ABSTRACT
In areas such as Northern Nigeria, where the native authorities were well established and prosperous, and where there was little openly expressed resentment of the system, evolution towards modern conditions has been gradual. One by one, the Emirs ceased to be sole native authorities, and instead the Emir-in-Council became recognised by the central Government as the native authority. By demonstrating its power to depose an Emir of whom it disapproved, the Northern Region Government emphasised its own overriding authority and correspondingly diminished the standing of the Emirs. Like private individuals, the local authorities can only act within the framework of the law. The important difference between them and private individuals from the legal point of view is that, unlike an ordinary individual, who can do anything which the law does not specifically forbid him to do, the local authorities may only do those things which the law specifically orders or permits them to do.
