UpNorthBlog

             SIR JOHN MACPHERSON The first British governor to implement ideas towards self-government was Sir Bernard Bourdillion, but his plans were put into practice by Sir Arthur Richards in 1945. The Richards constitution however was still rejected by Nigerians as Nigerians were not involved in writing the constitution.   In 1949, Sir John MacPherson succeeded Richards and learning from the experience of his predecessor, MacPherson left the formulation of the constitution in the hands of Nigerians. Preparations were made on various levels right from the grassroots; villages, towns, districts, divisions, provinces and regions. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and the NCNC held meetings with members of the grassroots and listened to their opinions on self-government.   In 1951, a constitutional conference was held in Ibadan, the capital city of the then Western region. Dignitaries from all regions attended, the provincial and regional representatives include; Northern Region- Ahmadu B

                 Sir Ahmadu Bello Northern People's Congress (NPC) was a political party in Nigeria. Formed in June 1949, the party held considerable influence in the Northern region from the 1950s until the military coup of 1966. It was formerly known as Jamiyaar Mutanem Arewa.    The leaders of the party were, Sir Ahmadu Bello the Sardauna of Sokoto who, was also the Premier of the Northern region and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who was the deputy leader of the party and also the first Nigerian Prime Minister whose office was created in 1957 and ruled throughout the First Republic (1963-1966).     Jamiyaar Mutanem Arewa was a cultural organisation that started with the purpose of enlightening people of Northern Nigeria. Due to the pressure from Southern based political parties the leaders saw the need to re-structure the organizationinto a proper political party, in 1951 it became the Northern People's Congress. The NPC was only open to the natives of Northern Nige

                     Nnamdi Azikwe Nationalism in Nigeria was inspired by ethnicity and emerged as a result of the people's love for their land and culture. It first rose in the 1920s with Sir Herbert Macauley at the forefront, who is also known as the father of Nigerian nationalism.    British colonialism in Nigeria was mainly based on joining diverse people and regions as one artificial political entity, as a result of this Nigerian nationalism was regionalized. Southern nationalist mainly Yoruba and Igbo spearheaded this new age and ideological inspiration came from a variety of sources, including prominent American-based activist such as Marcus Garvey and W.E.B.Du Bois. Nigerian students abroad joined students from other colonies in Pan-African groups, such as the West Africa Students Union, founded in London 1925.    Ethnic and kinship organizations that often took form of tribal unions also emerged in the 1920s. These organizations were primarily urban phenomena t

Sir Hugh Charles Clifford, born March/ 5/ 1866, London and died Dec/18/ 1941, Roe hampton London, is a British colonial officer and governor, he succeeded Lord Lugard and became the second Governor-general of Nigeria in 1919.     There had being a growing agitation by some Nigerians living in Lagos for changes in administration because because African representation in the executive branch was basically non-existent and in other branches in-adequate. The Nigerian Council of Lord Lugard was seen as a debating society rather than a council responsible for the administration of a nation. Therefore a new administration was introduced in 1922 and Governor Hugh Clifford initiated Nigeria's first constitution.     The new legislative council composed of 46 members of which 27 including the Governor were official members all of which are British. The remaining 19 were non-official members out of which, 15 were nominated by the Governor to represent commercial and mining interes

After the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorates in 1914 Lord Lugard established the Nigerian Council. The establishment of the council marked a historical milestone in the development of Nigeria. The council consisted of 36 members and is made up of 23 European official members and 13 non-official members of which 7 were Europeans and 6 Nigerians. The 7 European non-official members were appointed to represent the various commercial interest like the chambers of commerce, shipping, banking and mining business. The 6 Nigerians non-official members were appointed to represent diverse ethnic groups among these were; two Emirs from the North, the Alaafin of Oyo and one member each from Calabar, Lagos and Benin-warri area. The council acted as an advisory body and had no executive authority and it's resolutions had no force of law as power still ultimately remained in the hands of the Governor-general. The meetings were irregular and attendance very poor the Nigerian C

Before 1914 Nigeria was administered as a separate political unit. The Northern protectorate and the Southern Protectorate each was divided into provinces by the British administration for example provinces in the North include Sokoto, Kano, Kastina, Bornu, Bauchi, Zaria, Yola, Nupe and Nasarawa.     The Southern Protectorate was made up of Eastern states and Lagos Colony who were merged in 1906 to form the Southern Protectorate their provinces are Lagos, Abeokuta, Benin, Oyo, Ondo, Warri, Calabar, Owerri, Onitsha and Ogoja. Each province was administered by a British Resident, under him were administrative officers who controlled subdivisions of the province, the district officers. In each district traditional rulers remained in charge of their areas of authority but were responsible to the district officers. By 1912 the administration in the Northern and Southern Protectorates has been well established. But there was a growing need for a better and more effective form of administrat

EDUCATION AND EXCLUSION It is clear from early Arabic sources that traders who migrated into Hausa-land followed a traditional pattern of settlement in the "strangers quarters". They were usually under the immediate authority of their leaders but still ultimately subject to the sovereign authority of their host. After 1911 the British Administration established a more rigid segregation of this areas from the local population. By 1914 Sabon Gari settlements, populated primarily by Southerners that worked for the railroad system as government clerks and employees of the European firms were well established in Kano and Zaria. In 1914 the township ordinance which regularized the Sabon Gari system officially established the areas as second class townships throughout Northern Nigeria. In the South Sabon Gari was located within the city walls, in the North they were usually outside the city thereby providing a distinct physical separation between the indigenous community and the str

                 Lord Frederick Lugard INTRODUCTION    The area in Western Africa that became the British Colony of Nigeria can roughly be divided into three major ethnic groups, Hausa in the North, Yoruba in the Southwest and Igbo in the Southeast. The Hausa-Fulani in the North were organized into very large but loose federation of Islamic states known as the Sokoto Caliphate. The political and spiritual leader of the Caliphate is known as Caliph, however due to the large size and lack of communication between the different states it was impossible for the Caliph who was in Sokoto to govern directly. Due to this the Caliph delegated authority to the Emirs who according to Islamic law are his deputies. Obedience to the Caliph by the Emirs maintained their authority and political legitimacy while revenue generated from the states in turn sustained the capitals wealth. By the end of the nineteenth century the Sokoto Caliphate was part of dar-al-islam having established

Contact between West Africans and Western Europeans dates back to the 9th century, but it went as far as the 19th century before Europeans finally started penetrating Africa, before this Europeans were mainly involved in slave trade with Africans.   The British first invasion in Northern Nigeria kicked off in the Nupe Emirates which was the base of the Royal Niger Company which belong to the British. The English owned Emirates in Southern and Eastern Nigeria but none in Northern Nigeria this led Frederick lugard to pronounce Ida Kogi state as the first British protectorate in Northern Nigeria. With that done Lugard was now concerned with how to conquer the region, the perfect opportunity came when The French invaded the shores of Nupe, the British used it's army to help drive out the French invaders with that they had the opportunity to set up military camps in Nupe, going against the agreement made with the Emir of Nupe.    The Emir realizing foul play decided to withd

  Islam was introduced to Northern Nigeria during they reign of king yaji around  (1349-1385). King yaji introduced an imam into his administration under the title of qadi, that mark the beginning of Islamic infiltration into the ruling administration of Northern Nigeria.    Islam was growing incredibly fast in the region, Muhammed Rumfa (1463-1499) built the first set of mosque. Even though Islam was growing considerably fast in Northern Nigeria the migration of scholars from Egypt, Tunis and Morocco sped up the growth of Islam, they were trusted due to the provision of trading route and safety to the locals. Kano soon became a center of Islamic scholarship, at the end of the sixteenth century Muhammed Al-Karau pronounced himself king of Kastina.   Despite the growth in trade and economy, the kingship of Northern Nigeria was gradually weakening due to constant war. By the 18th century the kingship of Northern Nigeria was already politically and economically weak. The fulani jihad led