Azaghvana E-Book 2003 - Flipbook - Page 132
example the concept of the 'clan councils' (gidegal) which he uncritically accepts from the
colonial history records, his analysis of the Plebiscites is in my opinion very informative and
sound. The source we will use, for comparative reasons, is Jacques Lestringant (1964).
Lestringant describes the same process on the Cameroonian side of the international
Trusteeship divide. There is also an eyewitness account from Malcom Cooper, who
volunteered as plebiscite supervisor for the Commonwealth and Colonial Office. We
introduce his Memoir at the end of this section.
Interestingly, Hamman describes the feelings of disappointment among the Nigerian political
elite after the first Plebiscite in 1959, when a majority voted to come under British rule. He
writes that missionaries were blamed. It was allegedly thought that pupils in schools had been
told to instruct their parents not to vote for Nigeria, since they feared the loss of British
protection. In April 1961 the Northern Cameroons became a Trusteeship province of Northern
Nigeria, and was as such now under direct United Kingdom administration, headed by Sir
Percy Wyn Harris. Hamman writes that it was the first time the area had constituted a separate
political unit, and was governed as a 'Nation' with its own administrative machinery separate
from Nigeria. This also meant that the system of Indirect Rule ended, since it was now under
direct United Kingdom administration. One of the consequences was that non-inhabitant
native authority officials were purged from office for malpractice, in particular district heads,
alkalis (judges), and court clerks, but also, so Hamman tells us:
...local tyrants, such as the tax collectors and those [who] grossly abused their officers were
dismissed. In effect, this introduced a new political system in the area, for local people [to] replace
the men removed.
Hamman, who is himself from the area of Gwoza, then tells us further that a commission of
inquiry was set up by the British because it was believed:
…generally, that there had been discrimination by the Yola and Dikwa native administration in
their non-Fulani and non-Kanuri 'Pagan district' which had led to the loss of plebiscite. In the
course of the commission’s findings it was revealed that there had been gross intimidations,
arbitrary arrests, and continuous overtaxes of the pagans in these two emirates, and as a result of
these conditions [of], the relationship between the local people and ruling emirates was that of
servant and master, which created fear in the mind of people.
Unfortunately Hamman does not exemplify this, but in the light of the resettlement scheme of
the Gwoza hills, and the events coming to light in the context of our earlier description, we do
wonder whether this could have been a possible recent historical example. However we also
ask ourselves whether the replacement of non-inhabitant native authority officials would
really have made any difference, as perhaps it would have turned out to be just another
failure, due to being no longer constrained by indirect rule. The commission suggested that
Gwoza and Mubi should form a new native authority, independent from Yola or Dikwa, and it
became part of Sardauna Province with its headquarters in Mubi. Hamman claims that this
was welcomed by the national political elite because 'the reforms were generally regarded as
constituting a newly won freedom with some degree of local autonomy for the people'.
The second Plebiscite turned out to be successful, and in June 1961 the Northern Cameroons
became officially part of Northern Nigeria. The Nigeria government had campaigned for this
by the mass distribution of cloth and salt, particularly to the villagers. The newly independent
Cameroon had campaigned for the hill areas to join Cameroon because of its many cultural
similarities with the lion’s share of the mountain area on their side, arguing that the divide had
been an unfortunate result of World War One, which could now be corrected (Lestringant
1964:266). The Nigerian political elite had been guaranteed independence from Yola, and
wanted health and social amenities, particularly roads, and also schools improved, which had
previously been neglected, but Hamman (ibid 112) critically concludes that this last demand
was yet to be realised.
The second Plebiscite allowed men and women to vote, which had not been the case in the
first Plebiscite. However, the education of men and women was of a very low standard, and
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