The interdependence of these two regions was obvious and their amalgamation had long been urged upon the Imperial Gov ernment. It was not, however, until 19II that the secretary for the colonies, Mr. L. V. Harcourt, determined to adopt the policy. Sir F. (Lord) Lugard, who had been the first high commissioner for Northern Nigeria, was asked to initiate and carry out a scheme of amalgamation, being in 1912 appointed governor at the same time of both Southern and Northern Nigeria. The preliminary work was completed in about 18 months, and on Jan. I, 1914, the governments of Southern and Northern Nigeria were formally amalgamated, Sir Frederick Lugard receiving the personal title of governor-general. The geographical divisions of north and south were maintained. Two lieutenant-governors were appointed, one for the northern and one for the southern province. An administrator was appointed to the colony, the executive council of which became the executive council of the protectorate, while the jurisdiction of the legislative council was confined to the narrow limits of the colony's 1,400 sq.m.
At the time of amalgamation Northern Nigeria was divided into 12 provinces, the native communities being for the most part each under its native ruler, the five principal native states being known as first-class emirates, while each independent chief tainship, however small, retained its treasured liberty, and this system of government was maintained. The southern provinces at that period consisted of three divisions under provincial com missioners. They were the territories east of the Niger, west of the Niger, and the hinterland of Lagos. The native races in the hinterland of Lagos and to the east of the Niger were in a much less advanced state of tribal organization than were the tribes in the north and scarcely fitted for any form of enlightened self-rule. Fetish worship, cannibalism, and barbarous practices were rife. On the west of the Niger, however, three native states, Yoruba, Egbe, and Benin, were strongly organized. They were induced to renounce the exceptional position they enjoyed, under treaties made with Great Britain, and to accept conditions similar to those of the first-class emirates of the north. The introduc tion of the new system was accompanied by some difficulty, and in 1918 an easily suppressed rising in Egbeland gave momentary uneasiness. Indirect rule has now been fully accepted in both Egbeland and Yorubaland and the report of 1924 stated that it was working admirably in Benin. The way for the extension of such indirect rule as might be found possible was prepared by the division of Southern Nigeria into nine provinces (later in creased), each under a British resident, as in the north.
Every department was depleted by volunteers for active service, and it was with difficulty that the administrative machine was held together with the remnant of overworked staff retained. For four years, the first thought of every Englishman in Nigeria was given to the war. And not of the Englishmen only. The War served at once to test and to exemplify the solid results of Brit ish rule. Throughout the War period the great native chiefs of the north were constant and unflagging in their loyalty.
The native troops of the West African Frontier Force did gallant service, both in the arduous campaign carried out under the leadership of Generals Dobell and Cunliffe in the Cameroons, and in what was to them foreign service in East Africa. The Cameroons campaign which opened in August and September 1914, with reverses all along the British line, at Mora (Aug. 25) and Garua (Aug. 29) in the north, and at Nsanakang (Sept. 6) in the south, lasted until Feb. 1916. It was a severe test for the troops engaged. The fighting was heavy, but they stood it well. Early in 1915 the campaign, in which French troops took an active part, was reorganized. British forces in the north were placed under the command of General Cunliffe, and the final taking of Garua and the storming of Banyo Hill under his leader ship on Nov. 6, 1915, in face of a hail of dynamite bombs, was a feat of which any regiment might be proud. The conquered territory was divided between France and Great Britain, to be administered under mandate according to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. The portion taken by Great Britain was 31,000 sq.m., with an estimated population of 600,000 (see CAM EROONS).
the War by arresting material development also delayed the application of schemes for the moral welfare of the native population, some progress was made. The judicial and legal systems of the two protectorates were, on amalgamation, combined. One chief justice for the whole of Nigeria and four puisne judges were appointed, and each lieutenant-governor was provided with a legal adviser. The reorganization of the two systems and the revision of the laws of the two protectorates, was a long and heavy job. The first reforms were initiated in 1914. Notwithstanding the difficulties of the moment, an edu cation ordinance was promulgated in 1916 having for its object the reform and co-ordination of the systems of the north and south. It set a definite standard, of which the principal aim was to substitute self-discipline and the formation of character for set examinations in literary subjects, and generally to fit local education to local needs. A forestry ordinance of the same year (1916) dealt with the rapid destruction of the forests, which con stitute the principal wealth of the southern provinces.