JAMB Government Past Questions & Answers - Page 134

Nigeria Council was the first law-making body in Nigeria after amalgamation .

After the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern Protectorate in 1914, Lord Lugard established the Nigerian Council. This existed side by side with legislative council of the colony of Lagos. The council consisted of 36 members which was made up of 23 European officials, and 13 non-official members of which 7 of them were Europeans and 6 Nigerians.

The council was merely an ''advisory-talking-drum. Its advice could be taken or dropped at the discretion of the governor who had a veto power.

One of the major weaknesses of the Independence constitution is that it failed to provide the country with full sovereignty.

It retained the British Queen as the constitutional Ceremonial Head of State of Nigeria.

According to an outline of Nigerian History by M.C. English (1900) ''The Oba Overami was deposed and transported to Calabar. Those of his priests who ere found guilty of the massacre were tried and executed.

The foremost British trading company company on the West African coast was United African Company.

The scramble for Africa brought about the settlement of British traders at the Delta Area of the Niger. They named the area ''Oil Rivers Protectorate'' George Jaubman Goldie amalgamated the British private trading companies in the area in the year 1879 and gave the name of the new company as United African Company (UAC). This very company was granted a charter in 1886. with this, the name was changed to Royal Niger Company.

France introduced the policy of assimilation in her colonies primarily to change their way of life.

The policy of assimilation was the type of colonial administration which the French government imposed on its West African colonies. This type of administration was meant to replace the culture, language, religion, law, mode of dressing, etc of the people of West Africa with that of the French people.