In this tutorial, we are going to describe the role of traditional rulers under the system of indirect rule in British West Africa.
So how did traditional rulers or chiefs in British West Africa get involved in the colonial administration in places like The Gambia, Ghana or Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone? To understand the role of traditional rulers during the colonial period, we need to define first the policy of indirect rule.
Definition of Indirect Rule
Indirect Rule refers to the system of British colonial administration (particularly after 1900) in which the British used traditional rulers and their political institutions as intermediaries in the administration of their colonial territories.
The indirect rule policy was first introduced into Northern Nigeria by Lord Frederick Lugard.
The British, unlike the French, rejected the idea of imposing European culture on Africans. In the words of Governor Gordon Guggisberg, “We must aim at the development of the people along their racial lines and not at the wholesale replacement of their civilization with our own”. The British, therefore, maintained African political institutions and ruled indirectly through the local chiefs.
Functions or Role of Traditional Rulers
Below are the major roles that traditional rulers in British West Africa performed during the period of colonial rule, specifically indirect rule.
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- Chiefs were legally and officially recognized and made part of colonial administration by the British
- Warrant chiefs were imposed where there were no chieftaincy institutions e.g. parts of Igbo land in Nigeria.
- They passed bye-laws; collected taxes maintained law and order and implemented colonial programmes
2. They performed judicial functions
- Traditional rulers remained heads of native courts, tried cases and imposed penalties
- The chiefs used customary law, Islamic law or English common law
3. Custodians of revenue at the local level
- Traditional rulers in many parts of British West Africa were heads of native treasuries
- They sourced revenue from taxes, tolls, fees, fines
- Also, they received salaries from the funds in the treasuries.
4. Participants in national political institutions.
- As members of the Provincial Councils of Chiefs in Ghana, for example, paramount chiefs offered advice to the British colonial government on chieftaincy and customary issues. (i.e. Gold Coast)
- They were given representation in the legislative council. E.g. Nana Sir Ofori Atta I of Akyem Abuakwa
5. They served as a link between the local people and the colonial government.
Traditional rulers in British West Africa played the role of intermediaries between their subjects and the colonial authorities. They carried their people’s grievances to the colonial administration. And, at the same time, they relayed colonial government policies to the people at the local level.
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Conclusion
In some ways, indirect rule bolstered the status and authority of chiefs. This enabled them to help in ensuring the success of the system. However, the active participation of West African traditional rulers in the colonial government had certain negative effects on the chieftaincy institution. Some of these effects persist even today. Following are two of such effects that resulted from the role played by traditional rulers under the indirect rule in British West Africa.
- The institution suffered from thwarted growth and has remained a tool of successive political arrangements.
- Its image became dented as the people, especially the educated elite, considered chiefs as nothing but yes-men or stooges of their white colonial masters.
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Ralph Nyadzi is the Director of Studies at Cegast Academy. He is a qualified English tutor with decades of experience behind him. Since 2001, he has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature and related subjects. He combines his expertise with a passion for lifelong learning to guide learners from varying backgrounds to achieve their educational goals. Ralph shares lessons from his blogging journey on BloggingtotheMax. He lives with River, his pet cat, in the Central Region of Ghana.
sir please i have found your write ups more useful to my history studies please i need a note on missionaries activities in the gold coast including their contribution, slave trade and western sudanese state.
Hi Emmanuel, I’m glad you like them. Can you please complete your request? I mean what other notes do you need? It will be my pleasure to give you a helping hand.