Chapter 11 chronicles the efforts of Nigeria’s colonial government to construct and consolidate an effective administrative and legal system, detailing the numerous challenges faced in this endeavor. This “system” of law of order was not singular, varying from region to region, nor was it static. Over the colonial period, its legal, judicial, and law enforcement systems would evolve to better suit the wants and needs of the British Empire. Once an aspect of this system is explained, the chapter explores their broader impact on the pre-existing Indigenous institutions and people.

This chapter explores how Britain’s indirect rule policy was adapted to suit the preference of the colonial administrators and the specific circumstances of different Nigerian societies. It argues that the reasons that account for this adaptation were because Indigenous Nigerians had solid precolonial administrative and governance systems. When the British attempted to implement radical changes, they encountered massive resistance from the local people, resulting in an attempt to solve what the British described as the “Native Question.” It further discusses how Lord Lugard proposed an indirect rule system developed from the principle of the Dual Mandate as a response to the Native Question. However, it recognizes that the indirect rule system was not unique to the British, but was also implemented elsewhere by the Portuguese in Mozambique, the French in Tunisia and Algeria, and the Belgians in Rwanda and Burundi. By implementing the indirect rule system, Britain sought to forge cooperation between the native administration and colonial government. It further traces the history of native administration which back dates to 9000 BC and demonstrates the complexities of the precolonial states (such as the Oyo Empire and Sokoto Caliphate), and their centralized and decentralized administrative systems.