Impact of British Colonial Agricultural Policies on Jama'are Emirate, 1900
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
IMPACT OF BRITISH COLONIAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES ON JAMA’ARE EMIRATE, 1900-1960 BY AMINA BELLO ZAILANI M.A/ARTS/03910/2008-2009 BEING A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL, AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF ARTS (M.A.) DEGREE IN HISTORY, FACULTY OF ARTS MARCH, 2015 DECLARATION I, Amina Bello Zailani, hereby declare that this study is the product of my own research work and that it has never been submitted in any previous application for the award of higher degrees. All sources of information in this study have been duly and specifically acknowledged by means of reference. ____________________ ______________ Amina Bello Zailani Date ii CERTIFICATION This M.A Thesis titled ―IMPACT OF BRITISH COLONIAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES ON JAMA’ARE EMIRATE, 1900-1960‖ by Amina Bello Zailani, has been certified to have met part of the requirements governing the award of Masters of Arts (M.A) in Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and hereby approved. _________________________ _________________ Prof. Abdulkadir Adamu Date Chairman, Supervisory Committee _________________________ _______________ Dr. Hannatu Alahira, Date Member, Supervisory Committee ________________________ ________________ Prof. Sule Mohammed Date Head of Department ________________________ ________________ Prof. A.Z. Hassan Date Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies iii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Glory of the Almighty Allah. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study would not have been possible without the Rahama i.e. mercy of Almighty Allah through the opportunity He afforded me to achieve this monumental feat. Scholarship or acquisition of knowledge is such a wonderful and complex phenomenon that one person cannot share in its glory. Even the authorities on whom one bases his study there is no enough space to thank them. Nor is there enough space to thank those of your lecturers on whom one draws inspiration and acquire his training. Nor is there enough space to thank those of my family and friends who wished me well during the course of my research. The list is endless and can go on and on. I will like, to express my gratitude to them Professor Abdulkadir Adamu and Dr. Hannatu Alahira whose diligent efforts, patience, guidance and understanding has enabled me to write this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible if not for the help I got from many people whose name I cannot put down all here due to lack of space. It is not possible to mention by name all those that contributed to the realization of this project and my dream but I will like them to know that they are deeply appreciated; every one of them. I will like to say a very big thank you to my lovely husband (Alhaji Wali), my family, my parents, my siblings and my class mates especially Haruna Suleimuri for the encouragement and for believing in me. v ABSTRACT The British colonial policies on agriculture in Jama‘are Emirate were all designed to benefit the colonialist in their bid to obtain raw materials for their factories back home. Because of this the focus of the colonialist had always been the production of cash crops with the neglect of food crop. This was to tell on the diet of the people as well as on the land. Colonialism has to do with the exploitation of not only the people but also the land and what was produced on it as the most important factor of production. This fact becomes clear through a look at the policies as well as the general activities of the colonialists in this area. Throughout the colonial period evidence abound as to the importance of the agricultural produce of this area. It is therefore the aim of this study to bring this issue out by focusing on the introduction and implementation of the colonial agricultural policies. Agriculture has always been and still is the major employer of labor in Nigeria despite the fact that it is being run by the peasants under peasant conditions. The coming of the British and the importance which they placed on this sector did nothing to change this fact and was even perpetuated by them. It is in a bid to investigate this development and explain why it is so that prompted this study. This arrangement served a specific capitalist interest of the relationship between the centre and the periphery. Colonial agricultural policies were designed to take care of the factories back at the metropole. The British in their bid to colonize Nigeria never took cognizance of the local needs of the people in terms of their economic, social, political, cultural and religious needs. What has proven to be of significance to the development of all human societies is, the internal factors harnessed as a result of the ingenuity and the needs of the people. Independence is an important ingredient in this endeavour. The advent of colonialism sought to control the resources of the people. They began to dictate to the people on all aspects particularly as they claimed that they had come to civilize the people in the so-called ―civilizing mission‖. Under Frederick Lugard, the first British High Commissioner of Northern Nigeria, the British venerated the socioeconomic and administrative model of the pre-colonial Islamic Sokoto Caliphate, especially its elaborate system of taxation and economic regulation and sought to preserve and extend it to other parts of Northern Nigeria. In addition, the British sought to organize, codify, document, and, where necessary, modify the fluid and malleable systems of land tenure, agricultural production, and revenue that existed in the protectorate. The establishment of British colonial administration brought the introduction of cash crops economy to Nigeria- as elsewhere in Africa. In line with the British colonial policy of providing raw materials for the industries of the metropolitan power, Nigeria witnessed the neglect of the indigenous economic system which made each family self-sufficient in food and other socio-economic needs. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Title page - - - - - - - - - i Declaration - - - - - - - - - ii Certification - - - - - - - - - - iii Dedication - - - - - - - - - - iv Acknowledgments - - - - - - - - - v Abstract - - - - - - - - - - vi Table of Contents - - - - - - - - - vii CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - - - 1 1.2 Statement of Research Problem- - - - - - 7 1.3 Statement of Aim and Objectives - - - - - 8 1.4 Justification and Significance of the Study - - - - 8 1.5 Literature Review - - - - - - - 10 1.6 Theoretical Framework- - - - - - - 19 1.6.1 Development - - - - - - - - 19 1.6.2 Underdevelopment - - - - - - - 22 1.7 Scope of the Study- - - - - - - - 30 1.8 Definition of Concepts - - - - - - - 32 1.8.1 Agriculture - - - - - - - - 32 1.8.2 Colonialism - - - - - - - - - 33 vii 1.8.3 Policy- - - - - - - - - - 35 1.8.4 Agricultural Policy - - - - - - - 37 1.8.5 Colonial Policy - - - - - - - 38 1.9 Methodology - - - - - - - - - 39 1.9.1 Primary Sources- - - - - - - - 39 1.9.2 Secondary Sources- - - - - - - - 40 1.10 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 40 CHAPTER TWO THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE OF JAMA’ARE EMIRATE 2.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 41 2.2 Location of Jama‘are Emirate - - - - - - 41 2.3 The Land and the People: Historical Background of Jama‘are Emirate - 44 2.4 Geographical Features of Jama‘are Emirate - - - - - 46 2.4.1 The Climate - - - - - - - - - 48 2.4.2 The Vegetation - - - - - - - 51 2.5 Settlement Pattern of Jama‘are Emirate - - - - - 51 2.6 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 52 CHAPTER THREE PRE-COLONIAL AGRICULTURE IN JAMA’ARE EMIRATE 3.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 53 3.2 Land Tenure - - - - - - - - - 55 viii 3.3 Agricultural Production - - - - - - - 59 3.4 Pastoralism - - - - - - - - - 64 3.6 Taxation - - - - - - - - - 69 3.7 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 71 CHAPTER FOUR BRITISH COLONIAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES FROM 1900-1938 4.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 73 4.2 British Colonial Conquest of Jama‘are Emirate - - - - 74 4.3 Administrative Re-Organization - - - - - - 80 4.4 Historical Trend of Colonial Agricultural Development Interventions in Nigeria - - - - - - - - 86 4.5 British Colonial Policy on Land - - - - - - 89 4.6 The Evolution of British Colonial Agricultural Policies in Northern Nigeria - - - - - - - - 95 4.7 Colonial Labor Policy and Agricultural Development - - - 99 4.8 Colonial Transport Policy and Agricultural Development - - - 105 4.9 Colonial Tax Policy and Agricultural Development - - - 109 4.9.1 Tax of Nomajidde - - - - - - - - 120 4.10 Foreign Companies and Agricultural Production - - - - 121 4.11 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 125 ix CHAPTER FIVE BRITISH COLONIAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES 1939-1960 5.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 126 5.2 British Colonial Policy on Irrigation in Jama‘are Emirate - - 127 5.3 Introduction of the Colonial Mixed-Farming Scheme in Jama‘are Emirate- - - - - - - - - 136 5.4 Colonial Policy on Marketing of Agricultural Produce in Jama‘are Emirate - - - - - - - - 137 5.5 Expansion of Export Cash Crop Production in Jama‘are District - 138 5.6 Cash Crop Production and Sales in Jama‘are: The Example of Groundnut - - - - - - - - 140 5.7 Conclusion - - - - - - - - - 156 CHAPTER SIX THE IMPACT OF BRITISH COLONIAL AGRICULTURAL POLICIES ON JAMA’ARE 6.1 Introduction - - - - - - - - - 157 6.2 Impact of the Colonial Agricultural Policies on Land Use in Jama‘are Emirate - - - - - - - - - 158 6.3 Impact of the Policies on Farmers - - - - - - 162 6.4 Impact of Colonial Agricultural Policies on Food Production in Jama‘are