British Colonisation of Northern Nigeria, 1897-1914: A Reinterpretation of Colonial Sources

"In this densely detailed and interpretatively nuanced study, Mahmud Modibbo Tukur lays bare the very foundations of the colonial state in what is now northern Nigeria. This is a must read for anyone wanting to understand the foundations of contemporary Nigeria and how we came to be what we are."--Prof. Abdul Raufu Mustapha, U. of Oxford, UK Author Tukur's analysis of official colonial records and sources constitutes a significant contribution to the literature on colonialism in Africa, and to understanding the complexity of the Nigerian situation today. His work challenges fundamental assumptions and conclusions about European colonialism in Africa, especially British colonialism in northern Nigeria. Contrary to the "pacification" and minimal violence argued by some scholars, the study has exposed the violent and bloody nature of that occupation. Rather than the single story of "Indirect rule" or "abolishing slavery" and lifting the burden of precolonial taxation which others have argued, this book has shown that British officials were very much in evidence, imposed numerous and heavier taxes collected with great efficiency and ruthlessness, and ignored the health and welfare of the people in famines and health epidemics which ravaged parts of northern Nigeria during the period. British economic and social policies, such as blocking access to western education for the masses in most parts of northern Nigeria, did not bring about development but its antithesis of retrogression and stagnation. *** "A successful counter-thesis, the book is a definitive study for understanding colonial Nigeria. The book also contains a eulogy to its late author (d. 1988), a foreword that points to the violent and exploitative nature of British rule, and an impressive introduction that sets the book within a broad historiographical canvas, and that regards the totality of the contributions as 'pathbreaking.' Highly recommended." --Choice, Vol. 54, No. 10, June 2017 *****Chosen as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2017 by Choice Magazine!! [Subject: African Studies, History]