COERCING OLD GUARD EMIRS IN NORTHERN NIGERIA: THE ABDICATION OF YAKUBU III OF BAUCHI, 1954

The British colonial administration in Nigeria carried out a massive reform of the local emirate system in the 1950s following Abubakar Tafawa Balewa's criticism of the local government's corruption and autocracy. The manner in which Yakuba III, Emir of Bauchi, was forced to abdicate in Sep 1954, demonstrates the motivation and method of the colonial administration. Local councils, which were normally ineffectual, were strengthened for the sole purpose of challenging the Emir. By doing this, the episode was shown as a local initiative rather than colonial intervention in local affairs. This period marks a major shift in the British colonial approach to governing.