Colonial Governance in Nigeria

Abstract

The chapter reviewed the system of government introduced by the colonial masters into Nigeria and the legacy they left, which was, unfortunately, the basis of the postcolonial government structures. It compared these to the achievement of the system from the precolonial. A major discovery is that the British government did not consider the diverse culture, history, and background of the various ethnic groups they met before implementing a form of governance to replace the pro-colonial government structure (Siollun, 2021). The error was in amalgamating diverse ethnic groups with different government structures, cultures, and beliefs into a single nation without preparing the ethnic groups for the shock that such a move entailed. Countries such as Singapore and the United States of America have brought together people with diverse cultures, beliefs, and modes of governance. Still, the structure after the emergence of the nation was such that all the ethnic groups were considered while designing such a structure. The chapter concluded that while the British government met people with a nationalistic ideology based on common goals, they left a nation where nationalism was based on ethnicity, regionalism, and political belief, making the country divided and unable to maintain the precolonial benefits of governance. Unfortunately, the division has been taken to a dangerous level in the postcolonial era.

Citation

Amah, O.E. (2023), "Colonial Governance in Nigeria", Amah, O.E. (Ed.) Resolving the African Leadership Challenge, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-97. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-677-320231021