Posted by Chester Morton / Saturday 15 October 2016 / No comments
Why Indirect rule was adopted by the British
Problem of finance
The British West African territory
was a vast area and therefore to employ British personnel from the Metropolis
to effectively administer it needed a lot of money to execute. The personnel
had to travel from Britain and be accommodated in the colonies. It was thought
that the funds needed to do this were too huge to find. That was why they use
of local people to accomplish the job.
Lack of personnel
Even if the funds were there to pay
the personnel, the personnel themselves were not availing themselves to be
employed. The average British saw the colonies as a harsh environment where
they could die of malaria or other diseases so they were unwilling to come and
work there. This created the shortage of critical personnel in the colonies.
The British were therefore forced to use local people, leading to the adoption
of Indirect Rule.
Language barrier
The British could not speak the local
language of the people and majority of the people could not speak English.
There was therefore a communications problem. It was thought that getting a few
people local people who could speak both English and the local language could
solve the problem. The answer was the introduction of Indirect Rule.
Poor road network
The road network was not well
developed at the time therefore the colonialists could not easily travel from
place to place to proper supervision. Communication systems like telephones
were also not very common back then so the only way out was to let the natives
themselves do the work. This was another reason for the introduction of
indirect Rule.
A successful administrative system
was already in place
In Northern Nigeria, where the system
was first introduced, there already existed a centralized system of administration,
coupled with an efficient system of tax collection. So the British just adopted
what was already there and used it to achieve their purpose.
Success of the system elsewhere
By the time Lord Luggard was
introducing the system of indirect rule in Northern Nigeria, the system had
already been successfully practiced in India and Uganda. The experiences
gathered in India and Uganda convinced Lord Luggard that Indirect Rule could
thrive in West Africa.
SAMPLE
QUESTIONS
1. Highlight six reasons why indirect
rule was adopted in West Africa? [12 marks]
2. a. What is Indirect Rule? [2
marks]
b. Account for five reasons why Indirect Rule was introduced in West
Africa? [10 marks]
