How Britain Handed Nigeria Over to Fulani to Rule Forever

During the colonial rule. The North was the spoilt child of Britain because they never gave them a headache during their invasion - they have a slavish and "ba kwo mi" lifestyle - and this was the character that Britain was looking for in a post-colonial Nigeria so that they could rule by proxy forever.

Now, before Lord Luggard amalgamated Nigeria in 1914, he had earlier unified the various components of the South as Southern Nigeria and the components of the North as Northern Nigeria thereby inventing the concept of "One North". 

Fast-forward to 1946, when Sir Arthur Richard divided Nigeria into 3 regions: East, West and the North. The South was divided into East and West but the North was left intact as "One North" to give them a hedge over the divided South.

Of course, the Fulani Oligarchy were traditionally in charge of the North.

In 1951, during the Ibadan Constitutional Conference, the North led by Emir of Katsina and the Emir of Zazzau insisted that the British allocate them a 50% seat for the proposed new federal parliament or else they will pull out of Nigeria. And Britain granted it.

Following that request, Britain manipulated the 1952 Census in favour of the North to justify the scam in the new parliament, as population was a factor in the creation and allocation of federal seats.

Still in 1953, when Anthony Enahoro moved a motion for Independence in that parliament, the North led by the Sardauna went to Lagos and announced they were not ready for independence. His reason was that the North was not developing at the same pace with the East and the West (which was nobody's fault). And Britain, as usual, granted the request.

By 1955, Britain, in preparation for the independence, removed Sir John MacPherson and brought in Sir James Robertson - a British administrator who had served in Sudan for over 30 years.

Robertson was brought in to rig the federal election in favour of the North and subsequently handover to them.  He was an "expert" in that field and had achieved such a feat for Britain in Sudan. Sudan was more or less like Nigeria in its ethno-religious composition. 

By the time Robertson finished his "homework" in Sudan and left, power was handed over to northern Sudanese Arab Muslims at their Independence in January 1956. Meanwhile southern Sudan consists mostly of Christians and Traditionalists. 

That Sudanese marriage never worked as Sudan was balkanized in 2011.

By 1960, Tafawa Balewa, who was, since 1957, under British tutelage, was strategically placed to clinch the Prime Ministership at independence.

Britain also cited major military formations in the North as a buffer to prevent power rotation to the South (You gerrit?). By 1964, Kaduna alone was hosting thirteen (13) powerful military formations. While the entire West had three (3), and the East had only one (1). 

They encouraged the North to join the military (to prevent future power shift) and, because the North wasn't as educated as the East and West (having mostly NCOs), the likes of Alhaji Ribadu, who could draft northerners into military with just a letter, was made the Minister of Defense under Balewa.

No kidding! Buhari and many northerners entered the military with a letter, not a certificate.

...to be continued.