Olomu of Itsekiri-land, Oba
Ovonramwen of Benin and Herbert Macaulay. In their different ways and methods, the people did
a lot to raise consciousness about the need to resist and subsequently end foreign rule of the British
colonial ruled in Nigeria. Immediately after the Second World War, the nationalists embarked
upon mass demonstrations, civil disobedience, strikes and boycotts. They condemned colonialism
and called for immediate independence.
56
7.1 Define the concept of Nationalism
7.2 Discuss the historical background to Nationalism in British West Africa
7.3 Examine the features of Nationalism before the Second World War
7.4 Enumerate the factors that affected the rise and growth of Nationalism after the Second
World War
7.5 Describe the effects of Nationalism in Nigeria
7.6 Highlight the contribution of Nigerian Nationalist to independence.
7.1 Concept of Nationalism

Nationalism in the African context may be defined as the struggles by Africans to free themselves
from foreign rule, and to determine, after independence has been won, their own future. In the
period before Second World War, nationalism was aimed at resolving certain grievances of the
elites. Nationalism is an ideology and movement that promotes the interests of a particular nation
(as in a group of people) especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation's
sovereignty (self-governance) over its homeland or its indigenous people. Nationalism holds that
each nation should govern itself, free from outside interference (self-determination), that a nation
is a natural and ideal basis for a polity, and that the nation is the only rightful source of political
power (popular sovereignty). It further aims to build and maintain a single national identity based
on shared social characteristics of culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language, politics (or the
government), religion, traditions and belief in a shared singular history—and to promote national
unity or solidarity Nationalism, therefore, seeks to preserve and foster a nation's traditional
cultures, and cultural revivals have been associated with nationalist movements. It also encourages
pride in national achievements, and is closely linked to patriotism.
Hailey (I957) simply equates nationalism with 'Africanism', as a reaction 'against the dominance
of Europeans in political and economic affairs', suffused with a vocation for self-determination
and African rule (but not Pan-Africanism). While Hodgkin (I956), in his action oriented definition,
bestows the nationalist label upon 'any organization or group that explicitly asserts the rights,
57
claims and aspirations of a given African society (from the level of the language-group to that of
"Pan-Africa") in opposition to European authority, whatever its institutional form and objectives'.
Masaldan (1988) assert that Nationalism may, thus, be described as the sentiment and
consciousness of a community experience which is nurtured by a nationality group that aspires for,
or already possesses, a separate, sovereign state in which it has a dominant position. Pusić, (1995)
opined that “nationalism is the belief that loyalty to one's own state is more important than loyalty
to some internationally valid principles or interests of the individual”. Nationalism is not primarily
a political programme, but a way of looking at political programmes and ideas ((The New
Encyclopaedia Britannica 1991). Therefore, nationalist movements were the organisations which
fought for the rights of Africans and for independence or self-government for Africans. Examples
are Nigeria Youth Movement (NYM), The National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA),
West Africa Student Union (WASU), West African Youth League (WAYL) etc.
7.2 Background to Nationalism in British West Africa
The nationalist movement in British West Africa originated from the policy of indirect rules. The
policy gave preference to traditional rulers and neglect the educated elites in governance which
did not go down well with the educated elites, especially those living in the coaster areas.
Therefore, the seed of nationalism could be situated in the womb of the indirect rule system.
Moreover, the origin of nationalism in Nigeria could be traced back to the struggles of notable
kings who resisted the British encroachment on their sovereignty. Some of these kings included
King Jaja of Opobo, Masaba of Nupeland, Nana Olomu of Itsekiri-land, Oba Ovonramwen of
Benin and Herbert Macaulay. These was at the initial stage and these people were later to be
joined by others who finally drafted Nigeria to the table that produced her independence in 1960.
7.3 Features of Nationalism before the Second World War
i. Opposition by traditional rulers: Traditional rulers in West Africa opposed colonial rule
over their domains at one time or the other. These traditional rulers included Oba
Ovoramwen of Benin, Samouri Toure of the Mandinka Kingdom and Jaja of Opobo. Some
of these African chiefs were banished from their empires and kingdoms, as a result of their
resistance to foreign domination.
58
ii. Criticism of colonial policies through the newspapers: The establishment of newspapers
provided West African nationalists the opportunity to enlighten West Africans on political
issues, to enable them to resist colonial rules. It also afforded them the opportunity to
criticise colonial policies. Such newspapers included the West African Pilot, the Daily
Comet, the Daily Service, the Daily Times and some local language newspaper like Akede
Eko.
iii. Demands for constitutional reforms: The nationalists demanded constitutional reforms
in all the West African colonies to enable the people to participate in the government of
their territories.
iv. Petitions: The African elite under the aegis of the National Congress of British West
African demanded political reforms for the people of West Africa. They sent delegates and
petitions to the colonial secretary in London, demanding a legislative council for each
colony, and self-determination for colonies under colonial administration.
v. Riots: Africans used riots as a form of resistance to colonial rule. An example was the Aba
women’s riots of 1929, which arose as a result of imposition of taxes on men, which the
women assumed would also be extended to them.
7.4 Factors that affected the rise and growth of Nationalism after the Second World War
It is important to note that several factors were responsible for the sudden change in nationalist
activities after the Second World War, that is between 1939 to 1945. These factors were both
internal and external with the latter propelling the former.
7.4.1 External Factors:
a. The Atlantic Charter: The declaration that all the people under colonial domination in
the world have the right to self-determination encouraged the nationalists in their struggles
for the independence of their territories.
b. WASU’S Agitation: The activities of the West African students’ union abroad helped the
agitation for self-rule. They organized themselves into unions and mounted pressure on the
colonial government to grant West Africa independence.
c. Effects of the Second World War: The Second World War gave young Africans the
opportunity to enlist in the same Army with their Europeans counterparts. They fought in
59
different parts of the world together and some were officers commanding mixed races.
They discovered that the white was not superior to them and this removed the inferiority
they had.
d. The Ex-Servicemen’s Influence: These ex-servicemen joined the nationalist struggle for
independence on returning home because the Allied forces reneged on their promises to
provide them jobs.
e. Britain’s Defeat: The defeat of Britain by Japan dented Britain’s prestige because Britain
was a great world power. She also lost Malaya and many other South East Asian countries.
These defeats suffered by Britain were a big blow to her supposed invincibility. It also
compelled the British government to review its colonial policy.
f. The India Independence: The independence of India in 1947 encouraged Africans to
intensify their demands for self-rule.
g. American Influence: Ever since signing of the Atlantic Charter, the American government
and people rose stoutly against colonialism, which they saw as evil. The aggressive anti-
colonialist stance of the government and people of America should not be a surprise since
the United States was also a former colony of Britain, and recognized the deleterious effects
of colonialism.
h. War Propaganda: The war propaganda of both the Allies and the Nazi centred upon the
concept of freedom. That is, they promised all countries freedom. You cannot promise
freedom in one breath and deny it in another breath.
i. Anti-Colonial Posture of the United Nations: The United Nations supported the nations’
fight against colonialism and imperialism. Also, the United Nations Charter of 1945
recognized the right of all colonial people to freedom. The Charter provided a basis for
nationalist agitation.
7.4.2 Internal Factors:
a. Discrimination in the Civil Service: Africans who had the same educational
qualifications with the Europeans counterparts in the civil service were discriminated
against and were offered inferior positions and paid lower wages. Olusanya (1975) assert
that “Africans were recruited into junior posts in the civil service and barred from
promotion to the senior grades which were reserved exclusively for Europeans”.
60
b. Unpopular Colonial Policies: Colonial policies such as economy was dominated and
exploited by giant multinational companies like John Holt, G.B. Olivant, Gaizer and UAC.
These foreign companies bought raw materials at cheaper rates, and sold their finished
products to Africans at exorbitant prices.
c. Inferiority of Cultures: For socio-cultural reason, African cultures and traditions were
regarded as inferior by the whites. The Europeans established separate residential houses,
hospitals and recreational centres for the blacks and whites. They also encouraged Africans
to where Europeans dresses and speak their languages. This behaviour engendered
nationalism in Nigerians who resented it.
d. Establishment of Political Parties: The formation of political parties by purposeful
leaders enhanced nationalist activities in Nigeria. These early political parties were the
Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP), formed in 1923 and led by Herbert Macaulay,
Nigeria Youth Movement (NYM) formed in 1934 led by Ernest Ikoli, National Council of
Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) also formed in 1944 by Herbert Macaulay, Action Group
(AG) formed in 1950 by Obafemi Awolowo, Northern People’s Congress (NPC) formed
in (1951) led by Ahmadu Bello, and Northern Element Progressive Union (NEPU) formed
in 1951 led by Aminu Kano.
e. Riots and Strikes: Incidents of riots and strikes increased nationalist awareness and
furthermore united their forces for change. Examples are Abeokuta tax revolt of 1900, the
Aba women’s riot of 1929 and the general strike of 1945.
f. Establishment of Newspapers: The emergence of such newspapers as the Daily News,
the West African Pilot, as well as local language newspapers like Akede Eko and Iwe
Iroyin. led to the growth of nationalism in Nigeria.
7.5 Effects of Nationalism in Nigeria
Nationalism had the following effects:

i. Western Education: Nationalism encouraged the spread of Western education in Nigeria,
i.e. the establishment of more schools and founding of the earliest tertiary educational
institutions. Yaba Higher College was first founded, but nationalist protested its
inadequacy which was one of the reasons for the establishment of the University College,
Ibadan in 1948.
61
ii. Establishment of Political Parties: It led to the development of political parties in Nigeria
such as the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC), Nigerian Youth
Movement (NYM), Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the Action Group (AG),
and the Northern People’s Congress (NPC).
iii. Establishment of Newspapers: Nationalism led to the rise of newspapers such as the
Lagos Daily News, Daily Service and West African Pilot etc.
iv. Myth of the Superiority: Nationalism destroyed the myth of the superiority of the white
man that was created for long by the British rulers
v. Discrimination in the Civil Service: It made Nigerian workers fight against
discrimination in the civil service and obtain better placements and conditions of service.
vi. Economic Exploitation: It mobilised the people against economic exploitation by the
British and created room for Nigerians to control more of the nation’s trade and economic
resources.
7.6 Contribution of Nigerian Nationalist to independence
i. They used other propaganda machinery such as the activities of the West African Students
Union (WASU) in London to present their position on the need for independence in
Nigeria.
ii. They wrote petitions to the Secretary of state for the colonies in London. An example is
the one sent to him in March 1920 by the delegates to the National Congress of British
West Africa.
iii. Nigerian nationalists formed political parties and associations. The earliest political parties
were formed by nationalists. Examples were the NNDP formed by Herbert Macaulay,
NYM by Ernest Ikoli, NCNC by Nnamdi Azikiwe, AG by Obafemi Awolowo and NPC
by Aminu Kano.
iv. They sent delegates to the British government in London and to the colonial government
in Nigeria to press forward their demands.
v. They took active part in constitutional conferences
vi. In parliament, they tabled and voted in favour of motions/policies favourable to the
attainment of self-rules.
vii. They organized rallies, symposia and lectures to educate the people.
62
viii. They organized labour unions and meetings and put pressure on the colonial employers
and government
ix. They organized strikes and boycotts as powerful instruments to back up their demands.

In this study session, you have learnt that Nationalism is a potent tool of self-liberation and
freedom. Because it is often laden with sentiments that connect people based on common culture,
ancestry, tradition and language, nationalism is somewhat similar to patriotism; that which drive
people to act irrespective of consequences. Although in the beginning on nationalism in Nigeria
there are King Jaja of Opobo, Masaba of Nupeland, Nana Olomu of Itsekiri-land, Oba
Ovonramwen of Benin and Herbert Macaulay, Herbert Macaulay is the one that is often regarded
as the father of Nigerian Nationalism. For Africa in general, nationalism did not start from Nigeria,
but, Nigeria played its role towards ensure the liberation and freedom of Africans.

you will have.

1. __________________ is the recognition by the people in a common geographical setting, that
they together and belong to a nation with some common history, interests and goals and the
need to free themselves from any socio-economic or political domination by other nations.
a) Patriotism
b) Pan-Africanism
c) Africanism
d) Nationalism
63
2. The kind of nationalism that took place in British West Africa before the Second World War
was not aimed principally at the termination of colonial rule but ____________________
a) To involved in local governance
b) To replace the traditional rulers
c) To seek accommodation for African elites in the colonial society which had neglected them.
d) To become leaders of the country.

3. During colonial era in Nigeria, all are notable people that took the front line and resisted the
rule of the British up until Nigeria achieved independence except ________________
a) Oba Ibikunle Akitoye of Lagos
b) King Jaja of Opobo
c) Oba Ovonramwen of Benin
d) Herbert Macaulay.

4. ________________ were the organisations which fought for the rights of Africans and for
independence or self-government for Africans
a) Nationalism
b) Nationalist Movements
c) Nationalist Organisations
d) Pan-Africanism

5. The nationalist movement in British West Africa originated from the _______________
a) Policy of Indirect rules
b) Policy of Association
c) Policy of Assimilation
64
d) Policy of Direct rules

6. All are the features of nationalism before the Second World War except ______________
a) Opposition by traditional rulers
b) Criticism of colonial policies through the newspapers
c) Demands for constitutional reforms
d) Banishment of the traditional rulers
SAQ 7.7 (Tests Learning Outcome 7.4.1)

7. All are the external factors that affected the rise and growth of Nationalism after the Second
World War except ____________________
a) Discrimination in the civil service
b) The Atlantic charter
c) WASU’S agitation
d) The Ex-Servicemen’s influence

8. All are the internal factors that affected the rise and growth of Nationalism after the Second
World War except ____________________
a) Establishment of Political Parties
b) War Propaganda
c) Riots and Strikes
d) Establishment of Newspapers

9. ________________ was the first nationalist movement that was formed in Nigeria
a) Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM)
b) National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC)
c) Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP)
d) Action Group (AG)
65
10. All are the contribution of Nigerian Nationalist to independence except ________________
a) Reformation of the traditional council
b) They took active part in constitutional conferences
c) They organized rallies, symposia and lectures to educate the people
d) They organized strikes and boycotts as powerful instruments to back up their demands

Ventures.
Publications.
Barkindo, R, Omolewa M, etal, (1994), Africa and the Wilder World 3: Africa Since the Scramble.
Ikeja: Longman Publisher.
Hailey, W. M. (1957), An African Survey. A Study of Problems Arising in Africa South of the
Sahara (London: Oxford University Press)
Hodgkin, Thomas, (1956), Nationalism in Colonial Africa (London: F. Muller Publisher)
Hodgkin, Thomas, (1961), African Political Parties: An Introductory Guide (Harmondsworth:
Penguin Books)
Kalu Ezera, (1960) Constitutional Development in Nigeria (Cambridge: University Press)
Olusanya, G.O., (1975), The Evolution of the Nigeria Civil Service 1861-1960: The Problems of
Nigerianisation, (Lagos: University of Lagos).
Prince, J. H., (1970), Political Institutions of West Africa, (London: Hutchinson Education
Limited).
Pusić, V. (1995). Uses of Nationalism and the Politics of Recognition. Anthropological Journal
on European Cultures, 4(1), 43-61. Retrieved July 10, 2020, from
www.jstor.org/stable/43234780
Young, M. (1986). Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Class in Africa: A Retrospective (Nationalisme,

ethnicité et classe en Afrique: Une rétrospective). Cahiers D'Études
Africaines, 26(103), 421-495. Retrieved August 4, 2020, from
www.jstor.org/stable/4392051
66
Study Session 8: Pre-Independence Constitutional
Development in Nigeria
THE HUGH CLIFFORD CONSTITUTION 1922
Introduction
Since human beings are subjected to periodic changes, so also is its environment and such
environment requires a binding document to regulate day-to-day activities of the people residing
in it. This is where the making and provision of the constitution is very germane for peaceful co-
existence of the country. A constitution is the fundamental law of a country. No matter how good
a constitution may be, it must constantly adapt to changes in its environment if it is to endure.
However, the pace at which things change in the environment, especially with regards to the
distribution and exercise of power, may not be matched by the provisions// of the constitution. As
such, the tendency in some states is to draft a new constitution in line with changes in the political
society. This has been the practice in Nigeria even during the colonial era. However, the period
before independence, a few constitutions were promulgated by the British colonial government to
satisfy demands for political and constitutional reforms.

8.1 Discuss the historical background of the Lugard constitution
8.2 Examine the features of Lugard constitution
8.3 Identify the merits of the Lugard constitution.
8.4 Highlight the demerits of the constitution
8.5 Explain the historical background of the Clifford constitution
8.6 Enumerate the features of the Clifford constitution
8.7 State the merits of the Clifford constitution
8.8 List the demerits of the Clifford constitution
67
8.1 Fredrick Lugard Constitution of 1914
With immediate assumption of office by Frederick Lugard, all hand was on deck to set up new
constitution for the people of the provinces. This led to the acceptance of the Lugard
Amalgamation Report by the British Government, the Northern and Southern Province were joined
together to form Nigeria on 1st January, 1914. The new country was officially known as the colony
and protectorate of Nigeria and a constitution was promulgated to provide guidance in the
administration of the country. It is sufficing to say that the principle reason for the amalgamation
was the need to protect and advance the economic and commercial interest of the British
Government while the interest of Nigerians was put into jeopardy.
8.2 Features of Lugard Constitution

a. The component units of the new state were the colony of Lagos, the Northern provinces and
the Southern provinces. The capital of the country was Lagos.
b. The Governor-General that is Lugard was the first occupant of the office and he served as
the head of government. Each province was headed by a governor.
c. The Lagos colony had a legislative council, which comprised the Governor as the chairmen
and six officials and four nominated members, two of whom were Africans.
d. A legislative council called the “Nigerian Council” was set up to make laws for the whole
country. The body comprised the Governor-General as the chairman, 23 official members
and 12 unofficial members, seven of whom were Europeans. The remaining six (6) were
Nigerians, most of whom were traditional rulers. The council met once in a year to discuss
the governor’s speech and any decision taken could be vetoed by him.
e. The indirect rule policy was introduced throughout the country.
8.3 Merits of the Lugard Constitution

The constitution had the following advantages:
1. The constitution provided for the peaceful evolution of the Nigerian nation
2. It provided a training ground for the Nigerians in the art of governance.
3. The legislative council and other structures established by the constitution provided a forum
for Nigerians to discuss matters affecting them.
68
4. The different and diverse ethnic nationalities which had previously been at each other’s
throat were, for the first time, brought together under the same constitutional framework.
5. There was decentralization of government through the creation of provinces and introduction
of indirect rule policy in Nigeria.
8.4 Demerits of the Constitution

The constitution had the following disadvantages:
1. The indirect rule policy strengthened the native administration system as an institution of
government and this system promoted allegiance to local rather than national institutions
2. The amalgamation never really resulted in national unity as both the north and the south
continued to pursue different policies. For example, the official language of the Northern
provinces was Hausa while English Language was the official language of the southern
provinces. So even in terms of language, they remained divided.
3. Apart from senior government officials who met regularly at the annual council meetings
there was little interaction between the people of the North and South.
4. The Nigerian council was neither Nigerian nature nor was it a true law-making body. It was
a mere talk shop, which had no single elected members.
5. The two provinces continued to operate as if they were different entities or countries. Each
province had separate departments dealing with education, health, police and prisons.
6. The Governor-General continued to make laws for the North, which had no legislative
council of its own.
8.5 The Hugh Clifford Constitution of 1922.

Historical Background
Lagos became a colony of Britain in 1861. Northern Nigeria was declared a protectorate and
brought under British administration in 1900. Though before the British Government took over
the administration of Northern Nigeria, the area was under the control of the Royal Nigeria
Company (RNC). Governor-General ruled Northern Protectorate through ‘Proclamation’. In 1906,
the colony of Lagos and the protectorate of Southern Nigeria were merged together and they are
under one administration. There were many events that took place in 1914, firstly, Northern and
69
Southern protectorate was amalgamated. Secondly, the commencement of the First World War
and lastly, the Nigerian Council was formed as an advisory body to the Governor-General.
The system of government introduced as a result of the amalgamation of 1914 created sharp
divisions between British officials and educated Nigerians on one hand and between the chiefs and
the educated elements on the other hand. It was therefore quite easy for the British colonial officials
and traditional rulers to align against the educated elites who had no political platform to articulate
their position. The meeting of the National Congress of British West Africa held in Accra, Ghana
in 1920, provided the opportunity for educated African to articulate their views. The congress
demanded for self-government and an elected legislative council, among other things.
The British colonial authorities rejected these political demands as being too ambitious and highly
unrealistic. Due to lackadaisical and frivolous attitude of the members of the Nigerian Council, the
Council collapsed in 1918, and that was what led to emergency of a new government. Sir Hugh
Clifford assumed power in 1919 and was particularly trenchant in his criticism of the congress and
denounced the conference as a self-elected and self-appointed congregation of educated African
gentlemen. However, as a result the open criticism of the congress and its demand for political and
constitutional reforms, the British authorities realized that it was important to incorporate the
educated Africans into the political process. It was against this backdrop that Governor Clifford
promulgated the 1922 constitution.
8.6 Features of the Clifford Constitution

The main features or characteristics of the Clifford Constitution were as follows:
a) The Legislative Council: A legislative council was established and it was assigned
responsibilities to make laws for the colony of Lagos and the Southern provinces. The
council comprised of 46 members including the following:
The Governor (as the President of the Council)
26 official members
15 Unofficial members including (Nigerians)
4 elected members (3 for Lagos and 1 for Calabar)
70
b) The Executive Council: The council was established for the whole country and it serves as
an advisory body to the Governor. It comprised the Governor who served as its president
and eleven (11) senior officials who were heads of department. The council advice the
Governor on policy matters.
c) The Governor: The Governor presided over the meeting of both legislative and executive
councils. He nominated some unofficial members to the legislative council. The Governor
made laws for the Northern protectorate through proclamation. The law of the legislative
council did not apply to the Northern protectorate. The Governor was vested with the veto
power.
d) The Elective Principle: The Clifford Constitution of 1922 was the first to introduce the
elective principles in British West Africa. Only Lagos and Calabar elected representatives
to the legislative council while few peoples are qualified to vote in these two towns. The
principle of franchise was restricted and was not based on Universal Adult Suffrage. Thus,
only male adult who had an annual income of £100 and above and who possessed
presidential qualification of 12 months were qualified to votes.
8.7 Merits of the Clifford constitution
The advantage of the constitution included the following:
1. The Clifford constitution introduced the elective principle, the first of its kind in British
West Africa. This encouraged political activities especially in Lagos, which had the seats.
2. The introduction of the elective principle stimulated the formation of political parties to
mobilize people for the 1923 elections into the legislative council. The parties included the
Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP), the Peoples Union and the Lagos Youth
Movement (LYM) whose name was later changed to Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM)
3. It aided the formation of five newspapers that champion the cause of the nationalists and
to raise the level of political consciousness among the people. The papers were the Daily
Times, the Anglo African, the Lagos Weekly Record, the Mirror and the West African
Pilot.
4. It also increased political activities in Nigeria. Hence stabilizing political system in the
country.
71
8.8 Demerits of the Clifford constitution
The Clifford Constitution had the following disadvantages:
1. The legislative council created by the constitution was quite restrictive in its scope and
coverage. It only made laws for the southern provinces and continued the colonial policy of
isolating the North from the South.
2. The constitution did not reflect the wishes and aspirations of Nigerian’s. It remained
unchanged while there were widespread agitations and protests by Nigerian nationalists for
representation in the management of their own affairs.
3. The imposition of the indirect rule system on the southern provinces because of its success
in the North showed a clear lack of understanding of the Nigerian political situation by the
drafters of the constitution.
4. The few Nigerians on the council were selected by the British colonial government and did
not therefore represent the interest of Nigerians. They had little interest in the debates of the
council and they readily exhibited a penchant to cooperate easily with the British colonial
officials.
5. The franchise for election into the legislative council was to narrow and restrictive as only
the rich businessmen in Lagos and Calabar could easily contest elections under the electoral
rules.
6. The executive council which was dominated by Europeans had no real executive powers.
7. The majority of members of the legislature council were Europeans who obviously did not
have a thorough understanding of the yearning and aspirations of Nigerian.

In this study session, you have learnt the historical background to constitutional development in
Nigeria through the annexation of Lagos colony by the British government and eventual
amalgamation of both Northern and Southern protectorates. The formation of the Nigerian council
set the basis for representation in the country while elective principle was eventually consolidated.
The Sir Hugh Clifford constitution formed the commencement of the constitutional development
in Nigeria. However, despite the formation of legislative and executive councils which ought to
72
have increased political participation and general political activities of the people of the country
but poor representation of Nigerians in these councils was a major setback for the country. Besides,
the exclusion of educated Africans from the government led to major criticism and protestation by
the various groups which short lived the tenure of the Clifford constitution and led to emergency
of the new constitution in Nigeria.

you will have.

1. The Northern and Southern provinces were joined together to form Nigeria on __________
e) 1st January, 1900
f) 1st of January, 1906
g) 1st January, 1861
h) 1st January, 1914

2. The Northern and Southern provinces was headed by ______________________
a) Governor-General
b) Resident Officers
c) Governor
d) Warrant Officers

3. All are the merits of the Lugard constitution except ______________________
73
a) The indirect rule policy strengthened the native administration system as an institution of
government and this system promote allegiance to local rather than national institutions.
b) There was decentralization of government through the creation of provinces and
introduction of indirect rule policy in Nigeria.
c) The amalgamation never really resulted in national unity as both the North and the South
continued to pursue different policies.
d) The Nigerian council was neither Nigerian in nature nor was it a true law making body.

4. The disadvantages of the Lugard constitution are the following except _________
a) The legislative council and other structures established by the constitution provided a
forum for Nigerians to discuss matters affecting them.
b) The Governor-General continued to make laws for the North, which had no legislative
council of its own.
c) The amalgamation never really resulted in national unity as both the North and the South
continued to pursue different policies.
d) Apart from senior government officials who met regularly at the annual council meetings,
there was little interaction between the people of the North and South.

5. Before the British government took over the administration of Northern Nigeria, the area
was under the control of the ___________
a) Fredrick Lord Lugard
b) Governor-General
c) Royal Niger Company
d) Sir Hugh Clifford

6. In __________ the colony of Lagos and the protectorate of Southern Nigeria was merged
together and under one administration
a) 1900
74
b) 1910
c) 1914
d) 1919

7. ______________ provided the opportunity for educated African to articulate their view
and demanded for self-government
a) Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP)
b) Nigeria Youth Movement (NYM)
c) National Congress of British West Africa (NCBWA)
d) The West African Pilot

8. The legislative council under the Clifford constitution comprised of ___________ officials
__________ non-official members
a) 27 officials, 19 non-officials
b) 27 officials, 19 non-officials
c) 28 officials, 19 non-officials
d) 29 officials, 15 non-officials

9. All are the merits of the Clifford constitution
a) The majority of members of the legislative council were Europeans who obviously did
not have a thorough understanding of the yearning and aspirations of Nigerians.
b) The constitution introduced elective principle which encouraged political activities and
increased political participation in Lagos and Calabar
c) The Clifford Constitution aided the formation of political parties e.g. Nigerian National
Democratic Party (NNDP)
d) It aided the formation of newspapers that champion the cause of the nationalists and raised
the level of political consciousness of Nigerians.
75
10. All are the disadvantages of the Clifford constitution except _____________________
a) The Clifford constitution introduced the elective principle for the first time in British West
Africa.
b) The constitution did not reflect the wishes and aspirations of Nigerians.
c) The majority of members of the legislative council were Europeans who obviously did not
have a thorough understanding of the yearning and aspirations of Nigerians.
d) The executive council which was dominated by Europeans had on real executive powers.

Ventures.
Publications.
Oyediran, Oyeleye (2007), Introduction to Political Science, Ibadan: Oyediran Consults
International.
Odumosu O.I (1963), The Nigerian Constitution; History and Development, London: Sweet and
Maxwell.
Oyebola, A. & Ojelabi A. (1971), A Textbook of Government for West Africa. Ibadan:
Educational Research Institute.
76
SIR ARTHUR RICHARD CONSTITUTION OF 1946
Introduction
By 1943, it had become clear that the Clifford constitution of 1922 was no more relevant to the
nationalist’s aspiration. Though war was about to end while the war itself had intensified
nationalist struggle for independence. However, the background for a new constitution was later
laid by Barnard Bourdillon who was Governor of Nigeria between 1935 and 1943. His proposals
for a new constitution could not be implemented however before his departure from Nigeria in
1943. The new Governor, Sir Arthur Richards completed work on the new constitution and
implemented it. Incidentally, it was in that same year, 1943, that Sir Arthur Richards later Lord
Milverton became the governor of Nigeria. Seeing the mood of the country. Richard had early in
1944 proposed a constitution whose objectives were to promote the unity of Nigeria, providing for
the diverse people of the country and securing greater participation by the people in the discussion
of their own affairs.
Learning Outcomes for Study Session 9

9.1 Explain the background of Arthur Richard constitution
9.2 Describe the features of the Richard constitution
9.3 Identify the merits of the Richard constitution
9.4 Mention the demerits of the Richard constitution
9.1 Background of Arthur Richard Constitution

With the emergence of the Richards constitution one had expected that there would be a
tremendous improvement in the constitution. But the constitution itself was the result of several
events that took place within and outside Nigeria since the Clifford constitution was promulgated
77
in 1922. Thus, several factors accounted for the promulgation of the constitution. Firstly, the
indirect rule was a failure in Southern Nigeria contrary to the expectation of the colonial
government. The educated Nigerians were shut out from participation in government and they
suffered various forms of discrimination in the civil service. Yet, the size of the educated people
had increased tremendously and the colonial government was faced with the problem of absorbing
the school leavers into government service. This was always going to be difficult, as imperial
majesty’s control appeared inconsistent with the granting of powers to educated Nigerians who
were agitating for self-government.
Secondly, the West African Student Union (WASU) had been agitating for self-government for
Nigeria and other British West African counties since 1914. In particular, WASU demanded a
Federal system of government for Nigeria. This demand also called for a change of colonial policy.
Thirdly, there were two contending demands for political reforms within the Nigerian society
itself. In the first place, some people argued that the native authorities should be strengthened and
power should be devolved in the regions. The main demand of this group was that regional
governments should have more powers than the central government in any constitutional
arrangement. The Northern Emirs and British colonial officials had sympathy for this view. The
other demand was that native’s authorities should only serve as electoral colleges for election into
Regional Assemblies and the central legislative in Lagos. In order words, they argued that there
should be a strong central government. Also, the educated Nigerians and nationalists in the coastal
towns were in support of this position.
Finally, the influence of Rchards’ predecessor, Governor Bourdillion (1935-1943) was very
significant. Governor Bourdillion had divided the Southern Protectorate into Eastern and Western
provinces in 1939. He called for political unity and encouraged the northern emirs to abandon their
isolationist tendencies and take pride in sharing the administration of the whole country with the
southerners. It was against this background that Sir Arthur Richards became the governor in 1944.
He forwarded his constitutional proposals to the secretary of State for the colonies on 6th
December, 1944. His main objectives of the new constitution were to promote the unity of Nigeria,
to provide adequately within that unity for the diverse elements which made up the country, and
78
to secure greater participation by Africans in the discussion of their own affairs. The constitution
was expected to last for nine years.
9.2 Features of the Richard Constitution

The features of the Richards constitution were as follows:
a) The Central Legislative Council: A central legislative was established. The body was
assigned with the responsibility of making laws for the whole country. Majority of the
unofficial members were indirectly elected by the Regional Assemblies. It comprised of
45 members made up of:
The Governor (as the President)
16 Official members
13 ex-officio members;
3 nominated official members;
28 non-official members
24 nominated unofficial members
4 elected members
b) Creation of Regions: The most important features of the Richards constitution was the
creation of three regions, namely, Northern Region, Eastern Region and Western Region
(which included Lagos). The Chief Commissioner was the head of government in each
region.
c) The Regional Legislature: It is also known as regional assemblies. Regional Assemblies
were established in all the regions. Such as:
Northern Regional Assembly – It comprised of 18 official members, 24 non-official
members
Western Regional Assembly – It comprised of 13 official members, 19 non-official
members.
Eastern Regional Assembly – It comprised of 13 official members and 18 non-official
members.
The Northern Regional Assembly practiced Bicameral legislative system i.e. House of
Assembly and House of Chiefs while in the whole western and eastern regional Assembly
79
practiced Unicameral legislative system i.e. House of Assembly. Majority of the members
of the Regional Assemblies were selected by the Native Authorities.
d) The Executive Council: The meeting of this council presided over by the Governor had
only official members who were heads of government. It is important to note that under
Clifford constitution of 1922 executive council comprised of only Europeans but for the
first in history two Africans were appointed to the council, one in 1943 another in 1949.
9.3 Merits of the Richard Constitution
1. The Richards constitution is significant because for the first time in the history of the
country, the North and South were brought together under a single legislative authority. By
so doing, the first objectives of the constitution which was the promotion of national unity
was achieved.
2. The constitution ingeniously incorporated the indirect rule into the constitution by linking
the Native Authorities to the Regional Assemblies and by linking the latter to the central
legislative in Lagos.
3. By establishing Regional Assemblies, the constitution recognized the diversity of Nigeria
and provided an opportunity for these diverse elements to express their views. With this,
the second objectives of the constitution were realized. The representation of the various
diverse interests was the second objectives of the constitution.
4. The constitution allocated restricted functions to the Regional Assemblies.
5. The Regional Assemblies provided a forum for Nigerians to participate in the discussion
and management of their own affairs. By so doing, the third objective, namely, securing
the participation of Nigerians in their own affairs was achieved.
6. Franchise was extended to other part of the country.
7. The Richards constitution for the first time appointed Africans to the Executive Council.
8. Lastly, regionalism was introduced for the first time.
9.4 Demerits of the Richard Constitution

The constitution had the following disadvantages:
80
1. The constitution failed to satisfy the aspirations of Nigerians, in that despite the increased
representation, their participation was constitutionally limited in scope leading to pressures
from the nationalists for a new constitution.
2. Both the legislative council and the Regional assemblies were still advisory in functions as
real power still remained with the governor and the executive council which was European
dominated.
3. The governor apart from retaining the veto power also reserved the right to evict legislation
independent of the legislative council whenever he felt so.
4. Another was that the so-called unofficial majority was nothing more than a gimmick since
the government would still get majority votes in the council judging by the type of Africans
that were to be elected.
5. It was also argued that the property qualification of £100 for voting in both Lagos and
Calabar was aimed at preventing radical Africans from coming to the legislative council.
6. The Richards constitution was undemocratic as it was an imposition by the colonial
government. In short, there was inadequate consultation with Nigerians in drafting the
constitution. This in particular was the major criticism of the nationalists against the
constitution.
7. The failure to establish a House of Chiefs in the Western Region was inexplicable given
the large number of traditional institutions in the area. The development only showed the
contempt which the British colonial officials had for the South.
8. The constitution which was supposed to last for nine years was discarded in just four years.
This clearly summed up the failure of the constitution to satisfy the yearnings and
aspirations of Nigerians.

In this study session, you have learnt the background to the Sir Arthur Richards constitution which
was as a result of the failure of Clifford constitution to yield to the yearning and aspirations of the
people of Nigeria. There is tremendous improvement on the part of the Richards constitution
compared to Clifford constitution. The main features of the constitution were the creation of the
regional councils for both the East, West and Northern Nigeria. Thus, it was the foundation for
81
federalism as well as the recognition of the country into three regions. It was also the first time
that the north would be brought closer to the South under a Nigerian umbrella. Moreover, there is
no doubt that the Richard constitution took a step forward in uniting the country through common
legislation. However, the study session also examines the features, merits and demerits of
Richards’s constitution.

you will have.

1. _______________ was Governor of Nigeria between 1935 and 1943
a) Sir Arthur Richard
b) Barnard Bourdillon
c) Lord Lugard
d) Sir Olivert Lyttelton

2. __________ had been agitating for self-government for Nigeria and other British West
African countries since 1914
a) Nigeria Youth Movement
b) West African Student Union
c) Nigeria National Democratic Party
d) Lagos Youth Movement
82
3. Sir Arthur Richards became the Governor in ________ and its constitution was
promulgated in __________
a) 1944, 1946
b) 1943, 1947
c) 1943, 1946
d) 1944, 1947

4. All are the factors accounted for the promulgation of the constitution except ___________
a) Firstly, the indirect rule was a failure in Southern Nigeria contrary to the expectation of
the colonial government.
b) The educated Nigerians were shut out from participation in government and they suffered
various forms of discrimination in the civil service.
c) Yet, the size of the educated people had increased tremendously and the colonial
government was faced with the problem of absorbing the school leavers into government
service.
d) The imperial majesty ran an inclusive government that led to the formulation of the
constitution

5. The central legislature council of Arthur Richard constitution comprised of the Governor
and _________
a) 17 officials and 28 non-official members
b) 18 officials and 28 non-official members
c) 16 officials and 28 non-official members
d) 15 officials and 27 non-official members

6. The most important features of the Richards constitution were ________________
a) Creation of central legislative council
b) Creation of executive council
83
c) Creation of regional assemblies
d) Introduction of regionalism

7. All are the advantages of the Richard’s constitution except _________________
a) The North and South were brought under a single legislative authority
b) Both the legislative council and the regional assemblies were still advisory in functions
c) Franchise was extended to other part of the country
d) The constitution for the first time appointed Africans to the executive council

8. All are the disadvantages of the Richard’s constitution except_____________
a) The constitution allocated district function to the regional assemblies.
b) Executive council was still dominated by the European
c) There was no equal representation in regional assembly
d) The governor apart from retaining the veto power also reserved the right to enact legislation
independent of the legislative council wherever he felt so.

9 ______________ was the amount for property qualification for voting in both Lagos and
Calabar.
a) £100
b) £200
c) $100
d) $200

10. The main features of the constitution were the creation of ______________________
a) Executive council
b) Privileged committee
c) Regional councils
84
d) Legislative council

Ventures.
Publications.
International.
Maxwell.
85
THE JOHN MACPHERSON CONSTITUTION OF 1951
Introduction
When Sir John Macpherson was appointed the Governor of Nigeria in April 1948, he realized that
there was loss of confidence in the government, and that the participation of the people in making
a new constitution was imperative. He therefore promised to involve the Nigerian people in the
making of another constitution for the country. To achieve this objective, he set up a select
committee of the legislatures to make recommendations as to the best way of reviewing the
Richard’s constitution. The committee comprising mainly the official members of the house
recommended that conferences should be held at village, district, provincial, regional and national
levels to ascertain the wishes of Nigerians on the way forward. The recommendations at a
particular level should be considered at the next higher level until the national level was reached.

10.1 Discuss the background to the Macpherson constitution
10.2 Examine the basic features of the Macpherson constitution
10.3 Highlight the merits of the Macpherson constitution
10.4 Enumerate the demerits of the Macpherson constitution.
10.1 Background to John Macpherson Constitution

The colonial government accepted the recommendations and elaborate machinery was put in
motion to solicit the views of Nigerians on a new constitution. Debate was held to the national
level in the new constitution. A drafting committee was established to collate and reconcile the
views expressed at the regional conferences. These views were embodied in a draft constitution
86
which was presented to the General Conference held in Ibadan on January 1950. Therefore, the
draft of the Macpherson constitution was debated at the local level, at the leaders of thought, and
finally at general conference held in Ibadan on January, 1950. Unfortunately, the leaders at this
conference saw themselves as representatives and spokesmen of their regions and hence the
compromise arrived at weakened the power of the centre. The conflicts among the representatives
were partly political and partly economic
a) Political Conflicts
1. Fear by the North of southern political domination
2. Conflict between the West and the North arose out of the unsuccessful demand by the West
for a revision of the Northern frontier so as to exclude the people of Offa, Igbomina and
Kabba who are Yoruba.
3. North with the support of the East successful demanded the excision of Lagos from the
West.
b) Economic Conflicts
1. Because of greater population, the North wanted allocation of revenue to be on a per-capital
basis
2. The educational gap between the North and the South
The General conference unanimously recommended the following proposals:

1. Increased regional autonomy within a United Nigeria;
2. Ministerial responsibilities for members of the central council of ministers and the
Regional Executive councils and
3. The creation of effective regional legislatures with more elected members and real powers.
There were disagreements at the conference on the following issues;
a) Representation in the central legislature in which the Northern Region demanded for a
minimum of 50 percent representation;
b) Revenue allocation, and
c) Regional boundaries
The proposals of the General conferences were debated and approved by the central legislature.
The Governor thereafter submitted the constitutional proposals to the secretary of State for the
87
colonies for consideration. On 15th July, 1950 the Secretary of State approved the
recommendations and these constituted the main provisions of the Macpherson Constitution of
1951. It was without doubt a step forward from his predecessor attempt.
10.2 Features of the Macpherson Constitution

1. Establishment of House of Representatives: A central legislative council was changed
to House of Representatives. It comprised of 149 members made up of
The President
6 official members;
6 special members nominated by the Governor
136 unofficial members;
68 Northern region
34 western region
34 – Eastern region
The House of Representatives had power to make laws on all subjects for the whole country
and its laws could override regional laws. This was the first time such a law making
institution would be established for the whole country.
2. Council of Ministers: The executive council was changed to council of Minister. It
comprised to the Governor (as the President)
6 – Ex-officio members
12 - African ministers
4 – Northern Region
4 – Western Region
4 – Western Region
3. Regional Legislature: Each region had a regional legislature. The Northern and Western
Regions were bicameral with each of them having a House of Assembly and a House of
Chiefs. The Eastern Region had only a House of Assembly which was called unicameral
legislature. The regional legislature could make laws on subjects such as agriculture,
education, local government and public health.
4. Regional Executive Council: A regional executive council (Council of Ministers) was
established for each region. It advised the Lieutenant-Governor on policy matters.
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5. Office of Governor: The office of Governor was created. The Governor was the head of
the central government while the Lieutenant Governor was in charge of the regional
government.
6. Public Service Commission: The constitution established a public service commission at
the centre and it had responsibilities to advise the Governor on the appointment, promotion
and discipline of staff in the public service.
7. Revenue Allocation: The constitution made provision for the setting up of a Revenue
Allocation Commission. Consequently, the Governor established the Hicks-Phillipson
Commission in 1951 to make recommendation on the allocation of revenue between the
different levels of government. The commission recommended the use of the principle of
derivation, need and national interest.
10.3 Merits of the Macpherson Constitution

1. The constitution took a bold step in installing a parliamentary system of government by
subjecting the appointment of ministers to the approval of the legislature.
2. It also subjected the removal of minister to a two-third resolution of the House of
Assembly.
3. Nigerians were actively involved in making the constitution. This was not like the situation
in the past when constitutions were imposed on the country.
4. The House of Representatives and the Regional legislatures were given wide powers to
make laws for the good of the country. They were no longer mere debating houses.
5. The creation of a House of Chiefs in the Western Region demonstrated a good
understanding of the importance of traditional institutions in the administration of the
region.
6. For the first time in the political history of the country, Nigerians were appointed as
ministers by both central and regional governments.
7. The appointment of a speaker to preside over the affairs of the House of Representatives
indicated a recognition of the need for the independence of the legislature.
8. The establishment of the public service commission showed that the government attached
much importance to the appointment, discipline and welfare of civil servants.
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10.4 Demerits of the Macpherson Constitution.
The Macpherson constitution had the following disadvantages:
1. The high hopes that ushered the Macpherson constitution were however shattered in under
three years of its operation. There were at least two factors for that, one was the defect
within the constitution itself and the second was the political climate of the country at that
particular time.
2. Although ministers were given responsibilities for the ministries, they were however not
given the executive control of the departments assigned to them. They were therefore no
more than spokesmen for their departments at both the legislative council and the executive
council.
3. Ministers serving at the centre were appointed through the regional assemblies, a defect
which made them more loyal to the regions than to the government they were serving.
4. Worst still, there were no nation-wide political parties with national interest but regionally
and tribally oriented ones. Because political parties were pursuing regional interest
ministers at the centre serving different regions were pursuing diverse interests as directed
by their political parties.
5. The provision that laws made by the House of Representatives could override any law
made by a regional House of Assembly encouraged centralization and unnecessary
interference by the central government in regional affairs.
6. Because the regions were made more attractive than the centre, the leaders of the main
political parties were content with staying at home in their regions where the exercise of
power and patronage was unfettered.
7. The constitution made no provision for the appointment of a Prime Minister to coordinate
government activities. As such, the council of ministers was headed by a non-political
Governor who could not hold together the various divergent tendencies into harmonious
policy-making body.
8. The widespread discussions preceding the promulgation of the Macpherson constitution
further polarized Nigerians along regional and ethnic lines. For example, while the Western
Region insisted at the General conference, that the Yoruba people in Ilorin Province of the
Northern Region (that is, Offa, Kabba and Igbomina) should be returned to the region and,
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that the Igbo in Benin and Warri provinces should be returned to the Eastern region, the
North held the view that the existing regional boundaries should be sacrosanct. The
constitution, however, upheld the position of the North but the debate about whether the
decision was the proper one would not abate event today.

In this study session, you have learnt the background to the Sir John Macpherson’s constitution
which was as a result of the failure of Arthur Richard Constitution to yield to the yearning and
aspirations of the people of Nigeria. There is tremendous improvement on the part of the
Macpherson’s Constitution compared to Arthur Richard’s Constitution. Thus, it was the
foundation for federalism as well as the recognition of the country into pseudo federalism.
Moreover, there is no doubt that the Macpherson’s constitution took a step forward in uniting the
country through common legislation. However, the session equally explained the intricacy,
intrigue and power-play at the general conference in Ibadan, held on January 1950. The basic
features, merits and demerits of Macpherson constitution were equally enumerated.

you will have.

1. Sir John Macpherson was appointed the Governor of Nigeria on April _______________
a) 1946
b) 1947
c) 1948
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d) 1950

2. The conflicts among the representatives at the Ibadan general conference were partly
____________________
a) Political and Structural Conflicts
b) Oil and resource control conflicts
c) Structural and Economic conflicts
d) Political and Economic conflicts

3. All are the political factors that aroused during the General conference of January, 1950 in
Ibadan except ________________
a) Fear by the North of Southern political domination
b) North with the support of the East successfully demanded the excision of Lagos from the
West.
c) Unsuccessful demand by the West for a revision of the Northern frontier.
d) Educational gap between the North and the South

4. The General conference unanimously recommended the following proposals except
______________________
a) Increased regional autonomy within a United Nigeria;
b) Ministerial responsibilities for members of the central council of ministers and the
Regional Executive councils and
c) The creation of effective regional legislatures with more elected members and real powers.
Regional boundaries
d) Equal representation at the central level

5. A central legislative council changed to House of Representatives in ________________
a) 1950
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b) 1951
c) 1948
d) 1946

6. The House of Representatives comprised of the President and _______________
a) 12 official and 126 non-official members
b) 11 official and 136 non-official members
c) 12 official and 136 non-official members
d) 11 official and 126 non-official members

7 The executive council was changed to council of Minister in ____________________
a) 1950
b) 1951
c) 1952
d) 1953

8 In Macpherson constitution, the regions that practiced bicameral legislatures are
_____________________
a) Western and Eastern regions
b) Northern and Eastern regions
c) Northern and Western regions
d) Eastern and Mid-West regions

9. All are the advantages of the Macpherson constitution except _____________________
a) The constitution made no provision for the appointment of a Prime Minister to co-ordinate
government activities.
b) It subjected the removal of minister to two third resolution of the House of Assembly
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c) Nigerians were appointed as ministers by both central and regional government.
d) For the first time, there was an appointment of the speakers to preside over the affairs of
the House of Representatives

10. All are the disadvantages of the Macpherson constitution except ____________________
a) It also subjected the removal of minister to a two-third resolution of the House of Assembly
b) Although ministers were given responsibilities for the ministries, they were however not
given the executive control of the departments assigned to them.
c) There were no nation-wide political parties with national interest but regionally and tribally
oriented ones.
d) The leaders of the main political parties were content with staying at home in their regions
where the exercise of power and patronage was unfettered.

Ventures.
Publications.
International.
Maxwell.
94
SIR OLIVER LYTTLETON CONSTITUTION OF 1954
Introduction
The Oliver Lyttleton constitution replaced John Macpherson’s constitution in 1954. Although
Macpherson had already laid the basis of federalism for the country, the 1954 constitution further
consolidated it. Nigeria for instance, formally became a federation of five territories namely, the
North, West, East, Lagos and the Southern Cameroons. The Lyttleton’s Constitution was preceded
by two constitutional conferences aimed at reviewing the constitution – the London constitutional
conference of 1953 and the Lagos Constitutional conference of 1954.

11.1 Discuss the background of Oliver Lyttleton constitution
11.2 Highlight the features of Lyttleton constitution
11.3 Identify the advantages of Lyttleton constitution
11.4 Describe the disadvantages of Lyttleton constitution
11.1 Background of Oliver Lyttleton Constitution

The political crises that hit the country in 1953 created regional and ethnic animosities, which
eventually led to the eventual breakdown of the Macpherson constitution and the consequent
promulgation of the Lyttleton constitution of 1954. The two major political crises were the Eastern
Regional Crises of 1953 and the constitutional crises at the centre, which led to the Kano Riot of
1953. These two political events and similar development led to the promulgation of the Lyttleton
constitution in 1954. These factors are the following:
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11.1.1 Eastern Regional Crises of 1953
The Easter Regional elections of 1951 produced Mr. Eyo-Ita as the Premier and he was the Deputy
National President of NCNC that formed the government while Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe the National
President of the NCNC remained only a member of the Western House of Assembly where the
party was the opposition. Azikiwe had wanted to go to the House of Representatives through the
Western House of Assembly. The ambition, however did not materialize because of a clever
manoeuvre by the Action Group, which led to the sudden resignation of five NCNC members of
the Western House who defected to the Action Group.
There was no love lost between the Eyo-Ita government and the national executive of the NCNC
led by Dr. Azikiwe. By late 1952 when the party held their convention in Jos all the central
ministers of NCNC did not attend the party convention. The parliamentary committee of the
NCNC which met on 29th January, 1953 also requested nine Eastern Regional Ministers belonging
to the party to resign because they were suspected to have sympathy for the expelled central
ministers. The minister compiled and tender their letters of resignation. Before the letter of
resignation could get to the Lieutenant- Governor, six of the nine ministers had a change of heart,
and wrote to withdrawn their letters of resignation. In other words, the second letter withdrawing
the letters of resignation got to the Governor before the letters of resignation. So did the ministers
resign?
Before the legal issue could be resolved the Eastern Region House of Assembly passed a vote of
no confidence in the nine ministers and asked them to leave the cabinet. The ministers, however,
faulted the way the vote was taken and insisted that the vote which was by a show of hands should
rather be by a secret ballot as laid down in the party’s constitution, a demand which the NCNC
was not eager to accede to as it was not sure of the outcome of the voting. There was thus a
stalemate. The Regional Governor, through the Legal Secretary, also ruled that the six ministers
had not validly resigned since the second letters (letter of withdrawal) came before the first letters
(letters of resignation). The NCNC, however, insisted that they had resigned their portfolios. This
crisis continued until Eastern House of Assembly was dissolve on May 6, 1953. The NCNC won
the election that followed with large majority and Nnamdi Azikiwe became the Premier of the
region.
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11.1.2 Constitutional Crises at the Centre
The crisis was as a result of a motion for ‘self-government in 1956’ tabled in the House of
Representatives on 31st March, 1953 by Mr. Anthony Enahoro, a member of the Action Group
(AG). The motion was for Nigeria to be independent in 1956. The Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu
Bello, responded to the motion by moving a motion to replace “1956” with the words “as soon as
practicable”, sensing that the second motion was likely to succeed, the AG and NCNC members
decide to walk out of the house if the motion was carried.
Immediately after the resumption to the House for sitting, a member from the Northern Region
moved for adjournment of the legislative chamber and the motion was seconded by another
member. With defeat staring them in the face, the members of the AG and NCNC walked out in
protest. In spite of the walk-out, the remaining legislators passed a motion adjourning the house.
The youths of Lagos who had heard of the development booed and geered at the Northern members
of the House when they came out of the house. The northern members were so incensed at the
reaction of the Lagos people that it was thought unlikely that they would return to the house.
However, the council of Minister had decided that its members should not take part in the debate.
This decision put the AG ministers in a dilemma and they had to choose between the council and
their party. If they abided by the decision of the council of ministers, they would retain their jobs.
On the other hand, they would have to resign from the council, if they showed loyalty to their party
(the Action Group). The AG ministers choose the latter option because the party attached much
importance to the achievement of self-government in 1956. To do otherwise would have been a
great betrayal.
The implications of the minister’s resignation, that is, if they choose to resign was that the western
region would no longer be represented in the Council of Ministers. It should also be recollected
that the NCNC members had been expelled from the party (leaving only the one Minister from
Southern Cameroon) as a result of the Eastern Regional Crisis. During the vote in the council on
whether the ministers should take part in the debate in the House of representatives on the motion
for self-government the then expelled ministers abstained from voting and only the four (4) AG
ministers and the one from Southern Cameroon voted against the motion. The four (4) ministers
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from the Northern Region and the six (6) British officials supported the decision that ministers
should not participate in the debate.
Thus, the North and the South were sharply divided on the issue of self-government and the attempt
by the British colonial government to appoint new ministers for the Western Region was resisted
by the AG. But any meeting of the council of Ministers required the representation of all the
regions and without the Western Region ministers, it was unconstitutional for the council to meet
and the paralysis of the council of Ministers was complete. Therefore, the tense situation between
the north and the South on the issue of self-government deteriorated as a result of the campaign of
the AG to the Northern Region in May 1953. There was a riot in Kano during the party’s campaign
in the City. About 36 people were killed in the riot, more than 241 were wounded and several
properties were destroyed.
Furthermore, it was obvious to the British colonial government and Nigerian politicians that the
Macpherson constitution which provided for a highly centralized system of government, could not
meet the aspirations of Nigerians for self-government. The consensus of opinion was that there
was a need for constitutional changes to give more power to the regions than was the case under
the Macpherson Constitution. As a result of this concern with the political development in Nigeria,
the Secretary of State for the colonies, Mr. Oliver Lyttleton invited the Nigerian political leaders
to London in 1953 for a conference to prepare the way for a new constitution.
11.1.3 London Constitutional Conference of 1953

The conference commenced in London from 30th July to 22nd August, 1953. Sir Oliver Lyttleton
as Secretary of State presided over the meeting which had four items on the agenda, namely:
a) Shortcomings of the Macpherson constitution;
b) Changes required to correct the shortcomings;
c) Steps to be taken to put these changes into effect;
d) The issue of self-government in 1956
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As the discussion of these issues could not be concluded at the London Conference due to time
frame and elaborate agenda, a follow-up conference was held in Lagos in 1954. Despite the line
frame, it was agreed that:
a) A Federal system of government should be established.
b) Lagos to be separated from the Western Region and made a neutral federal territory
c) That Her Majesty’s government would grant self-government to those regions which
desired in 1956
11.1.4 Lagos Constitutional Conference of 1954
The Lagos conference was held in January 1954. The Secretary of State for the colonies also
presided over the meeting thus underlining the importance attached to the conference by the British
government. The main aim of the conference was to approve the recommendations made by the
London conference and to work out modalities for implementing the decisions. The following
thorny issues which could not be resolved at the London conference were also considered.
a) Fiscal policy;
b) Regionalism of the public service;
c) Regionalism of the judiciary;
d) The position of the Southern Cameroon
The conference equally reached compromise on:

a) That the public service should be regionalized.
b) That the judiciary should be regionalized
c) That autonomy should be granted to the Southern Cameroons
It is important to note that although the Lagos issue was not concluded at the conference, the
Action Group (AG) pressed in vain, that “a secession clause” should be built into the constitution
so that whenever any part of the country feels aggrieved and their grievances cannot be resolve
through the provision of the constitution they are free to leave the federation. However, the
decisions reached at both the Lagos and London Conferences Constituted the main provisions of
the Oliver Lyttleton Constitution of 1954.
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11.2 Features of Lyttleton constitution
The features of the Lyttleton constitution were as follows:
a) Introduction of Federal System of Government: The Lyttleton constitution made
Nigeria a federation comprising a central government and three regional governments. The
three regions were Northern, Western and Eastern regions. Legislative powers were shared
between federal and regional governments. The federal government was given
responsibilities to deal with subjects in the exclusive legislative list while residual powers
were reserved for the regional governments. Both the federal and regional governments
could legislate on subjects in the concurrent legislative list. Where there was a conflict
between the Federal and regional law on any subject in the concurrent list, the federal law
prevailed. This was an innovation in constitutional development in Nigeria.
b) Regional Autonomy: The regions were independent in the subjects allocated to them. This
was a marked improvement on the Macpherson Constitution, which provided that regional
laws be approved by the central government and subordinated the regional governments to
the central government.
c) Creation of Office of Governor-General: The office of Governor-general was created
for the whole federation while Governors headed the regional governments. The change in
nomenclature was meant to reflect the increased responsibilities at both federal and
regional levels.
d) Establishment of House of Representatives: The House of Representatives was retained
at the centre. It comprised 188 members made up of:
Speaker (as presiding officer)
92 member representing the North;
42 members representing the West;
42 members representing the East;
6 members representing Southern Cameroon;
2 members representing Lagos;
3 ex-officio members (namely, the Chief Secretary, Finance Secretary, and Attorney-
General) The members of the House of Representatives were directly elected. This was a
marked departure from the situation under the Macpherson constitution which provided for
indirect election of members of the House of Representatives.
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e) Council of Ministers: A council of ministers was set up to assist in the implementation of
government policies. Although the council was not new, it however, had some novel
features and characteristics. The council of Ministers comprised the following:
The Governor-General (president);
3 (three) Ministers from each of the three regions (Appointed by the Governor of the region
concerned)
1 (one) minister from southern Cameroon;
3 (three) official members;
The ministers were given control of their departments or ministers
f) Regional Legislature: Despite the facts that there was existence of two legislative houses
(House of Assembly and House of Chiefs) in the previous constitution in both the Northern
Region and Western Region respectively. The eastern region still retained its unicameral
legislature while both Northern and Western Regions practiced bicameral legislature. The
Governor presided over the Northern Regions House of Chiefs and his nominee was the
President of the House of Assembly. The speaker directed the affairs of the Western
Regions House of Assembly. He was elected by the members from among themselves.
Members of the House of Chiefs also elected their own presiding officer. In the Eastern
Region, the speaker of the House of Assembly was appointed by the Governor after due
consultation with party leaders in the house. However, the legislatures had the
responsibility of making laws for the peace, order and good governance of the regions.
g) Regional Executive Council: The councils were established in the three regions. A
regional executive council was the equivalent of the council of Ministers at the centre. The
Governor of a region appointed the Ministers. He also appointed the Premier who was the
leader of the party with the largest majority in the House of Assembly. The Premier
assigned portfolios to the ministers after due consultation with the Governor.
h) The Police: The constitution provided for the establishment of a Federal Police. This was
in addition to the Native Authority or local police. The Regional commissioner of Police
recruited the policemen under his commend from the region. In the discharge of his
operational and administrative duties, the Regional Commissioner of Police remoted to the
Regional Governor who in turn reported to the Governor-General. This reporting
relationship between the Regional Commissioner of Police, and the Regional Governor, is
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in marked contrast to the present arrangement in which the state commissioner of Police
reports to the Inspector-General of Police even though the state Governor is the Chief
Security Officer of a state. Although the political environment may have changed
especially with increasing separatist tendencies in parts of the country, the effectiveness of
a police force can only be measured by the extent to which local security is achieved.
i) Status of Lagos: The constitution provided for a Federal Capital Territory of Lagos, which
had a neutral Status. Lagos had always been part of the Western Region and the problem
of the status of Lagos was one of the thorniest issues at the London and Lagos constitutional
conferences. While the Western Region insisted that Lagos should continue to be part of
the region, the other regions contended that it should be separated from the Western Region
and administered as an independent entity free from dominant of a particular region.
j) Self-Government: The constitution made provision for any region that desired self-
government to have it in so far it was in matters within the competence of the regional
government to exercise.
k) Regionalization of the Public Service: The constitution also provided for the regions to
establish its own public service commission if they are so desired. The body was assigned
with the responsibility of advising the Governor on matters relating to the appointment
discipline and promotion of civil servants in the region.
l) Regionalization of the Judiciary: The Lyttleton constitution made the provision for the
establishment of Regional High Courts.
m) Status of Southern Cameroon: The constitution provided for the declaration of Southern
Cameroon as a Federal territory and controlled directly by the Federal Government.
Although it had its own House of Assembly, it was not treated as a full-fledged region.
11.3 Advantages of Lyttleton Constitution

The advantages of the constitution included the following:
1. For the first time in the political history of Nigeria, ministers were appointed with full
ministerial responsibility. That is, they were no more minister without responsibility.
2. The constitution recognized the diversity of Nigeria and gave more powers to the regions
than ever before.
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3. With the introduction of the elective principle at all levels of government, the constitution
gave immense opportunities to the educated elite to participate in decision-making.
4. It introduced a federal system of government in the country. Federalism is one of the most
suitable systems of government for multi ethnic society like Nigeria.
5. The constitution made provision for the appointment of Premiers for the regions to
coordinate government activities. It was under this arrangement that Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe,
Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Sir Ahmadu Bello were elected premiers of the Eastern,
Western and Northern Region respectively in 1954.
11.4 Disadvantages of Lyttleton Constitution

The disadvantages of the constitution included the following:
1. The constitution strengthened the regional governments at the expense of the centre and
this encouraged leaders of political parties, who should normally be at the centre to send
their subordinates to represent them in the central government.
2. The regionalisation of the public service weakened the civil service as highly experienced
civil servants had to move to their regions of origin.
3. Also, the allocation of fifty (50) percent of the total seats in the House of Representatives
to the Northern Region, though reflected the distribution of population in the different
regions, meant that only laws acceptable to the region would be passed by the house.
4. The constitution did not make provision for a prime Minister at the centre although
constitutional provisions were made for Premiers in the regions. The implication is that it
encouraged the leaders of the parties to stay back in their regions and it implied a
subordination of the centre to the regions.
5. The arrangement whereby the Governor could appoint and dismiss regional ministers, even
though they were responsible to the Premier in the discharge of their duties, seemed
contradictory.
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In this study session, you have learnt the background to the Oliver Lyttleton constitution and the
political crises that engulfed the country in 1953 which created ethnics and regional ministries that
eventually led to the breakdown of the Macphersons Constitution and the subsequent promulgation
of the Lyttleton constitution in 1954. The Eastern regional crises of 1953 and the Constitutional
crises at the centre which metamorphosed to the Kano Riot of 1953 which claimed many lives.
The commencement of the London Constitutional conference of 1953 which resulted to the Lagos
Constitution conference of 1954 provided the solutions to the political and the economic crises
among the various regions. The study session also examines the features of the Oliver Lyttleton
constitution of 1954. However, the advantages and disadvantages of the Lyttleton constitution was
equally highlighted.

you will have.

1. One of the political events that led to the promulgation of Oliver Lyttleton constitution was
____________
a) Action Group crises
b) Kano riot crises
c) Constitutional crises at the centre
d) Census crises
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2. A motion for self-government for the country was marked by Anthony Enahoro in the
House of Representatives on _____________
a) 31st March, 1953
b) 30th March, 1953
c) 28th March, 1953
d) 29th March, 1953

3. The word “as soon as practicable” was made in the parliament debate at the House of
Representatives by _____________
a) Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
b) Sir Ahmadu Bello
c) Chief Obafemi Awolowo
d) Alhaji Bamanga Tukur

4. All are the recommendations of the London constitutional conference of 1953 except
a) Lagos to be separated from the western region and made a neutral federal territory.
b) A Federal system of government should be established.
c) That her Majesty’s Government would grant self-government to those regions which
desired in 1956
d) That autonomy should be granted to the Southern Cameroons

5. The Lagos constitutional conferences of 1954 resolved to considered following agenda
except _______________
a) The issue of self-government in 1956
b) Regionalism of the public service
c) Regionalism of the judiciary
d) Fiscal policy
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6. The ministers were appointed with the full ministerial responsibility during the
_____________
a) Macpherson’s constitution
b) Clifford’s constitution
c) Lyttleton’s constitution
d) Richard’s constitution

7. ___________ constitution provided for a federal capital territory of Lagos
a) Clifford constitution
b) Richard constitution
c) Macpherson constitution
d) Lyttleton constitution

8. All are the advantages of Lyttleton constitution except
a) The constitution recognized the diversity of Nigerians and game more powers to the
regions.
b) The constitution strengthened regional government at the expense of the centre.
c) It introduced federal system of government into the country
d) Under the constitution ministers were appointed with full ministerial responsibility

9. ___________ constitution provided for the establishment of a federal police for the
country.
a) Bondillion constitution
b) Macpherson constitution
c) Lyttleton constitution
d) Richard constitution
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10. All are the disadvantage of Lyttleton constitution except ______________________
a) The regionalization of the public service weakened the civil service
b) The constitution did not make provision for the office of the prime minister.
c) The constitution strengthened the regional government at the expense of the government
at the centre.
d) The constitution introduced elective principle at all heels of government.
References and Suggestions for Further Readings.

Ventures.
Publications.
Maxwell.
Osaghae. E. Eghosa, (1998), The Crippled Giant. Indiana: Indiana University Press.
International.
107
Study Session 12: Independence and Post-Independence Constitutions in Nigeria
Introduction
It is quite obvious that the political environment is dynamic and several aspects of a country’s
constitution have to be changed from time to time to meet the changing circumstances. Nigeria is
not an exception. The fact, however is that every change of government is usually associated with
a wholesale change in the constitution. As such several constitutions have been promulgated in
Nigeria. However, the necessity for constitutional amendment and the concern for Nigeria’s
independence prompted the constitutional conferences of London in 1957 and another in Lagos,
in 1958.

12.1 Explain the background to independence constitution of 1960
12.2 Discuss the features of the independence constitution
12.3 Mention the advantages of the independence constitution
12.4 Identify the disadvantages of the independence constitution
12.1 Independence constitution of 1960

Between 1957 and 1958, series of constitutional conferences were held in both London and Lagos
aimed at advancing in Nigeria’s political journey to independence. However, the London and
Lagos constitutional conferences were to resolve the problems which had emerged as a result of
the implementation of the Lyttleton constitution. The major decisions of the conferences are
highlighted below.
12.1.1 London Constitutional Conference of 1957

The conference was held in London between 23rd May and 20th June, 1957. The Secretary of State
for the colonies presided over the conference which was attended by eminent Nigerian politicians
representing the interest of the major political parties. The issues discussed were as follows:
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1. Problems of Ministries: One major thorn in the flesh of Nigerian politicians at that time
was the question of minority domination. That led to the agitation for the creation of states
in both the North and the South. After prolong argument, a commission under Sir Henry
Willink was appointed to look into the fears of the minority groups in the country. Although
the commission found the minority fear to be real, it however, refused to recommend the
creation of additional states between then and the time of independence because such a
process of creation of new state may delay the match towards independence.
2. Regional Self-Government: The conference acceded to the demands of the regions to be
self-governing. Consequently, the western and eastern regions achieved self-government in
August 1957 and the Northern Region in March 1959.
3. Creation of Office of Prime Minister: The conference agreed that the post of Prime
Ministers should be created. The governor-General was given the power to appoint as prime
Minister the leader of the party with the largest majority in the House of Representative. The
leader of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in the House, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa was
appointed as Prime Minister in 1959.
4. Structure of the Legislature at the Centre: The conference equally agreed that there
should be a bicameral legislature at the centre, that is there should be senate and a House of
Representatives for the country. The senate should have twelve (12) members from each
region respectively and four (4) from Lagos. In addition, there should be four (4) special
members to be appointed by the Governor-General. The President of the senate did not have
to be a senator, but his deputy must be a senator. The four (4) Lagos senators should be
appointed by the Governor-General while the Regional Governors were mandated to appoint
the senators representing their respective regions after due consultation with the Regional
legislative houses. A senator must be 40 years old with five (5) years term in office. While
the conference also agreed that the House of Representatives should have 320 members.
5. Revenue Allocation: The conference recommended that the government should establish a
fiscal commission comprising two or three members with experience in federal government
finance, to review the finances of the whole federation, and recommended criteria for the
allocation of revenue between central and regional governments. This led to the
establishment of Revenue Allocation Commission.
109
6. Status of Southern and Northern Cameroon: The southern Cameroon was administered
by the British Government as part of Nigeria under the United Nations Trusteeship
agreement. The same applied to Northern Cameroon. The Secretary of State for the colonies
informed the conference that the people of the two territories would have to decide before
the independence of Nigeria whether they would prefer to be administered as part of
independent Nigeria or would join the Republic of Cameroon or continue under the British
Trusteeship. While the representatives of Northern Cameroon insisted that they would
continue to be part of Northern Nigeria but Southern Cameroon opted for a plebiscite to
decide the future of the territory.
7. Independence for Nigeria: The Nigerian political parties had come to the conference with
the main aim of demanding for independence for Nigeria’s in 1960. Although they were
persuaded by the argument of the Secretary of State for the colonies that the matter be
referred to the Nigerian Parliament which would be elected in January 1960 to propose a date
for the country’s independence.
12.1.2 Lagos Constitutional Conference of 1958

This constitutional conference was the follow-up to the London constitutional conference of 1957.
The conference resolved that:
1. Report of the Minorities Commission: The commission acknowledged the fears of
minorities. However, it did not consider state creation as the solution to the problem.
Rather, it recommended the incorporation of a Bill of Rights in the constitution and that
police should be decentralized. Though the Secretary of State for the colonies contended
that the creation of states and the independence of Nigeria were incompatible. He argued
that the state creation would lead to the delay of Nigeria’s independence since the new
states would need time to settle down.
2. Fundamental Rights: The Minorities commission which was established in 1957 at the
Conference had recommended that provisions on fundamental human rights be inserted
in the constitution to allay the fears of minorities. The conference agreed that the new
constitution should contain comprehensive provisions of fundamental human rights to
safeguard people’s life.
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3. Self-government for the Northern Region: The political leaders of Northern Region
submitted a proposal for self-government for the region on March 15, 1959. The proposal
was approved by the conference and the region was granted self-government.
4. Constitutional Amendment: The conference agreed that parts of the federal and regional
constitutions that were of interest to the federal or regional governments alone could be
amended in the ordinary course of business of the relevant legislative houses. But those
constitutional which were of general concern to both federal and regional government
would require a special procedure for their amendment.
5. The Police: The conference also agreed that the administration of the Police should be
entrusted to the Police Council, while the operational aspects of the service should be the
responsibility of the Inspector-General of Police. It also resolved that the Federal and
Regional Police should be retained.
6. Date of Independence: The Secretary of State for the colonies revisited the issue of
Nigeria’s independence and informed the conference that the British Government had
agreed to grant independence to Nigeria on 1st October 1960.
12.1.3 Final Constitutional Conference

The final constitutional conference was held in London in May 1960. It was a small conference
convened to discuss outstanding issues in respect of the impending independence of the country.
The conference was attended only by the officials of federal and regional governments considered
the draft independence constitution of Nigeria. It then agreed that the decisions of the three
conferences (London, Lagos and Final Conference).
12.2 Features of the independence constitution

The constitution made provisions for the following features:
a) Promulgation of Federal and Regional Constitution: The independence constitution of
1960 made provision for federal and regional constitutions. This was a clear demonstration
of the adoption of a federal system of government in the country.
b) Introduction of Federal System of Government: The Federal System of government was
first introduced by the Lyttleton constitution of 1954 even though the system was quasi-
federal system but the systems of government was retained and amplified by the
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independence constitution of 1960. There was division of power between the federal and
regional government. The Federal Government was vested with the power to legislate on
exclusive list such as defence, external affairs currency, custom etc. while both Federal and
Regional government legislate on concurrent list such as education, transportation, health
etc. lastly, regional government was also vested with the power to legislate on the residual
list. For instance, it contained subjects which did not appear on the exclusive and
concurrent lists.
c) Establishment of Bicameral Legislature: The Independence constitution made the
provision for the establishment of the Senate and House of Representatives at the centre.
The Senate comprises of 45 members. The composition was as follows:
The President of Senate;
12 members representing Northern Region;
12 members representing Western Region;
12 members representing Eastern Region;
4 members representing Lagos;
4 members representing special interests;
The president of the senate could be elected from within or outside the House. A person
was qualified for election to the senate if he was at least 40 years old. The Governor-
General could, however select a person as senator if he was 21 years old and was not a
Nigeria citizen. The House of Representative comprised of 312 members elected from
single- member constituencies. Members must be at least 21 years old.
d) Introduction of Parliamentary System of Government: The constitution provided for a
parliamentary system of government. The Governor-General, who represented the Queen,
was the ceremonial Head of State while the Prime Minister was the Head of Government.
The Governor-General appointed the Prime Minister who was usually the leader of the
party with the largest majority in the parliament. Also, each region had a Governor and a
Premier. The Governor appointed as Premier the leader of the political party with majority
in the Regional House of Assembly.
e) Council of Minister: The constitution made provision for a council of ministers which
was headed by the Prime Minister. The Governor-General appointed the ministers on the
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advice of the Prime Minister. Similarly, the regional Governor appointed the cabinet on
the recommendation of the Premier.
f) Supreme Court: The constitution provided for the establishment of the Supreme Court
which was the highest court in Nigeria. Final appeal could be made to the Privy Council in
the United Kingdom. Judges of the court were appointed by the Governor-General on the
advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The judges could be dismissed on the
recommendations of a Tribunal of Judges. But the recommendations had to be approved
by the judicial committee of the Privy Council.
g) Electoral Commission: The constitution made provision for the establishment of an
electoral commission which had responsibility to conduct all elections in the whole
federation. The Electoral Commission of Nigeria’s comprised the Electoral Commissioners
(head of the commission) and one member from each region. The members of the
commission were appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister.
Their tenure was five years.
h) Emergency Provisions: The constitution conferred emergency powers on the Federal
Government. In other words, the Federal Government could declare a state of emergency
in any part of Nigeria if any or both houses, of the National Assembly, by a two-thirds
majority, declared “that democratic institutions in Nigeria are threatened by subversion.
i) Constitutional Amendment: Independence constitution contained a procedure for
constitutional amendment. The amendment procedure was rigid.
12.3 Advantages of the independence constitution

1. The constitution adopted parliamentary system which was simple and easy to understand
and it was also in conformity with our traditional political system.
2. The adoption of the single member constituencies encouraged the emergence of large and
few parties thereby singing together various groups and interests across the country.
3. The fact that each region had its own constitution was a recognition of the diverse
environment in a federation. This helped to reduce the stifling tendency towards uniformity
as often seen in Pseudo federations.
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4. The introduction of the federal system of government ensured respect for the local feelings
of the people and the promotion of national interest.
5. The election to the various public offices at all levels was conducted by an independent
electoral commission.
6. Nigeria became politically independent through the application of the constitution, and
Nigerians effectively took control of the executive and the legislative arms of government.
7. As an independent nation, Nigeria joined such international organisations as the
Commonwealth and the United Nations Organisations (UNO).
12.4 Disadvantages of the independence constitution

The independence constitution had the following disadvantages:
1. The constitution succeeded only in granting political independence to Nigeria but failed to
address important political issues such as the minority problem and the political integration
of the country.
2. The enormous power granted to the federal parliament during an emergency meant that
any region which exercised its executive authority to obstruct the federal government might
be sanctioned. This was what happened in the western region in 1962, which a state of
emergency was declared in the region by the government at the centres.
3. The constitution failed to specify the number of ministers to be appointed and whether or
not their appointment should reflect the federal character of Nigeria.
4. The federal system of government introduced by the constitution seemed to have
disregarded an important federal principle, which stipulated that “it is undesirable that one
or two units should be so powerful as to be able to override the will of the federal
government to themselves. There were three regions under the constitution, but the
Northern Region was larger, both in area and population than the other two regions taken
together. With this arrangement, a party could simply concentrate its campaign efforts on
the Northern Region and win a sufficient number of seats to form the federal government.
5. A glance at the distribution of powers between the central government and the regional
governments showed that the Federal Government was more powerful than the regional
governments. Similarly, where there was a conflict between federal and regional laws on
matters in the concurrent list, the federal law still prevailed.
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6. The Queen of England remained the constitutional ceremonial head of state of Nigeria.
7. Nigeria’s highest court of appeal was the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, above
Nigeria’s Supreme Court.

In this study session you have learnt the historical trajectory of the independence constitution of
1960 and series of events that led to the independence constitution. The London constitutional
conference of 1957 epitomized the preparation for the commencement of the independence
constitution. However, the constitutional conference discussed the major issues that affected the
life of Nigerians such as minorities problems, regional self-government, revenue allocation and
the status of southern and Northern Cameroons. Similarly, the Lagos constitutional conference of
1958 was a follow-up to the London constitutional conference of 1957. The conference equally
resolved the problem of the minorities by adopted the report of the minorities commission, that
provisions of fundamental human rights be inserted in the constitution to allay the fears of
minorities, self-government should be granted to the Northern Region, date of independence was
equally fixed and the establishment of Police council. The study session discussed the features,
advantages and disadvantages of the independence constitution.

you will have.

1. All are the recommendations of the London constitutional conference of 1957 except
_______________
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a) Provisions of fundamental human rights in the constitution
b) Revenue Allocation
c) Regional Self-government
d) Creation of office of Prime Minister

2. The Lagos constitutional conference of 1958 resolved on all the following except
_________________
a) Self-government for the Northern region
b) Date of independence for the country
c) Importation of a Bill of Rights
d) Revenue Allocation

3. One of the following British Trusteeship opted for a plebiscite to decide the future of the
territory
a) Northern Cameroon
b) Southern Cameroon
c) Northern Nigeria
d) Southern Nigeria

4. Under independence constitution, the Senate and House of Representatives comprised of
_____________ members
a) Senate -45, House of Reps-311
b) Senate -46, House of Reps-311
c) Senate -45, House of Reps-312
d) Senate -46, House of Reps-312
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5. _______________ constitution provided for the establishment of the supreme court which
was the highest court in Nigeria
a) Independence constitution
b) Republican constitution
d) London constitution conference

6. All are the advantages of the independence constitution except ____________
a) The constitution succeeded only in granting political independence in determent of political
integration.
b) The constitution adopted parliamentary system of government.
c) Each region had its own constitution in recognition of the diverse environment in a
federation
d) The introduction of the federal system of government ensured respect for the local feelings
of the people

7. All are the disadvantages of the independence constitution except ___________
a) The federal government was more powerful than the regional governments
b) The federal system of government introduced seemed to have disregard the federal
principles
c) The constitution succeeded in granting political independence without considering the
unity of the country.
d) The introduction of the federal system of government ensured respect for the local feelings
of the people and the promotion of national interest

8. Between 1957 and 1958, series of constitutional centres were held in both
______________ and _______________
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a) Ibadan and Lagos
b) Lagos and Ibadan
c) Lagos and London
d) London and Lagos

9. The Minorities commission which was established in _________________________
a) 1953
b) 1954
c) 1957
d) 1958

10. Independence constitution contained a procedure for constitutional amendment while the
amendment procedure was ______________________
a) Written
b) Rigid
c) Unwritten
d) Flexible

Akinbade, J.A (2008), Government explained (Plus Questions and Answers), Lagos: Macak Book
Ventures
Publications.
Maxwell
International
118
Study Session 13: Post-Independence Constitutional
THE REPUBLICAN CONSTITUTION OF 1963
Introduction
On 19th September 1963, the Republican constitution was passed into law by the federal parliament
and became operational on 1st October 1963. It is important to state that it was the first constitution
that was home-grown. The constitution and other subsequent post-independence constitutions are
distinguishable from the previous one by the fact that they are drafted by Nigerians for Nigerians.
This is as a result of imperfections of the 1960 Independence Constitution and the desires by
Nigerians to take full control of the running of their own affairs, in particular, that led to the
preparations and eventual promulgations of the 1963 Constitution. The preamble went thus:
“We the people of Nigeria; by our representatives here
in Parliament assembled, do hereby declare, enact and
give to ourselves the following Constitution”.
The Republican Constitution retained most of the features of the Independence Constitution but
change some.

13.1 Examine the background to the Republican constitution
13.2 Describe the features of the Republican constitution
13.3 Highlight the advantages of the Republican constitution
13.4 Enumerate the disadvantages of the Republican constitution.
13.1 Republican Constitution of 1963

Nigeria at independence inherited a week socio-political structure, a defective and unbalanced
federation, an intensification of ethnic consciousness and rivalries, a subverted ingenious ethos of
government and culture, and above all, an inexperienced leadership. It is not surprising therefore
119
that due to insufficient time granted Nigerians in the management of their own affairs prior to
independence, the leadership bequeathed to the nation by the British authority lacked national
consciousness and constituency. They were equally inexperienced in the art of governing a large
complex state as Nigeria. Furthermore, the imperial basis of the constitution was clearly
manifested in the Act of British Parliament to which the legislature powers of the Nigerian
independent state were defined rather than on Act of the Nigerian Parliament. Hence the agitation
in parliament on the necessity to redefine the country’s status and effect a change from a monarchy
to a republic. Thus, the independence constitution witnessed certain changes leading to the
evolution of the Republican constitution. Similarly, the first republican constitution of 1963 is
unique in the sense that it repeated the Nigerian Independence Act of 1960 under which the
legislative powers of the Nigerian Parliament were defined in an Act of 1963, removing the
imperial basis of the Nigerian constitution and granting complete autonomy to Nigeria Parliament.
The factors that shaped the formation of the constitution are the following:
a) Demand for Reform: Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe the Governor-General called for a review of the
Independence constitution to provide for a President that would be elected by the senate and
the House of Representatives in replacement for the monarchical system in which the Queen
of England was represented in Nigeria by the Governor-General as the ceremonial Head of
State. The position of Dr. Azikiwe was clear: Nigeria should be a Republic.
b) Constitutional Conference of 1963: The conference was held in Lagos on 26th July, 1963.
The main objective of the conference was to discuss a proposal submitted by the Federal
Government for the transformation of the country into a Federal Republic. The conference
agreed that:
1. Nigeria should become a Federal Republic within the commonwealth.
5. The office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be established but
the position should be similar to that of the Governor-General under the
Independence Constitution.
6. The Supreme Court should become the highest court of appeal in Nigeria and appeals
should no longer go to the Privy Council in London.
7. The Judicial Service Commission should be abolished and judges should henceforth
be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
120
8. The proposal to give the Federal Parliament power to enact a Preventive Detention
Act restraining personal liberty in certain circumstances should be withdrawn.
13.2 Features of the Republican Constitution

The main features of the Republican constitution were as follows:
1. Establishment of the Federal Republic: The constitution provided for the establishment
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria comprising four regions and the Federal Capital
Territory of Lagos. The regions were Northern Region, Western Region, Eastern Region
and the mid-western Region created in August 1963.
2. Creation of Office of President: The President was the Head of State and Commander-
in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He had no real executive powers. He was elected by the
National Assembly as an electoral college and voting by secret ballot. The President could
also be removed by the two senate and House of Representatives in the same manner.
3. Introduction of Parliamentary System of Government: The constitution adopted the
parliamentary system of government in which power was shared between the President
and Prime Minister. The President was a nominal Head of State while the Prime Minister
was the Head of Government.
4. Federal Parliament: It comprised of the Senate and House of Representative. The
President must assent to any law made by the legislature before it could have effect. The
Senate comprised of 57 members. The composition of the senate was as follows:
President of Senate (Presiding Officer)
12 members represented Eastern Region;
12 members represented Mid-Western Region;
12 members represented Northern Region;
12 members represented Western Region;
4 members represented Lagos;
4 ex-officio members appointed by the Prime Minister
While the House of Representatives comprised of 312 members. The minimum age for
membership of the House was 21. The voting age was 21 but the franchise was restricted
to male adult citizens in the North.
121
5. The Executive: It comprised of the President, Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.
The President was the titular head of the legislature. The Prime Minister was the real head
of the executive. He was appointed by the President and there was no limit to the tenure of
the Prime Minister and he could be in office for as long as he enjoyed the support of the
majority in the House of Representatives. The President appointed the ministers on the
advice of the Prime Minister. Similarly, the ministers could be removed by the President
on the advice of the Prime Minister. The operation of the council of Ministers was guided
by the principle of collective responsibility.
6. The Judiciary: The Supreme Court became the highest court of law in the land. It replaced
the Privy Council as the highest court of appeal in Nigeria. The President appointed the
judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts on the advice of the Prime Ministers.
This new arrangement did away with the past practice whereby judges were appointed on
the recommendation of the Judicial Advisory Committee.
7. Regional Constitutions: The constitution made regional constitutions part of the
constitution of the country. The regional constitutions were similar to the federal
constitution in that equivalent federal political institutions and offices were also established
for the regions.
8. Amendment of the Constitution: The 1963 constitution was not only federal and
republican; it was also written and rigid. This procedure for amending the constitution may
be summarized as follows:
a. All proposals for amendment of the constitution required the support of a two-thirds
majority in both houses of parliament.
b. Any provision affecting the rights and powers of a region, or fundamental human
rights, should in addition be approved by at least three regional legislatures.
c. To create a new region, the request should, in addition, to the above requirements
be approved by three-fifths of the registered electorate in a referendum carried out
in the affected area.
13.3 Advantages of the Republican Constitution

122
1. The constitution was the first truly indigenous Nigerian constitution. It was prepared and
promulgated by a democratically elected Nigerian government.
2. The constitution made the Supreme Court the highest court of appeal in Nigeria rather
than Privy Council in London.
3. The parliamentary system of government was a useful political instrument to avert
executive dictatorship.
4. The provision of equal representation of the four regions in the Senate and the power of
the house of block a constitutional amendment helped to alley the fear of Northern
domination.
5. The rigidity of the constitution ensured that laws were passed in accordance with due
process and without disregard to public opinion.
6. The constitution provided the mechanisms, that is, regional constitution for the regions to
run their own affairs of minimum interference from the central government.
13.4 Disadvantages of the Republican Constitution.

The disadvantages of the Republican constitution were as follows:
1. The constitution adopted the west minister system based on a ruling party and an official
opposition. This system was completely at variance with African traditional political
system in which any opposition was treated as an enemy.
2. The retention of the emergency powers in the constitution meant that the federal
government could always deal with any regional government that failed to toe the time.
3. The President was a mere titular head of state who reigned but did not rule.
4. The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives in which the Northern Region had
more seats than the other three regions put together created what could be called an
unbalanced federation.
5. The possibility of forming a coalition government at the Federal level was a limiting factor
upon parliaments power to control the executive.
6. The removal of the President from office require two thirds majority of the two legislative
houses and it would have been very difficult to impeach the President by constitutional
means once he or she had been elected.
123
In this study session you have learnt the historical trajectory of the Republican Constitution of
1963 and series of events that led to the Republican Constitution. Moreover, Nigeria at
independence inherited a weak socio-political structure, a defective and unbalanced federation this
led to clamouring for the amendment of the constitution in order to satisfied the wishes and
aspirations of Nigerians. This particular grievance led to the commencement of the Republican
Constitution of 1963 where lacunas in the independence constitution were resolved and Nigeria
became a republic. However, the features, advantages and disadvantages of the republican
constitution was also enumerated.

you will have.

1. The Republican constitution was passed into law by the federal parliament on
_______________
a) 18th September, 1963
b) 19th September, 1963
c) 20th September, 1963
d) 21st September, 1963

2. The Republican Constitution became operational on _______________________
a) 21st September, 1963,
124
b) 20th September, 1963
c) 1st December, 1963
d) 1st October, 1963

3. Nigeria at independence inherited all these except _______________
a) a week socio-political structure
b) a detective and unbalanced federation
c) a subverted ingenious ethos of government and culture
d) a developed socio-economics activity

4. The Constitutional conference of 1963 agreed to all except ___________________
a) The Supreme Court should become the highest court of appeal in Nigeria and appeals
should no longer go to the Privy Council in London.
b) The Judicial Service Commission should be abolished and judges should henceforth be
appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.
c) The proposal to give the Federal Parliament power to enact a Preventive Detention Act
restraining personal liberty in certain circumstances should be sustained
d) The office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria should be established but the
position should be similar to that of the Governor-General under the Independence
Constitution.

5. _______________ constitution provided for the establishment of the Supreme Court which
was the highest court in Nigeria
a) Independence constitution
b) Republican constitution
d) London constitution conference
125
6. The Senate and the House of Representatives comprised of __________ and
_____________ respectively
a) Senate-57 and House of Reps -312
b) Senate-58 and House of Reps -311
c) Senate-56 and House of Reps -313
d) Senate-55 and House of Reps -311

7. All are the features of the Republican Constitution of 1963 except ___________________
a) Introduction of Parliamentary System of Government
b) Electoral Commission was established
c) Amendment of the constitution
d) Creation of Office of President

8. Under Republican constitution of 1963, all are the procedures for the amendment of the
constitution except ___________________
a) Any provision affecting the rights and powers of a region, or fundamental human rights,
should in addition be approved by at least three regional legislatures.
b) All proposals for amendment of the constitution required the support of a two-thirds
majority in both houses of parliament.
c) Amendment of the constitution should emanate from the regions.
d) To create a new region, the request should, in addition, to the above requirements be
approved by three-fifths of the registered electorate in a referendum carried out in the
affected area.

9. All are the advantages of the Republican constitution except ____________________
a) The constitution was prepared and promulgated by a democratically elected Nigerian
government.
126
b) The constitution made the Supreme Court the highest court of appeal in Nigeria.
c) The parliamentary system of government was a useful political instrument to avert
executive dictatorship.
d) The retention of the emergency powers in the constitution meant that the federal
government could always deal with regional government that failed to toe the line.

10. All are the disadvantages of the Republican constitution except _________________
a) The parliamentary system of government was a useful political instrument to avert executive
dictatorship.
b) The retention of the emergency powers in the constitution meant that the federal government
could always deal with any regional government that failed to toe the time.
c) The President was a mere titular head of state who reigned but did not rule.
d) The constitution adopted the west minister system based on a ruling party and an official
opposition. This system was completely at variance with African traditional political
system in which any opposition was treated as an enemy.

Ventures.
Publications.
Dudley, J. Billy (1968), Parties and Politics: Northern Nigeria, Ibadan: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd.
Maxwell.
Oyediran, Oyeleye (1979), Nigerian Government and Politics under the Military Rule, London:
Macmillan Press.
127
International
Eme O. Awa (1964), Federal Government in Nigeria, Berkeley: University of California Press.
Blitz, L.F (1965), The Politics and Administration of Nigerian Governments, London: Sweet and
Maxwell.
128
1979 AND 1989 CONSTITUTIONS
Introduction
Due to long military ruled and subsequent termination of democratic government of the First
Republic in Nigeria, the Republican Constitution of 1963 was suspended by the military that
assumed office on January 15th, 1966 as a result of political turmoil that engulfed the country.
Therefore, the country’s witnessed series of coup and countered-coup which debarred the progress
of the country and made democratic governance to elude Nigeria. This study session will look at
the background to the 1979 constitution, features of the constitution. However, merits and demerits
of the constitution will be enumerated.

14.1 Explain the background to the 1979 constitution
14.2 Discuss the Features of the 1979 constitution
14.3 Identify the advantages of the 1979 constitution
14.4 Mention the disadvantages of the 1979 constitution
14.5 Describe the background to the 1989 constitution
14.6 Examine the features of the 1989 constitution
14.7 Highlight the advantages of the 1989 constitution
14.8 Describe the disadvantages of the 1989 constitution
14.1 The 1979 Constitution

The constitution which came into effect on 1st October, 1979 and it was prepared and promulgated
by the Muritala/Obasanjo Federal Military Government but not until after several futile attempts
129
had been made by previous military governments to implement a transition programme. The
following political factors affected the nature and scope of the 1979 constitution in Nigeria
14.1.1 Ironsi’s Study Group on Constitutional Review

The events and processes that culminated in the promulgation of the 1979 constitution could be
traced to the first military coup that took placed on 15th January, 1966. On assumption of power,
the new military government of Major General J.T.U Aguiyi Ironsi suspended the Republican
constitution of 1963. Though demands for a review of the constitution was on-going even before
the military intervention, especially to correct the lopsided nature of the Nigerian federation. The
new military government considered constitutional reform as a major assignment, it announced on
21st February, 1966 the establishment of a study group on constitutional review. It comprised
members drawn from the four regions and was assigned responsibility to identify the faults in the
former constitution and suggest constitutional proposals to be considered by a constituent
assembly whose decision would be submitted to a referendum before the promulgation of the new
constitution. But the decision of Ironsi government to turn Nigeria into unitary state on 24th May,
1966 which led to the overthrow of the government and put paid to the work of the study group.
14.1.2 Gowon’s Constitutional Reforms

On assumption of office by Lieutenant Colonel Yakubu Gowon, the major assignment performed
by the regime was to reversed the unitary system in order to stabilized the country. Consequently,
the Gowon government established Ad Hoc Group that would consider constitutional proposals
for Nigeria. It comprised representatives from the four regions and Lagos. Before the conference
could conclude its work, there were riots and pandemonium in several parts of Northern Region
from 26th September, 1966 which led to killing of several Igbos in the North and eventual
culminated in the Nigerian Civil War which began on 6th August, 1967 and formally ended on 13th
January, 1970. Two events of great political significance happened in the first year of Gowon
military government. First, the country reverted to the federal system of government on 1st
September, 1966. The second development was the creation of 12 states on 27th May, 1967. The
creation of states helped to redness the structural imbalance in the Nigerian federation in which
the Northern Region was larger both in size and population, than all other three regions put
together. The exercise also helped to allay the fears of minorities and satisfy, at least partially the
130
incessant demands for new states. Moreover, immediately after the war due to renewed demand
for the transfer of power to civilians. Gowon announced a nine point six-year transition programme
that was expected to terminate in 1976. The items to be covered during the transition programme
were re-organisation of the armed forces, national reconstruction, implementation of the second
National Development Plan, creation of more states, revision of the revenue allocation system,
eliminate of corruption, conduct of a national census, drafting of a new constitution, organization
of a national political parties and conduct of elections to elect political leaders at the state and
federal levels. With all these promised, Gowon announced on 1st October, 1974 that the handover
of power to civilians in 1976 was no longer realistic. He also announced an indefinite
postponement of the return to civil rule. The Gowon military regime was overthrown on 29th July,
1975 in a palace coup.
14.1.3 Transition Programme of Muritala Obasanjo Government

The regime of General Muritala Ramat Mohammed came to power on 29th July, 1975 and did not
waste time in embarking on a new transition programme. The return to civil rule programme
announced on 1st October, 1975 comprised five stages and was expected to usher in a new
government on Oct 1, 1979. The items on the programme were creation of new states, drafting of
a new constitution, local government reforms, demarcation of electoral constituencies and holding
of elections and hand-over of over. This are the major components of this transition programme.
a) Establishment of Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC): The committee was
inaugurated on 18th October, 1975. At the inauguration, the government was unmistakable
in expressing its preference for the federal system of government, the presidential system
of government, introduction of federal character in appointment to senior government
positions and accountability and probity in public office. The committee comprised of 30
members from each state and a few university lecturers. It became 49 members’ committee
when Chief Obafemi Awolowo withdraw his membership of the committee. Chief F.R.A
Williams was appointed the chairman and its report was submitted to the government on
14th September, 1975 for implementation.
b) Creation of States: The government created new states on 3rd February, 1976 thus singing
the total number of states in Nigeria to nineteen. However, the Head of State, General
Muritala Muhammed was assassinated ten days later in a failed military coup and was
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replaced by the Chief of Staff Supreme Headquarters, General Olusegun Obasanjo. The
assassination of the Head of State did not diminish the commitment of the military
government to the transition programme.
c) Local Government Reforms: The government introduced a uniform local government
system in the country and it served as electoral colleges for the selection of members of the
constituent assembly.
d) The Constituent Assembly: It was set up to consider the draft constitution prepared by
the CDC. The body was inaugurated on 31st August, 1977. It had 230 members who were
partly elected and partly nominated. 40 members were appointed by the government to
represent special interests while the rest were elected indirectly by electoral colleges based
on local government councils. The elections were conducted on 31st August, 1977 to seats
distributed among the 19 states of the federation. Mr. Justice Udo Udoma was the
Chairman of the constituent Assembly. The composition of the Assembly had much
bearing on the kind of issues that were discussed at the conference “However, the
proceedings of the constituent Assembly were almost stalled by controversial issues such
as creation of states, establishment of federal Sharia Court of Appeal, operation of foreign
accounts by public officers and the banning of corrupt politicians and public servants from
holding public office. Members were divided along regional, ethnic and sectatian lines.
Issues such as employment creation, provision of welfare programmes and development of
social infrastructure were of little importance to the body which was dissolved by the
government on 20th September, 1978” (Oyediran, 1984).
e) Promulgation of the Constitution and hand-over of Power: The highest decision-
making organ of the military, that is, the Supreme Military Council (SMC) made about
seventeen different amendments to the draft constitution submitted by the Constituent
Assembly. The Supreme Military Council later promulgated the constitution, which came
into effect on 1st October, 1979.
14.2 Features of the 1979 Constitution

The constitution made provisions for the following features:
1. Promotion of National Unity: The preamble to the 1979 constitution showed that its
central objective was promotion of national interest and stability. In order to achieve this
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objective, the constitution contained some unique and explicit provisions which, on their
own, constituted an important mandate for further democratic goals. The constitution
further provided that the composition of the Federal government and its various agencies
must reflect the “federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity”.
2. Introduction of Presidential System of Government: The constitution adoption of the
presidential system therefore represented a rejection of the parliamentary system which
was considered unsuitable to the Nigeria condition and which served as a symbol of the
colonial past. The President was the Head of State, Head of Government and commander-
in-Chief of the Armed Forces to be elected.
3. National Assembly: The constitution made provision for National Assembly, which was
bicameral as in 1963 Republican constitution. The Senate under the 1979 constitution
comprised of 96 members including five elected members from each state of the federation
and one from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The senate elected one of its members
as President of the Senate. However, the House of Representatives had 45 members elected
from single member constituencies. That is, each member of the House represented about
200,000 Nigerians. The speaker presided over the house. Members were elected for a term
of four years but there was no limit to the number of terms legislations could serve.
4. The Judiciary: The judiciary was assigned responsibilities to provide impartial
adjudication. It was the only branch of government not elected. The Supreme Court was
the highest court of the land which comprised of the Chief Justice and 15 other Justices.
The Head of the judiciary was the Chief Justice appointed by the President but the
appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. In the same vein, the president appointed
the other justices of the apex court based on advice provided by the National Judicial
Commission, but no senate confirmation was required further appointment. The federal
court of Appeal was also created by the constitution. It was on intermediate appellate court,
which determined cases from the lower court. It had a President and 15 other Justices.
Although, they were appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Judicial
Service Commission. The Federal High Court, which was also an innovation of the
constitution. There were also state High Courts. Moreover, any state which desired it, could
establish a Sharia Court of Appeal or a Customary Court of Appeal.
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5. Retention of Federal System of Government: The constitution retained the Federal
System of government but the federal structure now comprised a central government, 19
state governments and 300 local governments.
6. Registration of Political Parties: There were also provisions for the registration of
political parties. These provisions were meant to ensure that political parties were national
in outlook and played fair according to the rules. The constitution stipulated that political
parties must have their headquarters at the federal capital and organize regular elections to
select their officials. The constitution also required political parties to submit their
accounts to the Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO), and must not receive foreign
financial assistance.
7. Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy: This was a novel
provision in the constitution. The principles were broad social and economic goals to which
the government was required to direct its energy. But unlike fundamental rights which are
automatic rights and enforceable at law. For example, right to free medical care or free
education, have been declared to be long-term objectives which cannot be enforced in a
court of law. Similarly, you cannot go to court to compel government to give you free
education.
8. Establishment of a System of Local Government: The constitution provided for a system
of local government by democratically elected local government councils. By so doing, the
constitution made the local government the third tier of government. The constitution also
specified the functions to be performed by the local government council. It also provided
financial guarantees for the local governments through statutory allocation of public
revenue by the National Assembly and the State Houses of Assembly.
14.3 Advantages of the 1979 Constitution

The 1979 constitution had the following advantages:
1. The constitution was the first home-made constitution produced by Nigerians for the
peculiar Nigerian conditions.
2. The rigid procedure for amending the constitution and creating new states helped to
strengthen the political system.
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3. The introduction of the fundamental objectives and Direct Principles of State Policy
showed the concern of government for the welfare of Nigerians.
4. By establishing a code of conduct for public officers and the public compliant commission,
the constitution attempted to ensure probity and accountability in public service.
5. The provision of several checks and balances in the constitution such as legislative
approval of top government appointments and appropriations ensured that the President
did not become a civilian dictator.
6. The declaration of military coup as unconstitutional, at least, showed the commitment of
Nigerians to deal with the problems of political instability and enthrone a system of
democratic government.
14.4 Disadvantages of the 1979 Constitution

The disadvantages of the constitution may be summarized as follows:
1. The presidential system is too expensive to run considering the number of officials that
have to be appointed by the President.
2. The principle of federal character, though desirable in a multi ethnic society like Nigeria,
did not stipulate that the best materials in each state should be appointed to public offices.
3. The constitution did not provide institutional and procedural arrangements for the
implementation of the federal character principle.
4. The distribution of power in the constitution made the states to be subordinate to the federal
and this development negated the principle of federalism.
5. The constitution did not make it possible for Nigerians to enforce their social and economic
rights. Nor did it provide for social welfare programmes such as free education, free health
care and payment of employment benefits.
6. The constitution granted too much power to the President by determining the size of his
government and various appointment made by him.

The 1989 constitution was never fully implemented. In other words, it did not lead to the total
disengagement of the military from politics. Though local government, legislature, gubernatorial
and presidential elections were held at different times during the long period of transition and
135
elected officials at different levels actually assumed office, the presidential election was
inconclusive and eventually cancelled by the General Ibrahim Babagida regime. In the events that
followed, General Babagida was forced to “step aside “and he was replaced by an Interim National
Government headed by Chief Earnest Shonekan. The causes of this constitutional and political
stalemate could be traced to the process of preparing and drafting the 1989 constitution.
14.5.1 Establishment of the Political Bureau

The political Bureau was established in 1986. It was mandated to collate the views of Nigerians
on a constitutional framework and to recommend an appropriated form of government for Nigeria.
The Chairman was Prof. Eme Awa. The Bureau submitted its report later that year but it did not
achieve much.
14.5.2 Establishment of the Constitutional Review Committee

The committee was set up in 1987 to review the existing 1979 constitution and the Report of the
Political Bureau and come up with proposals for a new constitution that would adequately address
the problems and shortcoming that made previous constitutions unworkable. The chairman was
Justice Muhammadu Buba Ado. The CRS submitted its report to government in 1987.
14.5.3 Inauguration of Constituent Assembly

The constituent Assembly comprised of 563 members, was inaugurated on 11th May, 1988 to
deliberate on the draft constitution and make recommendations. 450 of the members were elected
directly by the people and the remaining 113 members nominated by the Federal Military
Government to represent various interests. Justice A.N.C Amagolu was appointed as the chairman
while Justice Buba Ado was the Deputy Chairman and Alhaji Baba Gana Kingibe was its
Secretary. The constituent Assembly submitted the draft constitution on 5th April, 1989. After
extensive deliberations on the draft constitution, the constitution was promulgated later in 1989.
14.6 Features of the 1989 Constitution

The constitution made provisions for the following features
1. Presidential System of Government: The constitution provided for a presidential system
of government in which the president was the Head of State, Chief Executive and
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Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation. It provided for the direct
election of the President and Vice President for a term of four years. They could only seek
re-election once. The constitution stipulated that the election of a President must be held
not earlier than 90 days nor later than 60 days before the expiration of his term.
2. The National Assembly: The National Assembly comprised the senate and the House of
Representatives. The Senate had 64 members, the smallest in the post military era. Each
of the 21 states elected three senators while the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja had one
elected senator. The House of representatives consisted of 453 members elected from
single member constituencies. The constitution made provision for the payment of a
sitting allowance to members of the National Assembly. The payment covered only the
number of days he was present in the house. The provision for part-time law making was
a novel provision which was remarkable for its cost saving benefits.
3. The Judiciary: As in previous constitutions, the judiciary was vested with the judicial
powers of the federation. The structure, powers, functions and funding of the judiciary
under the 1989 constitution.
4. Structure of State Government: Under this constitution the state executive was headed
by the Governor. The Deputy Governor was elected on the same ticket with the Governor.
The State Commissioners assisted the Governor in the discharge of his executive
functions. The State House of Assembly made laws for the state. The speaker presided
over the House of Assembly. Both the speaker and the Deputy Speaker were elected by
members of the House. Like members of the National Assembly, the members of a State
House of Assembly served on part-time basis and were elected for a four-year term which
could be renewed.
5. Local Government: Unlike previous constitutions, the 1979 constitution equally made
the local government as a third-tier system of government with the establishment of 449
local governments for the country. Each local government had a minimum of ten wards
and a minimum of 20 wards. The council was headed by the Chairman and was assisted
by the Vice Chairman and both of them were jointly elected by the electorate in the council
area. Similarly, a councillor represented a ward. The constitution made provision for the
appointment of supervisory councillors. A supervisory councillor served as Head of
Department in the council.
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6. Political Parties: The constitution recognized only two political parties, namely, the
National Republican Convention (NRC), they were established and sponsored by the
Federal Military Government.
7. Retention of Federal System of Government: The 1989 constitution retained Nigeria as
a federal Republic comprising 21 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The 1989 constitution had the following advantages:
1. The decision not to grant Abuja the status of a state further enhanced its position as the
symbol of Nigeria unity.
2. The constitution also put the legislators on their toes by providing for a system of recall.
By giving the electorate the power to recall their elected representatives who no longer
enjoyed their confidence.
3. The constitution reduces drastically the cost of governance. For example, the number of
senators representing each state was reduced from five to three.
4. The introduction of the two party system seemed to be a good reading of Nigeria’s political
landscape which had always been granting towards a two party system
5. It was a good thing that the constitution stipulated that aspirants to public offices should
possess certain minimum educational qualifications. Law makers and policy makers need
to understand the complexity of government business.
14.8 Disadvantages of the 1989 constitution

The 1989 constitution had the following disadvantages:
1. The imposition of two government sponsored political parties was undemocratic.
2. The constitution did not provide an institutional machinery for the enforcement of the
Federal Character principle
3. The constitution itself failed to usher in the Third Republic due to the annulment of the
Presidential election on 12th June, 1993 and political crisis which it triggered.
4. The cost saving measures introduced by the constitution were half-hearted as they appeared
to be directed only at the legislative branch of government. Therefore, it was business as
usual in the executive branch.
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5. Although the constitution was said to be federal, it gave more powers to the central
government than the state governments.

In this study session you have learnt the background to the 1979 constitution which was
promulgated by Murtala/Obasanjo Military administration. The events and processes culminated
in the pronunciation of the 1979 constitution. The setting up of Ironsi’s Study Group on
constitutional Review to review the constitution to correct the lopsided nature of Nigerian
Federation and make recommendations. But the decision of Ironsi government to suspend the
Republican constitution and introduced unitary constitution led to sudden demise of the regime
through military coup. Similarly, the Yakubu Gowon constitutional reforms did not see the light
of the day as a result of failed promise as regard the date of handing over to civilian administration.
However, it was not until Muritala/Obasanjo coup that the issue of constitution review saw the
light of the day and major reforms which led to the promulgation of the 1979 constitution were
made. The study session also examines the features, advantages and disadvantages of the 1979
constitution. Moreover, the background to the 1989 constitution was discussed while features,
advantages and disadvantages of the 1989 constitution were also enumerated.

you will have.

1. All are the political factors affected the nature and scope of the 1979 constitution in Nigeria
a) Constitutional Drafting committee
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b) Ironsi’s study Group on constitutional review
c) Gowon’s constitutional Reforms
d) Transition programme of Murtala/Obasanjo Government

2. All are the major components of transition programme of Murtala/Obasanjo government
except ______________
a) Creation of State
b) Local Government Reforms
c) Establishment of Constitution Drafting Committee
d) Establishment of the Political Bureau.

3. The National Assembly of the 1979 constitution comprised of ____________ senate and
_____________ House of Representatives
a) 84-Senate, 410 House of Reps
b) 85-Senate, 410 House of Reps
c) 96-Senate, 450 House of Reps
d) 95-Senate, 450 House of Reps

4. The 1979 constitution created _____________ as an intermediate appellate court which
determined cases from the lower court
a) State High Court
b) Federal Court of Appeal
c) Federal High Court
d) Sharia Court of Appeal

5. The 1979 constitution made provisions for the following features except ______________
a) Introduction of Presidential system of government
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b) Retention of federal system of government
c) Fundamental objectives and directive principles of the state policy
d) Introduction of republican constitution

6. All are the advantages of the 1979 constitution except ____________
a) The constitution was produced by Nigerians for the peculiar Nigerian conditions
b) The constitution did not provide institutional and procedural arrangements for the
implementation of the federal character principles.
c) The declaration of military coup as unconstitutional will enhance democratic governance.
d) The introduction of the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy
showed the concern of government for the welfare of Nigerians.

7. The 1989 constitution made provisions for the following features except ___________
a) Promotion of National Unity
b) Structure of state government
c) Presidential system of government
d) Retention of federal system of government

8. The National Assembly of the 1989 constitution comprised of __________ senate and
______________ House of Representatives members
a) 62-Senate, 443-House of Reps
b) 60-Senate, 445-House of Reps
c) 64-Senate, 453-House of Reps
d) 62-Senate, 445-House of Reps

9. All are the disadvantages of the 1989 constitution except ___________________
a) The imposition of two government sponsored political parties was undemocratic.
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b) The constitution did not provide an institution machinery for the enforcement of the federal
character principle.
c) The system also put legislators on their toes by providing a system of recall
d) The constitution failed to usher in the Third Republic due to the annulment

10. All are the advantages of the 1989 constitution except ______________________
a) The constitution put the legislators on their toes by providing a system of recall
b) It reduces drastically the cost of governance
c) The introduction of the two party system seemed to be a good reading of Nigeria’s political
landscape
d) The constituting gave more power to the central government at the detriment of states
government

Ventures
Publications.
Maxwell
International
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THE 1999 CONSTITUTION
Introduction
The Second Republic of Alhaji Usman Sheu Shagari administration was cut-short due to the
military intervention by the General Muhammadu Buhari regime though there were series of
counter-coup. It was General Abdulsalam Abubakar Regime that prepared Nigeria for democratic
dispensation in 1999 that ushered in Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as the new leader for the country.
Therefore, the 1999 constitution which ushered in the fourth Republic of Nigeria came into force
on 20th May, 1999. It is perhaps the most criticized constitution in the political history of the
country. As a result, several attempts have been made to reframe the constitution to bring it in line
with the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. The National Assembly made several futile
attempts to review the constitution. The Federal Government under President Olusegun Obasanjo
established National Political Reform Conference (NPRC) in February 2005 to review the 1999
constitution and make recommendations that would make it more effective. The National
Assembly Joint Committee on the Review of the constitution led by Alhaji Ibrahim Mentu (Deputy
Senate President) in 2006 solicited the views of Nigerian on the constitution in the six geo-political
zones and eventually presented its report to the National Assembly for deliberation. In April 2006,
the Federal Government presented to National Assembly a bill for the amendment of the 1999
constitution. The bill was rejected by the National Assembly in May 2006 largely because of the
controversy and tension generated by the proposal to increase the tenure of public officers.

15.1 Discuss the background to the 1999 constitution
15.2 Examine the features of the 1999 constitution
15.3 Identify the advantages of the 1999 constitution
15.4 Highlight the disadvantages of the 1999 constitution
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The 1999 constitution was largely borrowed from the 1979 and 1989 constitutions. Thus, the 1999
constitution retained many aspects of these constitution which are themselves not free from
criticism. The 1999 constitution retained among the other things, the principles of republicanism.
But there were certain important developments in the polity which led to the promulgation of the
1999 constitution. Some of these events were as follows:
15.1.1. Constitutional Conference of 1995

The conference was convened by the regime of General Sanni Abacha to douse the tension created
by the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. However, at the inauguration of the
conference in 1995, the Head of State, gave the conference the following terms of reference:
a) To deliberate upon the structure of the Nigerian nation state, working out modalities for
ensuring good governance, and to device for Nigerians a system of government
guaranteeing equal opportunities;
b) To strengthen the instruments governing the judiciary, law enforcement and security
agencies with appropriate constitutional instruments;
c) To identify and rectify the systemic fault lines which allow for military intervention.
Since people considered military governance as an aberration, the constitutional conference was
widely boycotted in several parts of Nigeria, especially in South Western Nigeria where the people
felt cheated over the annulment of the 1995 presidential elections which were said to have been
won by their kinsmen, Chief. M.K.O Abiola. In spite of this, the outcome of the conference had
some effects on the 1999 constitution. The recommendations of the conference especially on the
party formation, revenue allocation, creation of states and creation of geo-political zones were
predictably not implemented by the Abacha regime which quickly arrested some members of the
conference including Major General Musa Sheu Yar’Adua and some other political opponents of
his regime and charged them for coup plotting because of their demand for handing over of power
to the civilian in the interest of democracy.
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15.1.2 Death of General Sanni Abacha
The sudden demise of General Sanni Abacha on 8th June, 1998 had the greatest effect on the shape
and form of the 1999 constitution. Before his demise, Abacha had attempted to transmute himself
into a civilian President. In order to achieve this seemingly unpopular political objectives, the
military government muzzled the opposition, banned several newspapers and magazines, curtailed
the rights of citizens and harassed, detained and even killed political opponent such as Alfread
Rewani, Ken Saro Wiwa, Omotsola and eight Ogoni human right activists after ignoring pleas
from the international community. Five political parties (described by Chief Bola Ige as “five
fingers of leprous hand” organized, sponsored and registered by government agents acquiesced to
the nomination of General Sanni Abacha as the sole candidate for the presidential elections slated
for the end of 1998. The unanimous decisions of the five political parties to pick Abacha as their
presidential candidate appeared strange, but it was a reflection of the level of political decay in the
Nigerian state at the time and perhaps the political class really had no choice given the high level
of the state sponsored violence and the determination of General Abacha to become a civilian
president. In any case the sudden death of Abacha, the arrow head of the transition programme,
threw all the political calculations into disarray and created a new political atmosphere.
15.1.3 Drafting and Promulgation of the 1999 Constitution

Due to the sudden demise of General Sanni Abacha, a new military government headed by General
Abdulsalami Abubakar was immediately sworn in. Now with the military totally discreditted the
new regime was desirous of handling over to a democratically elected government as soon as
possible. Consequently, a new transition programme was hurriedly put together and a few
technocrats were drafted to prepare a new constitution under the chairmanship of Mr. Justice Niki
Tobi of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Unfortunately, the committee did not have the time to
consult Nigerians on the kind of constitution they desired. The 1999 constitution was born under
these abnormal conditions set in motion by the sudden death of General Abacha. Surprisingly, the
formation of parties, the nomination and selection of candidates for election, the electioneering
campaign, the conduct of the various elections and other political activities were carried out by the
politicians who had never seen a copy of the constitution. It is like playing a game of football
without knowing the rules. The constitution came into effect on 29th May, 1999.
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15.2 Features of the 1999 constitution
1) Federalism: Nigerian remains a federation with three different level of government,
namely, federal state and local governments. It provided for the federal capital territory,
Abuja and 36 states of the federation. There is also provision for 774 local government
councils as a third their government.
2) Presidential System of Government: The 1999 constitution provides for the presidential
system of government. The president is the Head of State, Head of Government and
commander-in-chief of the Armed forces of the federation. The executing powers of the
federation are vested in the president. The constitution requires the president to reflect the
federal character in the appointment of his ministers. Constitutional provisions for the
election of the president and vice President are similar to those of the two immediate past
constitutions. Thus, a candidate for election as President must be a Nigerian, have attained
the age of 40 years, possess a minimum of secondary school certificate and be sponsored
by a political party. Apart from these requirements, there are also a few other innovations
in the presidential system adopted by the constitution including the following
i. Special Advisers: The President have the power to appoint special advisers but the 1999
constitution does not put limitation on the number of special advisers a president may
appoint for his administration.
ii. Declaration of Assets: With the constitution the President, Vice President, Ministers and
other top political office holders are under obligation to declare their assets and liabilities
before taking office. The constitution, however silent on whether public officials should
re-declare assets at the expiration of their term of office and whether the declaration should
be done publicly.
iii. Removal of President from Office: The President or the Vice President may be removed
from office for gross misconduct or on account of ill-health. The President or the Vice
President may be removed or impeached for gross misconduct. The process of
impeachment is legal and largely political which involves several steps. Similarly, the
National Assembly may also remove the President or Vice President on account of his
inability to discharge the functions of his office, ill-health, incapacity or abandonment of
office especially when he defects to another party. Both the Governor and Deputy
Governor can be so removed by the state House of Assembly.
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3) Composition and Powers of the National Assembly: It comprises two houses namely,
the Senate and the House of Representatives. The constitution provides for a 109 members
senate. Each state has three senators while the Federal Capital Territory has only one. Both
the President of the Senate and the Deputy Senate President are elected by the members of
the Senate from among themselves. The House of Representatives has 360 members while
the speaker presided over the meeting of the House. However, the President of the senate
presides at a joint sitting of both Houses and the speaker presides in his absence. The
quorum for a joint meeting of both houses is one third of the members. The National
Assembly may veto a presidential refusal to assent to a law if it is able to muster the support
of two thirds of its members. Also, the constitution provides that every member of the
National Assembly is paid a salary and other allowances as may be determined by the
Revenue Mobilization Allocation and fiscal commission.
4) The Judiciary: The judicial power of the federation is vested in the court. The constitution
provides for the following court:
i. The Supreme Court: This is the highest court in the land. The Chief Justice is the
head of the judiciary. It comprises the Chief Justice and 21 other justices.
ii. Federal Court of Appeal: is an intermediate appellate court comprising the
president of the court and 49 justices. The constitution stipulates that not less than
three of the Justice should be learned in the Islamic personal law and not less than
three should be learned in customary law.
iii. Federal High Court: The court is headed by the Chief Judge and it has a few other
judges. The Federal High Court deals with cases involving the Federal Government
and its agencies. There are other courts of equal jurisdiction with the Federal High
Court are the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, the Sharia Court
of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and the customary court of
Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
iv. State High Courts: The State High Court, the Sharia Court of Appeal and the
customary Court of Appeal are all state courts of equal jurisdiction. A state may
decide to have either the Sharia Court of Appeal or Customary Court of Appeal.
v. Election Tribunals: The constitution provides two sets of election tribunals be
established. The National Assembly Election Tribunal deals with cases concerning
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elections to the National Assembly. The Governorship and legislature Houses
Election Tribunals are established in each state to determine whether a person had
been validly elected to the office of Governor or as a member of a state legislature.
Appeals may be made to the Appeal Court which is the final arbiter in such cases.
On the other hand, the Federal Court of Appeal handles petitions in respect of the
offices of President and Vice President. Petitioners who are not satisfied with the
court’s ruling may appeal to the Supreme Court.
5) Federal Capital Territory: The constitution declares Abuja, the Federal Capital
Territory, as the capital of Nigeria and the seat of the Federal Government. Although,
Abuja is not a state, the constitution stipulates that it should be treated as one of the states
of federation. (The National Assembly makes law for the territory and executive powers
are vested in the President of the federation but, he may appoint a minister to exercise these
powers on his behalf. The territory has one senator, four members of the House of
Representatives.
6) Establishment of Federal and State Executive Bodies: The constitution provides for the
establishment of a number of federal and state executive bodies. The constitution stipulates
that the following bodies be established at the federal level:
a) Code of Conduct Bureau;
b) Council of State;
c) Federal Character commission;
d) Federal Civil Service Commission;
e) Federal Judicial Service Commission;
f) Independent National Electoral Commission;
g) National Defence Council;
h) National Economic Council;
i) National Judicial Council;
j) National Population Commission;
k) National Security Council;
l) Nigeria Police Council;
m) Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission
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The President appoints the chairman and members of these Federal executive bodies subject to
confirmation by the Senate.
7) Local Government System: The constitution stipulates that members of the local
government councils, including the chairmen and councillors should be democratically
elected. The state government oversees the affairs of the councils.
8) Creation of States: The procedures for the creation of states are very strict. The conditions
are similar to those in the 1989 constitution. To create a state under conditions stipulated
by the 1999 constitution is difficult and it is like a camel passing through a needle eye.
9) Secular Status of Nigeria: The constitution specifically prohibits the adoption of any state
religion in Nigeria.
10) Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy: The 1999
constitution has provision for fundamental objectives and Directive principles of State
Policy. Essentially, these are the duties and responsibilities of the government to Nigerians.
Among other things, the state is required to promote democracy and social justice, reflect
the federal character principle in all appointments, encourage national integration and
discourage discrimination on account of place of origin, sex, religion, state, tribe, etc.,
promote planned and balanced economic development and the economic well-being of all
Nigerians, promote the ideals of freedom, equality and justice, promote, equal and adequate
educational opportunities at all levels including free education and promotion of national
interest across the globe.
11) Revenue Allocation: The constitution stipulated that revenue allocation should be based
on principles such as population, equality of states, internal income generation, land mass,
terrain and population density. Also, thirteen percent (13%) of the revenue accruing to the
Federation Account directly from any national resources is to be based on derivation.
12) Immunity Clause: The constitution also allows the person holding the offices of President,
Vice President, Governor, Deputy-Governor from persecutions for any civil or criminal act
during his period of office. He cannot be arrested or imprisoned during that period.

The constitution has the following advantages:
1) The multi-party system provides opportunity for the representation of diverse interests.
149
2) The declaration of assets by top government officials before taking office may help to
check abuse of office and acquisition of wealth.
3) The strict provision for the creation of states may help to check the proliferation of states.
4) Federalism remains the best constitutional option in a multi ethnic, multi linguistic and
multi religious society like Nigeria. However, federal system provides for political stability
in such a heterogeneous society.
5) The prohibition of a state religion in a multi-religious society like Nigeria is a good thing
and should be applauded. This will checkmate incessant frictions among the political
leaders and make Nigeria a secular state.
6) The difficult or rigid procedures for amending the constitution prevent tyranny and
arbitrary use of power by over-ambitions political leaders.
15.4 Disadvantages of the 1999 Constitution

The 1999 constitution has the following disadvantages:
1) The constitution, in furtherance of its centralization tendencies, has no place for state or
local police whereas security is better handled at the local level.
2) There is no justification for leaving the National Human Rights Commission out of the
constitution if the state is really interested in the protection of the rights of Nigerians.
3) The power which the constitution gives to the Federal Government in the formation and
registration of parties is a negation of federalism and individual rights.
4) The constitution is not gender sensitive as it does not contain any affirmative action clauses
to address historical discrimination and injustice against women.
5) The constitution does not provide for acceptable fiscal federalism in which the state can
generate sufficient revenues on their own and do not need to depend on the central
government and be controlled and harassed by it.
6) In the process of drafting the constitution, there were no constitutional conferences to
ascertain the wishes of Nigerians nor were referendums conducted to confirm whether or
not the constitution was acceptable to the people.
7) The 1999 constitution does not contain any provision on how to deal with military
intervention in politics.
8) The constitution is weak in the protection of socio-economic rights. For instance, the
constitution has no provision for right to employment and free and compulsory education.
150
Summary of the Study Session 15
In this study session you have learnt the background to the 1999 constitution. The 1999
constitution retained many aspects of the 1979 and 1989 constitution. The constitution retained
among other things, the principles of republicanism, federalism, presidentialism and
multipartyism. Although, there were certain important developments in the polity which led to the
promulgation of the 1999 constitutions, such as constitutional conference of 1995, the death of
General Sanni Abacha and the drafting and promulgation of the 1999 constitution. The study
session also examines the features of the constitution which comprised of federalism, presidential
system of government, composition and powers of the National Assembly, the judiciary, Federal
Capital Territory, establishment of federal and state executive bodies, secular status of Nigeria,
creation of state fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy and lastly immunity
clause. However, advantages and disadvantages of the 1999 constitution were equally enumerated.

not understand or that needs further clarification. Discuss this with your lecturer/facilitator in the
next tutorial you will have.

1. All were certain important developments in the polity that led to the promulgation of the
1999 constitution except ________________
a) Annulment of June 12 election
b) Constitutional Conference of 1995
c) Death of General Sanni Abacha
d) Drafting and Promulgation of 1999 constitution
151
2. The constitutional conference of 1995 had the following terms of reference except
_______________
a) To look at the demand for the creation of states.
b) To identify and rectify the systemic fault lines which allow for military intervention.
c) To strengthen the instruments governing the judiciary law enforcement and security
agencies
d) To deliberate upon the modalities for ensuring good governance and guaranteeing equal
opportunities.

3. __________________ attempted to transmute himself into civilian president in order to
achieve seemingly unpopular political objectives
a) Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo;
b) Gen Yakubu Gowon
c) Gen. Sanni Abacha
d) Goodluck Jonathan

4. The 1999 Constitutional drafting committee was headed by __________________
a) Justice Mustapha Akanbi
b) Justice Niki Tobi
c) Justice Tayo Akpata
d) Justice Angulu Abdulahi

5. All are the features of the 1999 constitution except _______________________
a) Secular Status of Nigeria
b) Immunity Clause
c) Revenue Allocation
d) State Police
152
6. The presidential system adopted by the 1999 constitution introduced the following except
______________
a) Declaration of Assets
b) Removal of President from office
c) Federalism
d) Special Advisers
7. The National Assembly of 1999 Constitution comprised of ______________ senate and
__________ representatives
a) 108-Senate, 350-Representatives
b) 109-Senate, 360-Representatives
c) 108-Senate, 360-Representatives
d) 109-Senate, 350-Representatives

8. The 1999 constitution stipulates that the following bodies be established at the Federal
level except ______________
a) Code of Conduct Bureau
b) Federal Character Commission
c) National Economic Council
d) Federal Bureau of Intelligence

9. All are the advantages of the 1999 constitution except _______________
a) The constitution is weak in the protection of socio-economic rights.
b) The multi-party system provides opportunity for the representation of diverse interests.
c) The strict provision for the creation of states may help to check the proliferation of states.
d) The declaration of assets by top government officials before taking office may help to
check abuse of office

10. All are the advantages of the 1999 constitution except _______________________
153
a) The constitution does not contain any provision on how to deal with military intervention
b) The constitution has no place for state or local police.
c) The prohibition of a state religion in a multi-religion society like Nigeria will checkmate
incessant frictions among the political leaders.
d) The constitution does not provide for acceptable fiscal federalism in which the state can
generate sufficient revenues on their own and do not need to depend on the central
government.

Ventures
Publications.
Maxwell
International
154
ANSWER TO STUDY SESSIONS 1-15
Answers to Self-Assessment Questions for Study Session 1
1. B
2. D
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. B
7. D
8. D
9. A
10. D
11. B
12. D
13. C
14. D
15. B
16. C
17. B
18. D
19. C
20. D

1. B
2. B
155
3. C
4. A
5. D
6. C
7. B
8. C
9. B
10. A

1. D
2. B
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. D
9. B
10. B

1. B
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. C
156
6. B
7. B
8. A
9. D
10. C

1. B
2. A
3. B
4. D
5. B
6. C
7. C
8. B
9. D
10. B

1. A
2. B
3. A
4. C
5. B
6. B
7. D
8. A
9. B
157
10. D

1. D
2. C
3. A
4. B
5. A
6. D
7. A
8. B
9. C
10. A

1. D
2. C
3. B
4. A
5. C
6. B
7. C
8. B
9. A
10. A
158
1. B
2. B
3. A
4. D
5. C
6. D
7. B
8. A
9. A
10. C

1. C
2. D
3. D
4. D
5. B
6. C
7. B
8. C
9. A
10. A
Answers to Self-Assessment Question for Study Session 11.

1. C
2. A
159
3. B
4. D
5. A
6. C
7. D
8. B
9. C
10. D

1. A
2. D
3. B
4. C
5. A
6. A
7. D
8. D
9. C
10. B

1. B
2. D
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. A
160
7. B
8. C
9. D
10. A
Answer to Self-Assessment Question for Study Session 14

1. A
2. D
3. C
4. B
5. D
6. B
7. A
8. C
9. C
10. D

1. A
2. A
3. C
4. B
5. D
6. C
7. B
8. D
9. A
10. C
161

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Study Session 1-Pre-Colonial Political Institutions and Processes

Learning outcomes for Study Session 1

1.1 The Hausa/Fulani Political system/Emirate

1.2 The structure of the Hausa/Fulani political system

1.3 The Yoruba Pre-colonial political system

1.4 The structure of the Yoruba Pre-colonial political institution

1.5 The Igbo pre-colonial political system

1.6 The structure of the Igbo pre-colonial political institution

Summary of Study Session 1

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 1

SAQ 1.1 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.1)

SAQ 1.2 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

SAQ 1.4 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

SAQ 1.5 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

SAQ 1.6 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

SAQ 1.8 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.2)

SAQ 1.10 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.3)

SAQ 1.12 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.4)

SAQ 1.13 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.4)

SAQ 1.14 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.4)

SAQ 1.16 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.4)

SAQ 1.17 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.5)

SAQ 1.18 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.6)

SAQ 1.19 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.6)

SAQ 1.20 (Tests Learning Outcome 1.6)

References and Suggestions for Further Readings

Learning outcomes for Study Session 2

2.1 Colonial Administration in Nigeria

2.2 Reasons for Colonization

2.3 The Structure of British Colonial Administration

B. The Executive Council

C. The Legislative Council

2.4 Features of Colonial Administration in Nigeria

2.6 Impact of Colonialism in Africa

Summary of Study Session 2

Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 2

SAQ 2. 2 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.2)

SAQ 2. 3 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.2)

SAQ 2.4 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.3)

SAQ 2.5 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.3)

SAQ 2.2 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.4)

SAQ 2.7 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.4)

SAQ 2.8 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.5)

SAQ 2.9 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.5)

SAQ 2.10 (Tests Learning Outcome 2.6)

References and Suggestions for Further Readings

Awofeso, O. (2014). Constitutional Development in Nigeria- Historical and Political Analysis.

Utuk, E. I (1975) Britain's Colonial Administrations and Developments, 1861-1960: An Analysis

Mai-Lafia, M. D. (undated). Nigerian Government and Politics. National Open University of

Learning outcomes for Study Session 3

3.1 Colonial Administration in Nigeria – Indirect Rule System

3.4 Advantages of Indirect rule system

3.5 Disadvantages of Indirect rule system

Summary of Study Session 3

SAQ 3.1 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.1)

SAQ 3.2 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.1)

SAQ 3.3 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.2)

SAQ 3.4 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.3)

SAQ 3.5 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.3)

SAQ 3.6 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.4)

SAQ 3.7 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.4)

SAQ 3.8 (Tests Learning Outcome 3.5)