Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria Protectorates

Frederick Lugard, as Governor-General (December 1913 – November 1918), forced the various tribal national groups and the two Protectorates to amalgamate in 1914 without a proper roundtable agreement — described in the article as a "deliberation deficit." The amalgamation was accomplished by military fiat. Leading Nigerian figures including Sir Ahmadu Bello later described it as "the mistake of 1914," while Chief Obafemi Awolowo called Nigeria "merely a geographical expression." The British Government was, per the article, aware that the resultant nation would be a difficult union of peoples with fundamentally different values and sensibilities.