The Political Prelude In Our Beautiful Nigeria

The Political Prelude

Nigeria's political problems sprang from the carefree manner in which the British took over, administered, and abandoned the government and people of Nigeria.
British administrators did not make an effort to weld the country together and unite the heterogeneous groups of people.

This does not imply that British administrators did nothing good in Nigeria Far from it. Many things stand to their credit, and it is clear that present day Nigeria owes certain achievements to the spade work of British administrators. Nevertheless, there was one evil that outlived British administration, namely, political non-advancement. When the British came, they forcibly rubber-stamped the political state of the ethnic groups of Nigeria, and maintained that status quo until they left. Upon their departure nearly a hundred years later, the people resumed fighting for their political rights.

When the British came to Nigeria as an imperial nation to take over the rulership of the country from 1861 (with the cession of Lagos), they met the people of the South totally free, only observing and regulating their own monarchies and institutions. But in the North the British met the Fulani in the process of establishing their rulership in most parts, except in of establishing their
the Kanuri ared establishment of fulani rulership over the former independent statessrulani the Hausa, Birom, Anga, Nupe, Tiv, and of llorin started in 1804 in Gobir (Sokoto) rebellion of Usman Dan Fodio.

It was with the was of that rebellion alone that the Fulani peoples of the North, began to unseat
Success traditional members of their rulers of these styled Emirs. They demolished dwelt as strangers and settlers amon peoples, and imposed me the free monarchical institutions of these peoples and imposed on them as Islamic orientated, but feudalistic rulership. It was this rulership of the Emirs and their kinsmen that reduced the Northern peoples from their while free and happy, land-owner-farmer state. to an oppressed, landless serf state, in which they had to sixty per cent or more of their food crops, cattle, and other products to the Village Head, District Head and the Emir, in political homage. In addition, those of them who had accepted Islam had to worship behind the said political leaders, in religious homage. In that way, the Fulani aristocratic feudalism was established pay in the North.

It is to the discredit of the British that they, who understood the principles of personal liberty, and who had nurtured the ideals of social justice for twelve hundred years, still came to Nigeria in the latter part of the nineteenth century simply to bolster up the forces of feudalism, and so prolonged the oppression of the people.

As was traditional, the peoples of the North did not meekly give in to the rulership of the Fulani. They strove hard to pull down the strange rulership, especially because it completely took away the politica! freedom to which they were accustomed. Unfortunately for them, the British came in at this particular time with a superior military force and imposed the "peace of Britain", rubber-stamping the Fulani hegemony over the whole area. After that, every effort by the people to be free was regarded as a rebellion against British rulership and was forcibly suppressed.

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