ABSTRACT
Britain's ambition in the Niger basin was to create a homogeneous set of authority patterns with which to administer its inhabitants under the aegis of a supranational state. That quest represented shifts from the previous policy that guided the administration of Britain's possessions on the West Coast of Africa (Martin 1927). Those shifts in policy were motivated by pressure groups composed of individuals who represented the conservative side of the two ideological divides in English society at the time (Nicolson 1969). The Igbo, the Yoruba, and other nationalities resisted the imposition of a homogeneous set of authority patterns over them. There were shifts in the style of resistance to British intervention by the nationalities across time. Invasion was met with armed resistance in every case, while de facto occupation provoked other nuanced forms of resistance. As part of their strategy for building a supra-national state in the Niger basin, the British gave priority to their alliance with the Fulani ruling elite. Again, that further exacerbated the legitimacy problems that they encountered in the supra-national state with the other nationalities.
