Colonial Era in Nigeria

Colonial Era

• The colonial contact started with peaceful trade, followed by the transatlantic slave trade from 1500-1900, during which over 11 million Africans, mostly Nigerians, were forcibly transported to Europe.
• The transatlantic slave trade was a major contributor to the development of the Industrial Revolution.

British Colonization

• By 1861, Lagos had become a colony under the control of Lt. John Glover, who formed the Hausa Constabulary, the origin of the Nigerian Military.
• Sir George Taubman Goldie became the leader of the Royal Niger Company in 1862, just as the slave trade was ending.
• Between 1884/1885, the German Otto Van Bismark organized the partitioning of Africa, and Britain undertook the systematic military conquest of Nigeria using the Gun/Boat Diplomacy.
• By 1900, Nigeria had become a British Protectorate.

Amalgamation and Administration

• Lord Federick Lugard arrived in Nigeria from Hong Kong in 1912 to become its 1st Governor General after the 1914 amalgamation into one colony.
• Miss Flora Shaw, a British journalist and wife of Lord Lugard, gave the name Nigeria to the country.
• The country was previously known as the Niger Area, Land of Mighty Rivers, or Land of Great Waters.
• Lagos Colony was amalgamated with Southern Protectorate in 1906, and the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated in 1914.
• Administratively, Nigeria remained divided, with Western education and development of a modern economy proceeding more rapidly in the South than in the North.

Development of Nigerian Politics

• The Hugh Clifford constitution of 1922 introduced the elective principle, leading to the 1st political party, the Nigerian National Democratic Party (NNDP) of 1923, under the leadership of Herbert Macaulay.
• The policy of divide and rule continued with Bernard Bourdillon's constitution of 1939.
• The Richards constitution of 1946 introduced regionalism and the Federal Legislative Council of 1947, where leaders of the North and South met for the 1st time, leading to severe distrust and suspicion.

Constitutions and Government

• The Macpherson constitution of 1951 operated the unitary system of government.
• The Lyttleton constitution of 1954 transformed Nigeria from a unitary to a federal system, with power shared between the federal and regional governments.
• There was disagreement between the North and South over self-government in 1956, due to the motion introduced by Chief Anthony Enahoro in 1953.

Political Parties and Independence

• Herbert Macaulay and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC) in 1944.
• Chief Obafemi Awolowo founded the Action Group (AG) in 1951.
• The Northern Peoples Congress (NPC) was formed in 1952 with Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto) as its leader.
• Nigeria gained independence in 1960 from Great Britain and adopted the Westminster (parliamentary) system of government.
• Nigeria became a republic in 1963, and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became its first president (ceremonial head of state).