Northern Nigeria Protectorate

Northern Nigeria Protectorate
Northern Nigeria Protectorate
1900–1914
	Ensign Badge
Anthem: Monarch
• 1900–1901	Victoria
• 1901-1910	Edward VII
• 1910–1914	George V
Frederick John Dealtry Lugard
History
• Established	1 January 1900
• Disestablished	1 January 1914
Currency	Pound sterling (1900–13); British West African pound (1913–14)
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Sokoto Caliphate
	Bornu Empire
Nigeria Protectorate

Northern Nigeria (Hausa: Arewacin Najeriya) was a British protectorate which lasted from 1900 until 1914 and covered the northern part of what is now Nigeria.

The protectorate spanned 660,000 square kilometres (255,000 sq mi) and included the emirates of the

Frederick Lugard

, who suppressed slavery and tribal raiding and created a system of administration built around native authorities.

The Protectorate was ended on 1 January 1914, when its area was unified with the

Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria

.

Foundation

John Bartholomew & Co.

The

Fulani resistance and possible French incursions in the northwest area.^[1]

On 1 January 1900, the Royal Niger Company's charter was revoked and the British government took control, in a ceremony where Lugard read the proclamation.[1]^[2] The Royal Niger Company was paid £865,000 and was given the rights to half of all mining revenue in a large part of the areas for 99 years in exchange for ceding the territory to the British government. Lord Lugard was appointed the High Commissioner of the newly created Northern Nigeria Protectorate. Lokoja was the capital from 1900, but Zungeru became the headquarters for the protectorate in 1902 because it was the most northerly city accessible by river transport.^[1]

Military campaign

Military operations began in 1902 and continued for about five years of sporadic fighting. The remnants of the

Battle of Kano. Fighting continued in 1904 in Bassa. In 1906, a Mahdist rebellion broke out outside the city of Sokoto in the village of Satiru. Elements of the Royal West African Frontier Force were dispatched to suppress the rebellion; upon hearing news of what had transpired, Muhammadu Attahiru II dispatched a mixed force of 300 Sokoto cavalry and infantry led by Mallam Isa to join them. The combined force successfully suppressed the rebellion, which marked the last major instance of armed resistance to British rule in the region.^[3] After 1907 there were fewer revolts and use of military force by the British and the focus of the High Commissioner turned toward taxation and administration.^{[citation needed}

]

Administration

The British Administration began with

Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria

One defining characteristic of administration in Northern Nigeria Protectorate was the inclusion of chiefs and emirs as "native authorities" fitting into British administration.[4] Taxation proved very difficult in the protectorate for the first years of British rule. Lugard's attempts to institute poll taxes were foiled by the Emirates, the need to introduce coin controversy and attempts to tax trade were opposed by powerful merchants.^[4] This created a substantial deficit in the budget of the Protectorate and public works projects had to be paid by grants from the British Empire. As a result, the British often had significant shortages of British personnel before 1907. These pragmatic concerns resulted in incorporation of the traditional authorities within the British structure.^[4]

These same financial and administrative challenges resulted in discussions led by Lugard for the unification of the

Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria began in 1914 and had two lieutenant governors with one responsible for the area of the southern province and another responsible for the northern province. The administration in the north remained largely separate and included and deepened the use of native authorities. These divisions have been found to persist in many respects to this day.^[5]

References

^
JSTOR 1778461
.

^ "The Transfer of Nigeria to the Crown". The Times. No. 36060. London. 8 February 1900. p. 7.
^ Falola, Toyin (2009). Historical Dictionary of Nigeria. Lanham, Md: Scarecrow Press. p. 46.
^
doi:10.1017/s0021853704009466
.