LIST OF REASONS

Indirect rule, as implemented by the British colonial administration in West Africa, was conceived as a strategy to govern vast and diverse territories by leveraging existing traditional power structures. Conceived by Lord Frederick Lugard, the system was first tried and tested in the northern regions of Nigeria, where established hierarchies and centralized forms of governance provided a ready-made framework for colonial oversight. However, when the same model was imposed on southern Nigeria—a region characterized by distinct cultural traditions and decentralized political structures—it encountered profound resistance and ultimately failed. The narrative of indirect rule in southern Nigeria is a complex tapestry of misaligned administrative policies, cultural insensitivity, and the unintended consequences of colonial interference, which together rendered the system unworkable in a society that prized communal decision-making and indigenous forms of leadership. The reasons why indirect...