Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T17:17:57.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Irony of Indirect Rule in Sokoto Emirate, Nigeria, 1903-1944

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

Peter K. Tibenderana
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The Sultan of Sokoto, locally known as the chief of Muslims (Sarkin Musulmi), was the most influential traditional ruler in Nigeria during the colonial era. His influence came from his predecessor, the caliph, who was the political head of the Sokoto Caliphate which was comprised of about twenty emirates. Under the colonial administration, however, the sultan and the other emirs of northern Nigeria were powerless.

Many scholars have imputed northern Nigeria's socioeconomic backwardness, when compared to southern Nigeria, to the emirs' “sluggishness, conservatism and egocentricity” (Heussler, 1968: 187-89; Fika, 1978: 273; Ozigi and Ocho, 1981: 40-41; Hubbard, 1973: 192). It is generally assumed that under the indirect rule system which the British allegedly practiced in Nigeria during the colonial period, the emirs had powers to initiate development projects to improve socioeconomic development. It is currently argued that they failed to do this so as not to jeopardize their positions (Heussler, 1968: 119; Ozigi and Ocho, 1981: 41). Such assertions are based on a misconception of the emirs' powers under colonial rule, a misconception that is largely due to a misinterpretation and misunderstanding of the system of indirect rule.

The purpose of this essay is to assess the sultan's performance as an administrator of the Sokoto emirate in his dual role of responsibility toward the colonial regime and duty toward his people during the first forty years of colonial rule. Students of the colonial history of northern Nigeria have ignored this subject, but it is essential for understanding the nature and effects of colonialism in Nigeria.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , April 1988 , pp. 67 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Abdullahi, M. 1982. “The State and the Economy: the Sarauta System and its Role in Shaping the Society and Economy of Kano with Particular Reference to the 18th and 19th Centuries.” Ph.D. thesis, Ahmadu Bello University.Google Scholar
Adeleye, R.A. 1971. Power and Diplomacy in Northern Nigeria, 1804-1906: The Sokoto Caliphate and its Enemies. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Al-Hajj, M.A. 1973. “Mahdist Tradition in Northern Nigeria.” Ph.D. thesis, Ahmadu Bello University.Google Scholar
Ali, A.Y. 1975. The Holy Qur'an Text, Translation and Commentary. The Muslim Students' Association of United States and Canada.Google Scholar
Ajayi, J.F.A., and Ikara, B. (eds). 1985. Evolution of Political Culture in Nigeria. Ibadan: University Press Limited.Google Scholar
Anderson, J.N.D. 1970. Islamic Law in Africa. London: Frank Cass and Co., Ltd. Google Scholar
Atanda, J.A. 1973. The New Oyo Empire: Indirect Rule and Change in Western Nigeria, 1894-1934. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Awolowo, O. 1960. Path to Nigerian Freedom. London: Faber and Faber.Google Scholar
Ayandele, E.A. 1966a. “The Missionary Factor in Northern Nigeria, 1870-1918.“ Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 3/3: 351–71.Google Scholar
Ayandele, E.A. 1966b. The Missionary Impact on Modern Nigeria, 1842-1914: A Political and Social Analysis. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Balogun, S.A. 1972. “Gwandu Emirates in the Nineteenth-Century with Special Reference to Political Relations, 1817-1903.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan.Google Scholar
Coulson, N.J. 1964. Islamic Survey: A History of Islamic Law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Crampton, E.P.T. 1975. Christianity in Northern Nigeria. Zaria: Gaskia Corporation, Ltd.Google Scholar
Crowder, M. 1970. West Africa Under Colonial Rule. London: Hutchinson of London.Google Scholar
Crowder, M. and Ikime, O. (eds.). 1970. West African Chiefs: Their Changing Status under Colonial Rule and Independence. Ile-Ife: University of Ife Press.Google Scholar
Dudley, B.J. 1968. Parties and Politics in Northern Nigeria. London: Frank Cass and Company, Ltd.Google Scholar
Fika, A.M. 1978. The Kano Civil War and British Overrule, 1882-1940. Ibadan: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Gann, L.H. and Duignan, P. (eds.). 1970. Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960: The History and Politics of Colonialism, 1914-1960. Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Heussler, R. 1968. The British in Northern Nigeria. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hubbard, J.P. 1973. “Education under Colonial Rule: A History of Katsina College, 1921-1942.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Igbafe, P.A. 1979. Benin under British Administration: The Impact of Colonial Rule on an African Kingdom, 1897-1938. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. 1968. “Reconsidering Indirect Rule: The Nigerian Example.“ Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 4/3: 421–38.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. 1975. “The British and Native Administration Finance in Northern Nigeria, 1900-1934.“ Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 7/4: 673–92.Google Scholar
Ikime, O. (ed.). 1980. Groundwork of Nigerian History. Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books, Ltd.Google Scholar
Johnston, H.A.S. 1967. The Fulani Empire of Sokoto. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Khadduri, M., and Liebesny, H.J (eds). 1965. Law in the Middle East. Vol. 1. Washington: Middle East Institute.Google Scholar
Kirk-Greene, A.H.M. 1965. The Principles of Native Administration in Nigeria: Selected Documents 1900-1947. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Last, D.M. 1967. The Sokoto Caliphate. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Levy, R. 1957. The Social Structure of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Low, D.A., and Pratt, R.C. 1960. Buganda and British Overrule, 1900-1955. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lugard, F.D. 1906. Political Memoranda Instructions to Political Officers on Subjects Chiefly Political and Administrative. London: Darling and Son, Ltd.Google Scholar
Lugard, F.D. 1970. Political Memoranda Revision of Instructions to Political Officers on Subjects Chiefly Political and Administrative. 2d ed. London: Frank Cass and Company, Ltd.Google Scholar
Mair, L.P. 1936. Native Policies in Africa. London: G. Routledge.Google Scholar
Mahmassani, S. 1983. Falsafat al-Tashri fi'l-lslam: The Philosophy of Jurisprudence in Islam. tr. by Ziadeh, F.J. Leiden: Brill.Google Scholar
Muhammed, S.A. 1983. “A Social Interpretation of the Satiru Revolt of 1894-1906 in Sokoto Province.” M.A. thesis, Ahmadu Bello University.Google Scholar
Nigeria. 1923. The Laws of Nigeria. ed. Kingdom, D. Lagos: Government Printers.Google Scholar
Northern Nigeria. 1910. Laws of the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria, ed. Speed, E.A. London: Stevens and Sons, Ltd.Google Scholar
Northern Nigeria. 1930. Financial Memoranda for Guidance in Native Treasuries. Kaduna: Government Printers.Google Scholar
Ozigi, A. and Ocho, L. 1981. Education in Northern Nigeria. London: George Allen and Unwin.Google Scholar
Perham, M. 1962. Native Administration in Nigeria. 2d ed. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Robson, J. 1975. Mishkat Al-Massabih: English Translation with Explanatory Notes. Vol. 1, Lohere: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf.Google Scholar
Ruxton, F.H. 1916. Maliki Law. London: Darling and Son, Ltd.Google Scholar
Smith, M.G. 1960. Government in Zazzau: A Study of Government in the Hausa Chiefdom of Zaria in Northern Nigeria from 1800 to 1950. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, M.G. 1978. The Affairs of Daura: History and Change in a Hausa State 1800-1958. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Temple, C.L. 1968. Native Races and Their Rulers. 2d ed. London: Frank Cass and Company, Ltd.Google Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1974. “The Administration of Sokoto, Gwandu and Argungu Emirates under British Rule, 1900-1946.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan.Google Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1977. “The Making and Unmaking of the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Tambari, 1922-1931.“ Journal of the Historical Soceity of Nigeria 9/1: 91–134.Google Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1983. “The Emirs and the Spread of Western Education in Northern Nigeria, 1910-1946.“ Journal of African History 24/3: 517:34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1985. “The Beginnings of Girls' Education in the Native Administration Schools in Northern Nigeria, 1930-1945.“ Journal of African History 26/1: 93–109.Google Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1986. “The Scare of Nationalism and the Restrictions on Missionary Enterprise in the Muslim Emirates of Northern Nigeria, 1900-1930.” Unpublished Seminar Paper: Department of History, Ahmadu Bello University.Google Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. 1987. “The Role of the British Administration in the Appointment of the Emirs of Northern Nigeria: The Case of Sokoto Province, 1903-1931.“ Journal of African History 28/9: 231–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tibenderana, P.K. Forthcoming. Sokoto Province under British Rule, 1903-1939. Zaria: Ahmadu Bello University Press.Google Scholar
Tukur, M.A. 1979. “The Imposition of British Colonial Domination on the Sokoto Caliphate, Borno and Neighboring States, 1897-1914.” Ph.D. thesis, Ahmadu Bello University.Google Scholar
Ubah, C.N. 1973. “Administration of Kano Emirate under the British, 1900-1930.” Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan.Google Scholar
Ubah, C.N. 1976. “Problems of Christian Missionaries in the Muslim Emirates of Nigeria, 1900-1928.“ Journal of African Studies 3/3: 351–71.Google Scholar
Whitaker, C.S. Jr. 1970. The Politics of Tradition, Continuity and Change in Northern Nigeria, 1946-1966. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Nigerian National Archives, Ibadan (NNAI): CSO/26/File Numbers: 2/13139; 25593/7/1930/30; 36721/S.32.Google Scholar
Nigerian National Archives, Kaduna (NNAK): Sokprof: File Numbers 3/37; 3/27/S.2916/491; 3/1/C.14; 2/9; 3/1/C.126; 2/2/5/1904; 3/2/4757/62; 3/1/C.23/102/64. SNP: File Numbers: 6/3/C.144/1907/1; 9/12; 10/9/126P/1921; 10/4/550P/1916; 17/4/32 076.Google Scholar
Oral Interviews, Weymouth: 1971; Bexhill-on-Sea: 1971: Amberly Court Stroud: 1971; Kalgo: 1972; Birnin Kebbi: 1972; Sokoto: 1972, 1975, 1978. Most of my informants were in their 60s and 70s and so could vividly recount colonial experiences. They included former British administrators who participated in the execution of the British administration's policies.Google Scholar
Public Record Office, London: C0583/series: 46, 118, 234.Google Scholar
Rhodes House Libary, Oxford: MSS. Brit. Emp. S.77.Google Scholar