Theory question 111
NationalismSection B: Political and Constitutional Development in West Africa and International Relations
Why was the Indirect Rule system criticized by the nationalists?
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Model answer
Excluded the educated elite from administration.
Made traditional rulers autocratic tools of the British.
Many chiefs were illiterate and unsuited to modern government.
Imposed warrant chiefs without legitimacy in the East.
Encouraged ethnic division and regionalism (divide and rule).
Delayed political development and self-government.
Introduced oppressive taxation.
Kept the North isolated and backward in Western education.
Was a cheap means of continuing colonial exploitation.
Explanation
Explain each criticism.