Colonial Divide-and-Rule: How British Policies Shaped Nigeria’s Ethno-Religious Rift

Historical accounts show that Lord Lugard’s ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy laid the groundwork for deep distrust between Northern and Southern Nigeria. He administered the North through Muslim district heads while sending Christian missionaries mainly to the South. This imbalance empowered a Fulani elite and displaced historic Hausa kingdoms. Over decades, Northern administrations focused on building mosques and encouraged large families amid widespread poverty. Critics link this neglect to the rise of extremist groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, Maitatsine and armed herdsmen from neighboring Sahelian states. The author warns that renewed domination by the Fulani political class could spell ruin for the Middle Belt and Southern regions. Any attempt to revive this system, they say, risks a brutal second upheaval.

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