Annual Report of the Colonies, Northern Nigeria, 1904
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
COLONIAL REPORTS-ANNUAL. No. 476. NORTHERN NIGERIA. REPORT FOR 1904. (For Report for 1903; see No. 437.) $xmttttb to bath <§>cu*t* ot ltoli«matt bp Command of Die <JRaJ***» November, 1905, LONDONt PRINTED FOR HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY DARLING & SON, LTD., 34-40, BACON STBMT, E. And to be purchased, either directly or through any Bookseller, from WYMAN^AKD SONS, Lm, FBTTBK LANB, E.O., and 32, ABINGDON STREET, WESTMINSTER, S.W. ; or OLIVER A BOYD, EDINBUKOH ; or E. PONSONBY, 116, QKATTON Snuww, DUBLIN. 1905. [Od. 8684-82.] Price W. CONTENTS. PAGE. L*"—0 BNBRAL *•• ••• ••• ••• ••• ... ... 4 II.—POUTICAL:— (A.) Taxation ... ... ••• ... 8 (B.) High Commissioner's Tour of Inspection ... ... ... 21 (0.) Outline of History and Progress of each Province ... 24 (D,) Slavery and Freed Slave Homes ... ... ... 79 (E.) Native Courts ... • ... ... 83 (F.) Population ... ... ... ... ... 83 m.—TRADE * ... ... 85 IV.—ECONOMIC ... ... ... ••• ... 97 V.—REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE AND CUSTOMS... ... ... 101 VL—COINAGE ... ... a. ••• ... ... 102 VII.—TRANSPORT ... ... 103 VIII.—-MARINE ... ... ... ... ••• ••• »* ... 106 IX,—PUBLIC WORKS ... ... ... 107 X.—CANTONMENTS , ... ... ... 111 XI —MEDICAL AND METEOROLOGICAL • ... ... 113 XII»""~STAFP ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 114 XIII.—LEGISLATION ... ... ... ... ... 115 XIV.—POLICE ... ... ... ... ... ... ««» ... 117 XV»**""PRISOXS ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 119 XVf.—NORTHERN NIGERIA REGIMENT, WEST AFRICAN FRONTIER FORCE ... ... ... ... ... «•• ... ... 121 X VII.—MlSSIOHS AND E DtJCJ ATJON ... ... ... ... ... 124 X VIIX."***" POSTAL ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 127 APPENDIX. I.—REPORT ON FOUESTRY AVD ECONOMIC RESOURCES ... ... 129 1L—ABSTRACTS OP RKVKNUE AKD EXPENDITURE • 135 III.—MEDICAL REPORT ... ... ... ... , ...138 COLONIAL BIPOBTS—ANNOAL. -3 No. 476. NORTHERN NIGERIA. (For Report for 1903, w No. 437.) SIR F. LUGARD to COLONIAL OFFICE, Abinger Common, Surrey, October 23rd, 1905. SlR, I HAVE the honour to submit herewith my Annual Report for 1904, with three appendices. I greatly regret the delay which has occurred in rendering this report, owing to the fact that I left Nigeria at the time it should have been prepared, and since my return to England circumstances have prevented my submitting it as soon as I had hoped. 2. The report is of great length, but I trust that you may consider that the data I have collected are of sufficient interest to be worth publication. Its unueual length is due to the fact that it combines three separate matters: — v (a,) The ordinary matter of the Annual Report. (b.) Precis of information, for which I have been asked at the instance of the Intelligence Division, War Office, for some time past, but have not hitherto had time to compile. (o.) Notes on my inspection of provinces covering a dis tance o| over 2,000 miles by land and over 1,600 miles by water, and dealing with the fifteen pro* vinces whose capitals I have visited during this tour. I have, &c, F. D. LtrGAm 1185 Wt 23792 11/05 D&S 6 22707 4 COLOMIAL REPORTS—AKHUAL. ANNUAL REPORT for 1904. 1. My report for 1903—during a great part of which year I was absent on leave in England—was chiefly devoted to such statistics as were available, and I proposed to defer the sub ject of taxation and the prospects of revenue until the present report. 1 propose, also, in this report to give a brief outline of the history of each province, based on the accounts compiled by the Residents in charge, together with a few notes upon the condition of each in 1904. The inclusion of this r6sum6, though I have made every effort to condense it as much as possible, has resulted in rendering this report somewhat bulky, but I trust that the matter I have included will be found of sufficient value to justify my desire to place it on record, and to afford to those who are interested a consecutive account of the various kingdoms which are included in the Protectorate, and .of the actions and policy of the administration towards them. I.—GENERAL. Organisation {Central). 2. The general organisation of the administration, both central and provincial, has made considerable progress during the past year. In respect of the former, the issue of a volume of Government Standing Orders, m which were incorporated all Government Notices of permanent utility since the forma tion of the administration, and all Rules for Departments, &c.; was of great value in saving repetition, facilitating refer ence, and enabling newly-appointed officers to inform them selves of all existing orders ^and regulations. Simultaneously with this the codification oi the laws was undertaken (com pleted in 1906). Much remains to be done in jrder to simplify and systematise the work of the Secretariat, with the object of reducing clerical work and increasing efficiency. The conduct of the Treasury has been practical and efficient. 3. Political and intelligence sections have been created in the High Commissioner's office, which, under the able control of Major Lugard, D.S.O., and of Captain Poole, D.S.O., have very greatly increased efficiency in these branches, and enabled the High Commissioner to cope with work which was becoming, too heavy to be dealt with without decentralization. I was thus enabled during this tour of residential service to visit the headquarters of Gvery province except Sokoto, and to per sonally confer with the Residents and the Native Chiefs of each on all subjects of administrative or political importance. Accompanied by the Acting Principal Medical Officer and the Director of Public Works, I was able to settle the question of the permanent site of each Government Station; opportunity KORTHBRN NIGERIA, 1904. was taken on this tour formally to install the ruling Emirs who had been appointed under Government sanction, and for the first time an Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity was adminis tered to each. 4. I have briefly described the work done on these visits in my notes on each province. It had been my intention to sub mit to you a separate report of this extremely interesting tour, with notes on the economic possibilities of each province, and my observations upon its products and special matters of poli tical interest, but in view of the length to which my present report would in any case have extended, and to the fact that the reports of the Forestry Officer who accompanied me have already been separately submitted, 1 have thought it better to confine myself to a few remarks when speaking of each pro vince, and to abandon any separate report. I may say, in brief, that I think my personal interview with each Emir, and the discussion with each Resident on the spot of the adminis trative problems of his province, was of great value in pro moting a knowledge of the policy of government, while to myself it was an incalculable advantage. Organisation (Provincial). 5. With regard to the provincial organisation, six out of the seventeen provinces into which the Protectorate is divided, viz., Sokoto and Gando, Eano and Katagum, and East and West Bornu, have now been formed into double provinces, under the charge of three "First Class Residents," selected for their special ability and long experience. I desire gradually to ex tend this system, as it becomes possible to do so, and thus to relieve the central administration of the direct supervision of 17* separate units, and to devolve upon the officers who have proved themselves most fitted for increased responsibility a larger measure of administrative control. Within each pro vince the same system of devolution—which was not possible when all were new to the work—has 'been inaugurated, and each Assistant Resident is now placed in charge of a specified district, under the Resident in charge. The admirable quali ties of the Ftilani as rulers—when once they have realised that former evil practices must cease—enable the administration to be carried on efficiently with a less number of British officers than would otherwise be possible,jind I am glad to be able to report that the progress of the Native Chiefs in methods of civilised rule is very marked and satisfactory. Visit of Kano and Sokoto Embassy. 8. An event of unusual political importance in the early part of the year was the personal visit of the Emir of Eano to Zungeru, and the Embassy of the Waziri from Sokoto. A wholly o&uafdess tension appears to have arisen at Kano. A COLONIAL REPORT8—AHNUAL. rumour circulated am&ng the troops that the Emir oi Kano was projecting an attack, while the Kano people asserted that the garrison was itself meditating a similar project. The efforts of the Resident and of the Emir did not avail to allay this mutual distrust, which had probably been fomented by in terested parties. The Emir declared his intention of visiting me in person at Zungeru to prove his loyalty. No one unac quainted with the incredible proneness to suspicion of the Fulani can realise how bold a step this was, or how striking both in its loyalty and its wisdom. Leaving the field open to his enemies in his absence/he faced a heavy march of 600 miles, though named by all his most trusted advisers that he would never come back alive. His reception with honour at Zungeru and his return in safety to Kano was a triumph which silenced at once the suspicions which had been enter tained of his loyalty, and the projects of his enemies. 7. The Embassy from Sokoto, whose Sultan less than a year previously had repelled our advances with disdain and opposed us in arms, was hardly less striking. It was a voluntary act of recognition of the British rule that the Head of the Mussal- mans should send his Waziri to salute the Governor. He had, I believe, at first the intention of coming himself, and desires to do so in a future year.