This was one of the most popular questions to the candidates. It demanded the candidates to explore the methods which the British used to colonize Nigeria. However, a large percentage of candidates who attempted it scored low marks because they emphasized the weaknesses of Indirect Rule and the structure of such an administration. In order to score good marks, candidates were expected to explain the following points:

(i) The British used tricky means to negotiate and sign treaties with the traditional rulers. The traditional rulers were illiterates and signed off their sovereignty to Britain without understanding the implications of their actions;

(ii) the British used some Nigerians who were enlisted in the West African Frontier Force to fight their fellow Nigerians because of their adequate knowledge of the terrain.

(iii) the British used modern weapons such as maxim guns and repeater rifles all of which were superior to the weapons used by the Nigerians;

(iv) the British used information on the weakness and strategies of nation  states in Nigeria to fight and conquer them. For instance, the British role of arbitrators in the Yoruba civil wars enabled them to acquire                      certain information which they later used to conquer Yorubaland, etc.