Spoken Reminiscences of Political Agents in Northern Nigeria I

I

British imperial administration in Africa and Asia has originally been characterized as "indirect rule," but the concept of "indirect rule" has been faulted for several shortcomings, including its inadequacy in explaining relations between the limited number of European officials and the predominance of indigenous personnel in government.² Recent research has rather identified political clientage as a suitable model for examining the structures and dynamics of British rule in the non-European world from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries.³ Clientage denotes a mutually beneficial relationship and solidarity between individuals or groups of unequal status and influence in society.⁴ It is characterized by dependency between a client and a patron, with varying command over resources and values. This system of cultivating relations of personal loyalty developed as a principle of political activity in many social formations.

Clientage operation necessarily involved brokerage. As a medium for political interaction, clientage in indigenous hierarchies embodied agency and linkage between ruling élites and subjects. Accordingly, clientage involved political mediation, which required brokerage or intermediary service.⁵ Similarly, clientage in the colonial context essentially involved interaction between hierarchies of imperial rulers and those of the subordinate indigenous government.⁶ Mediation and brokerage between governing officials and indigenous rulers also constituted a vital element in imperial governance and administration.

Of the brokers or political intermediaries in British imperial government, three groups were particularly important; European political officers or residents, indigenous rulers or chiefs, and service assistants to the political officers. Nominally, political officers served as patrons to indigenous rulers, and commanded supreme authority in the imperial dependencies. In essence, political officers worked as brokers for their superiors in the metropolis, and managed imperial authority and clientage relations with the indigenous rulers. As the ruling élites in indigenous hierarchies, chiefs served as brokers between the imperial rulers and their subjects; they conducted the exchange of clientage reciprocities between the people and the imperial rulers. Service assistants were essential to imperial administration. In the hierarchy of imperial rulers, service assistants ranked as clients to political officers. In function, however, some service assistants constituted major brokers between the political officers and chiefs, as they mediated interaction between the two hierarchies by their knowledge of local conditions including linguistic abilities and court etiquette. Such group of brokers in the British colonial administration of northern Nigeria included African political agents.

II

The terminology of "political agent" in northern Nigeria derived from the British experience in India. In the early years of British expansion in India, preceding colonial conquest in the second half of the eighteenth century, the East India Company conducted diplomatic relations with Indian rulers through indigenous commercial representatives, who operated on a freelance basis.⁷ As the diplomatic missions and duties evolved, a local ruler would request a permanent representative of the Company. As such, the need arose for a formal appointment of Company officials at the courts of Indian rulers. In conjunction, the title of the Company representative had to be determined, and drawing from pre-sixteenth century European tradition, the issues of sovereignty and ceremonial honors precluded the choice of "ambassador." Company leaders deferred to European diplomatic conventions, as well as to Indian practice, and adopted the choice of "resident" or the "normally less prestigious post of Political Agent."⁸

During the Company administration of India between 1762 and 1858, indigenous officials were forbidden appointment to political agent or resident, as the colonial authorities believed that any such appointment would be offensive to the Indian rulers.⁹ As such, Indians could only hold subordinate positions in the residencies and political agencies. Of those positions, however, the munshi (service assistant) was crucial to administration.¹⁰ The munshi possessed knowledge of the local culture including the standard Persian language and court procedures, as well as English. The munshi therefore served as a major broker in the Company dealings with the Indian princes. Well before the establishment of colonial administration, munshis dominated Company diplomatic missions to the courts of Indian chiefs. On the outset of administration the munshis served the residents as advisors on Indian court etiquette; they assisted...