Question 7
- Name any three British colonies in West Africa in the 20th century.
- Highlight any four factors that encouraged Nigerian rulers to embrace the policy of Indirect Rule.
Observation
This was widely attempted by candidates and good marks were recorded therein. However, their performance in part (a) of the question was rather disappointing as some candidates could not differentiate between the British, French and America colonies in West Africa. Hence, they mixed the British with French and American colonies. A little disappointment was also recorded in part (b) of the question despite good performances of some candidates. A few of the candidates explained why the British introduced the Indirect Rule Policy rather than discussing the reasons for its adoption by some Nigerian rulers. Candidates were expected to mention Nigeria, Ghana, The Gambia and Sierra Leone in part (a) and explain the following points in part (b) :
- It was not new to some of them when it was introduced by the colonial government;
- the policy did not interfere with the customs and traditions of ethnic groups that embraced it;
- the rulers were allowed to participate in the government of their own areas;