The Nation Newspaper

Tag: 1914

  • Odia’s 1914 Centenary Dance Drama

    Last Saturday, Odia Ofeimum’s 1914 showpiece dance drama of the centenary year was staged at the MUSON centre, Lagos. It traced  the loss of our sense of community   to  the  subversion of our undoubtedly superior  social structure by fortune-seekers  from a hostile environment where  ‘live was  nasty ,brutish and a short’ with a prevailing culture of ‘the survival of the of the fittest’ . Their rape of their new conquered ‘garden of Aden’, where you don’t have to work hard to survive was aided and sustained through the introduction of Christian religion in the south and reliance on existing Islam in the north. It is significant to note that the foreign invaders were indifferent to how the south and the north worshipped their God. Of greater interest was how slaves and later farm produce needed badly in their plantations and factories get to the sea ports en route America and Europe.

    As it was before and after 1914, so it is today. What has happened is a change of paradigm. Globalisation, the new economic relations,   celebrated as the solution to poverty and inequality in   the world which supports government subsidy of $2 for every head of cow owned by a pastoralist in developed economies of the west in the circumstance where 75% of our compatriots live below a dollar a day can be regarded as the worst form of slavery. But just as our forebears were persuaded by   desperate men in search of ‘gold, glory and honour’,  that slavery and  later colonization were the only way to economic prosperity,  our today’s leaders, have accepted the current unequal economic relations  as the only way to  resolving our crisis of underdevelopment.

    Unfortunately at the Agip Hall of MUSON centre last week where Odia and many gifted Nigerian youths  called attention to our past folly   of seeking external solution to our crisis of underdevelopment, there were neither  presidential  nor gubernatorial aspirants. President Jonathan’s economic wizards were conspicuously absent. There were no representatives of Christian Association of Nigeria, (CAN), Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria, (TAN), Arewa Consultative forum, Yoruba Council of Elders, Igbo Elders Forum and all other groups that have contributed to the exploitation of the ignorance of our people since independence. How can we break the cycle of poverty, without first understanding the issues at stake?

    It can also be argued that it has been more of hypocrisy and conspiracy rather than ignorance. Is it not too much of a coincidence that those who insisted we cannot end our cycle of poverty by putting our fate in the hands of those who  cannot  solve the social problems of their own societies without first  promoting chaos in the conquered territories were haunted down?. Awo realized ignorance was the bane of the society and attacked it with free education. For a healthy and harmonious relationship, he advocated a federal arrangement based on equality of the major ethnic groups. He was labelled a communist and sent to jail.  Murtala Mohammed insisted we must seek home solution instead of reliance on strategies imposed by those whose survival depends on our inability to manage our affairs; he was murdered by a drunken Dimka. MKO Abiola spoke of reparation for over 400 years of exploitation; he won an election but died in prison in the presence of representatives of western powers. Buhari who during his first coming as military Head of State similarly   insisted solution to crisis of underdevelopment must be home grown suffered similar fate.    For rejecting the IMF’s bitter economic pill and insisting we would have to produce grains, if we must eat grains, he was in the night of many knives deposed by Babangida who reversed all his policies and went on to accept  IMF  liberalization policy. The result was the sharing of our national patrimony among privileged members of the ruling class and the opening up of our market to the importation of labour of other societies leading to crisis of unemployment for our youths.

    Odia’s centenary drama dance is a call on us to take another look at our crisis of underdevelopment. Can we continue to put our fate in the hands of those motivated only by the welfare of their own people, who turned our oil boom to oil doom, openly criticized corruption by our leaders but have no qualms holding on to proceeds of corruption?  As 2015 approaches, the choice of those who have since independence insisted on leaders who will not question their vision of society is clear. We will delude ourselves to assume the west, motivated only by self-interest will suddenly be on the side of the people

    China and India our new friends are equally are equally motivated by self-interest. A few years back, some crooked Indians masquerading as foreign investors, aided by   some unpatriotic Nigerians secured huge bank facilities to establish textile industries. Over 70% of the funds went into importation of machinery and raw materials from India.  Shortly afterwards, all the textile firms asked to be declared  bankrupt   while  Nigeria market became flooded  with textile products from India channelled through some European countries.  It is also on record how India we had thought would help us resolve the problem of our jinxed iron and steel industry colluded with some unpatriotic politicians to end our dream of an iron and steel industry.

    China has outwitted the West in flooding our markets with substandard goods. As Akin Oyebode recently put it, the celebrated transformation of our airports is largely done by replacing the old tiles with cheap Chinese tiles. Seventy percent of the $500m Chinese loan secured to build new airports will likely go back to Chinese firms. It has also allowed corrupt government officials  bring in unskilled Chinese workers in droves with many of them ending up selling wares in open market or ‘amala and ewedu’ in road-side eateries.

    In our struggle to overcome our crisis of underdevelopment and end the cycle of poverty and misery, among our people, the West whose interest it is to keep us down in order to sustain the high standard of living of their people cannot be a trusted ally.

  • All for 1914

    In Because of 1914, Odia Ofeimun, renowned poet and writer, presents a society fused together by external forces, that today all indices of differences still stare the people in the face.  Edozie Udeze who watched the premiere of the stage dance-drama, which is infused with poetry and music, reports that the issues involved in the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria will never peter out so long as all the socio-political, religious and economic dichotomies embedded in the system persist

    With poetry, dance and drama, Odia Ofeimun’s latest offering, Because of 1914,  which was premiered at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, last weekend has ushered Nigerians into an era when the people need to re-think reasons why they have to continue to stay together or make the project called Nigeria drift apart.  The title of the dance-drama is derived from the 1914 amalgamation of the nation in which the Northern and the Southern protectorates were fused into one by the British government to have Nigeria as we have it today.

    But for the beauty of total theatre, Ofeimun used the elements of poetry, music, remarkable events, cultural issues, political differences and social cohesion of the different tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria to make the story into theatre.  The people were represented and dressed in their usual local costumes and native dresses to make the show complete.  The writer who is also a renowned poet has always devised new methods to put myriad of Nigerian socio-political issues into the stage.  The idea, he has always maintained, is to enable the people come closer to the issues that have shaped the nation’s political terrain over the years.

    Odia Ofeimun had in his two previous experiments of this nature, captioned The Return and Nigeria, The Beautiful, showcased both Africa and Nigeria as places where people could find peace and solace if the indices of leadership and followership are properly defined.  However, in Because of 1914, the poet took his time to bring out all the problems that defined the amalgamation and what the people did not do right to make the union work.

    Today, Nigeria is a nation walking on its tethers where mutual suspicion, fear, tribal sentiments, economic dominion and hatred for what is good have been the order of the day.

    The play opened with the playing of the drums, in a solemn but evocative form.  The solemnity of the drums was to usher in a society where the people have found themselves at the crossroads of confusion and poverty.  The drummers, dressed, in the national colours of green-white green with native caps to match played the drums to sychronise with the pitiable conditions of the people.

    The songs, which were composed by Felix Okolo, the director of the drama, were meant to soothe the stories.  The poetic lines were done to explain away most of the knotty and terrible situations that have been of grave concern to the entire nation.

    In the beginning, the tribes existed as indivisible entities, each cohabiting harmoniously with their neighbours.  The idea of coming together never crossed their minds.  They were happy being who they were and doing what suited them.  Every tribe held their cultural values in high esteem and so the idea of forcing them to lose their identity or being some other persons did not arise.

    Therefore, the respect for the other person was there.  For the exchange of goods and others, people had to travel from their places of origin to the next, to have exchange of ideas and engage in trade.  Life, generally, was good and totally in order.  Yet, when the British came, they took their time to understudy all these issues.  In truth, they saw these differences, they knew they were quite irreconcilable differences that would not make for a total cohesion or unity.   Yet, they ignored them all to give the nation its new name called Nigeria.  From that moment in time till today Nigeria has been tottering between existence and life, between what is good and what is bad and so the whole experiment seems to be on the backward slide.

    Then oil was not yet the binding factor.  The binding factor was to use the palm oil of the East and the Kola nuts of the West to unite the entities into one.  The groundnuts pyrami of the North was also an issue.  Yet their inability to catch up in terms of education was used as a yardstick to fuse them with the South.  This total new approach was indeed to the benefit of the North who were supposed to use the educational advancement of the South to their own advantage.

    As each of these segments of dichotomy was introduced on stage, the artistes used both poetry and dance drama not only to explain them away,  but used stage mesmerisation to douse the weight of the message and then allow the entertainment aspect of it to speak to the audience.  Both the music and the costumes suited the era in question and people were seen nodding their heads and shuffling their legs to the rhythmical movements on stage.

    The narrator used powerful poetic lines to tell the people the stories.  There was a complete blend of the major and minor tribes to present a comprehensive scenario of a total nation.  A nation where the wishes of the Whiteman were allowed to decide the future and the fate of the local people, the owners of the land.

    So, why would 1914 be the main watershed in the national life of Nigeria as a nation?  Why would it be this bad where the people still find it difficult to trust one another?  Why is it that people are yet to come to terms with religious, political, social and economic differences and then use all these to their own advantage?  It is just that some people have decided that sowing the embers of discord and hatred is their own hallmark.  They benefit from the chaotic situation in order to perpetually keep the people in the background.

    The dances therefore told the stories on stage.  The dancers were trained to perform in conformity with the annals of historical factors that shaped the era.  Each dance truly dramatised Nigeria and brought out the total element of Nigeria and why 1914 will continue to remain an issue.

    It was the arrogant posture of Lord Lugard that finally pissed people off.  Appearing on the stage like a colossus, he told the people of how her majesty was the lord of the manor, how she has gone round Europe and now Africa to plant the seed of colonialism.  And therefore, no one could stop her, could make her halt until the whole of humanity embraced the British culture.  It was a task that must be accomplished so that Africa would know that Britain is a great Kingdom indeed.

    As he spoke, the arena wore a solemn look.  The ambiance was sombre; people listened with rapt attention; not even in a hurry to discountenance or counter his utterances.  In the meantime the drums played, other instruments pelted away to ensure that the dance drama itself was complete to make for total theatre.  Then Lugard went on:  “We have taken over Africa, from the Arab world all through the deserts.  Europe does not sleep because her majesty is on the throne.  We’ll take over all the nooks and crannies of this continent and other places.  We’re imperialists, great custodians of great empires.  We take and overcome.  We build empires in the deserts to suit our whims and caprices.  These are to help investments for we ourselves do not invest.  We build railways from mangrove to the hills, to the savanna.  We know the future better than the people themselves.

    “We do not teach people how to be free or how to ask for it.  We will continue to dominate until they know how to fight for themselves and be free.  That is the ideology of the Great Britain.”  But soon after, some leaders with conscience, with unbridled courage, focus and commitment began to appear on stage.  Their mission was to dislodge the colonial masters from the helm of affairs.  “We will have schools, we need sound and productive education to be able to liberate ourselves, the entire kingdom from the furnace of hegemony…”  And so the struggle began and the internal differences that have since kept the people divided began to rear their heads.  But the people needed to be free first.

    Amid poverty, amid misery, in the presence of abundant resources, the nation therefore tried to exist.  The level of hopelessness; the distrust and endless struggle to live, all came together to give a complete blend to Because of 1914.  Ofeimun said one has to watch the story on stage to really appreciate the issues involved.

  • All for 1914

    All for 1914

    In Because of 1914, Odia Ofeimun, renowned poet and writer, presents a society fused together by external forces, that today all indices of differences still stare the people in the face.  Edozie Udeze who watched the premiere of the stage dance-drama, which was infused with poetry and music, reports that the issues involved in the 1914 amalgamation of Nigeria will never peter out so long as all the socio-political, religious and economic dichotomies embedded in the system persist

    With poetry, dance and drama, Odia Ofeimun’s latest offering, Because of 1914,  which was premiered at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, last weekend has ushered Nigerians into an era when the people need to re-think reasons why they have to continue to stay together or make the project called Nigeria drift apart.  The title of the dance-drama is derived from the 1914 amalgamation of the nation in which the Northern and the Southern protectorates were fused into one by the British government to have Nigeria as we have it today.

    But for the beauty of total theatre, Ofeimun used the elements of poetry, music, remarkable events, cultural issues, political differences and social cohesion of the different tribes and ethnic groups in Nigeria to make the story into theatre.  The people were represented and dressed in their usual local costumes and native dresses to make the show complete.  The writer who is also a renowned poet has always devised new methods to put myriad of Nigerian socio-political issues into the stage.  The idea, he has always maintained, is to enable the people come closer to the issues that have shaped the nation’s political terrain over the years.

    Odia Ofeimun had in his two previous experiments of this nature, captioned The Return and Nigeria, The Beautiful, showcased both Africa and Nigeria as places where people could find peace and solace if the indices of leadership and followership are properly defined.  However, in Because of 1914, the poet took his time to bring out all the problems that defined the amalgamation and what the people did not do right to make the union work.

    Today, Nigeria is a nation walking on its tethers where mutual suspicion, fear, tribal sentiments, economic dominion and hatred for what is good have been the order of the day.

    The play opened with the playing of the drums, in a solemn but evocative form.  The solemnity of the drums was to usher in a society where the people have found themselves at the crossroads of confusion and poverty.  The drummers, dressed, in the national colours of green-white green with native caps to match played the drums to sychronise with the pitiable conditions of the people.

    The songs, which were composed by Felix Okolo, the director of the drama, were meant to soothe the stories.  The poetic lines were done to explain away most of the knotty and terrible situations that have been of grave concern to the entire nation.

    In the beginning, the tribes existed as indivisible entities, each cohabiting harmoniously with their neighbours.  The idea of coming together never crossed their minds.  They were happy being who they were and doing what suited them.  Every tribe held their cultural values in high esteem and so the idea of forcing them to lose their identity or being some other persons did not arise.

    Therefore, the respect for the other person was there.  For the exchange of goods and others, people had to travel from their places of origin to the next, to have exchange of ideas and engage in trade.  Life, generally, was good and totally in order.  Yet, when the British came, they took their time to understudy all these issues.  In truth, they saw these differences, they knew they were quite irreconcilable differences that would not make for a total cohesion or unity.   Yet, they ignored them all to give the nation its new name called Nigeria.  From that moment in time till today Nigeria has been tottering between existence and life, between what is good and what is bad and so the whole experiment seems to be on the backward slide.

    Then oil was not yet the binding factor.  The binding factor was to use the palm oil of the East and the Kola nuts of the West to unite the entities into one.  The groundnuts pyrami of the North was also an issue.  Yet their inability to catch up in terms of education was used as a yardstick to fuse them with the South.  This total new approach was indeed to the benefit of the North who were supposed to use the educational advancement of the South to their own advantage.

    As each of these segments of dichotomy was introduced on stage, the artistes used both poetry and dance drama not only to explain them away,  but used stage mesmerisation to douse the weight of the message and then allow the entertainment aspect of it to speak to the audience.  Both the music and the costumes suited the era in question and people were seen nodding their heads and shuffling their legs to the rhythmical movements on stage.

    The narrator used powerful poetic lines to tell the people the stories.  There was a complete blend of the major and minor tribes to present a comprehensive scenario of a total nation.  A nation where the wishes of the Whiteman were allowed to decide the future and the fate of the local people, the owners of the land.

    So, why would 1914 be the main watershed in the national life of Nigeria as a nation?  Why would it be this bad where the people still find it difficult to trust one another?  Why is it that people are yet to come to terms with religious, political, social and economic differences and then use all these to their own advantage?  It is just that some people have decided that sowing the embers of discord and hatred is their own hallmark.  They benefit from the chaotic situation in order to perpetually keep the people in the background.

    The dances therefore told the stories on stage.  The dancers were trained to perform in conformity with the annals of historical factors that shaped the era.  Each dance truly dramatised Nigeria and brought out the total element of Nigeria and why 1914 will continue to remain an issue.

    It was the arrogant posture of Lord Lugard that finally pissed people off.  Appearing on the stage like a colossus, he told the people of how her majesty was the lord of the manor, how she has gone round Europe and now Africa to plant the seed of colonialism.  And therefore, no one could stop her, could make her halt until the whole of humanity embraced the British culture.  It was a task that must be accomplished so that Africa would know that Britain is a great Kingdom indeed.

    As he spoke, the arena wore a solemn look.  The ambiance was sombre; people listened with rapt attention; not even in a hurry to discountenance or counter his utterances.  In the meantime the drums played, other instruments pelted away to ensure that the dance drama itself was complete to make for total theatre.  Then Lugard went on:  “We have taken over Africa, from the Arab world all through the deserts.  Europe does not sleep because her majesty is on the throne.  We’ll take over all the nooks and crannies of this continent and other places.  We’re imperialists, great custodians of great empires.  We take and overcome.  We build empires in the deserts to suit our whims and caprices.  These are to help investments for we ourselves do not invest.  We build railways from mangrove to the hills, to the savanna.  We know the future better than the people themselves.

    “We do not teach people how to be free or how to ask for it.  We will continue to dominate until they know how to fight for themselves and be free.  That is the ideology of the Great Britain.”  But soon after, some leaders with conscience, with unbridled courage, focus and commitment began to appear on stage.  Their mission was to dislodge the colonial masters from the helm of affairs.  “We will have schools, we need sound and productive education to be able to liberate ourselves, the entire kingdom from the furnace of hegemony…”  And so the struggle began and the internal differences that have since kept the people divided began to rear their heads.  But the people needed to be free first.

    Amid poverty, amid misery, in the presence of abundant resources, the nation therefore tried to exist.  The level of hopelessness; the distrust and endless struggle to live, all came together to give a complete blend to Because of 1914.  Ofeimun said one has to watch the story on stage to really appreciate the issues involved.

     

  • How Nigeria came into being in 1914

    How Nigeria came into being in 1914

    One hundred years ago, on 1st January 1914, the country, Nigeria, was born, but the order sealing the amalgamation of the then Southern and Northern protectorates to become the country of Nigeria was signed on November 22, 1913.

    The document was signed in London by the trio of King’s most Excellent Majesty Earl Spencer, Lord Stamfordham and Lord Emmott on behalf of the government of the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland..

    Obviously, no Nigerian was part of the deal. This, perhaps, accounts for the various agitations for national conferences by the various ethnic nationalities and other stakeholders within the country since shortly after it was born. Rather than abate, agitations for redefinition of terms of engagement get hotter by the day.

    As the nation basks in the ecstasy of the centennial celebration, The Nation reproduces the full text of the document that gave legal birth to Nigeria.

    NIGERIA PROTECTORATE ORDER IN COUNCIL, 1913 AT THE COURT AT WINDSOR CASTLE, THE 22ND DAY OF NOVEMBER, 1913. PRESENT, THE KING’ MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY EARL SPENCER, LORD STAMFORDHAM, LORD EMMOTT

    Whereas by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, it is amongst other things, enacted that it shall be lawful for his Majesty, the king of hold, exercise, and has, or may at any time hereafter, have within a foreign country in the same and as an ample a manner as if His Majesty has led acquired that jurisdiction by the cession or conquest of territory.

    And whereas by an Order-in-Council bearing date: the Twenty-seventy day of December, 1889, and known as the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1889, provision was made for the administration of the Government of the Territories known as Northern Nigeria. And whereas by further Order-in-Council bearing date, March, 1908, and October, 11, 1912, and known respectively as the Nigeria Northern Order-in-Council, 1908 and the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1912: the Northern Nigeria Order-in-Council, 1899, has been amended.

    And whereas by an Order-in-Council bearing date the Fourth day of February, 1911, and known as the Southern Nigeria Protectorate Order-in-Council, 1911, provision was made for the administration of the Government of the territories known as the protectorate of Southern Nigeria.

    And whereas by further Order-in-Council bearing date, the Twenty-eight day of March, 1912 and known as the Southern Nigeria protectorate Order-in-Council, 1912, the Southern Protectorate Order in Council, 1911, has been amended.

    And whereas by certain Letters Patent passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland bearing date at Westminister the Twenty-eight day of February, 1906, His late Majesty King Edward the Seventh did constitute the office of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of Southern Nigeria and provide  for the Government thereof.

    And whereas his Majesty has this day, by and with the advice of the Privy Council, been pleased to direct that letters patent be passed under the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the purpose of providing, amongst other thing that the colony of Southern Nigeria, as in the said Letters Patent more fully appears and the draft of the said Letters Patent has this day been approved by His Majesty in Council.

    And whereas, it is expedient to make further and other provision for the peace, order, and good government of the territories, known as the Protectorate of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

    NOW THEREFORE, His Majesty, by virtue and in exercise of the power by the Foreign Jurisdiction Act, 1890, or otherwise in His Majesty vested, is pleased, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, to Order, and it is hereby Ordered, as follows:

    (i) The Order may be cited as the Nigeria Protectorate Order in Council, 1913.

    (ii) This Order shall apply to the territories of African which are bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west, north and north-east by the line of the frontier between the British and French territories, and on the east by the frontier between the British and Provided always that such part of the territories so bounded are within that portion of His Majesty’s Dominion which is known as the Colony of Nigeria, shall not be included within the limits of this Order.  The order shall be known and described as the protectorate of Nigeria

    (iii) In this Order unless the subject or context otherwise requires.  His Majesty includes His Majesty’s heir and successors.  Secretary of State means one of His Majesty’s principal secretaries of state.  Treaty include any treaty, convention, agreement or arrangement, made by or on behalf of her Majesty, with any civilised power, or with any native tribe, appended to any such treaty convention, agreement, or arrangement. Governor means the Governor and commander-in-chief for the time being of the colony of Nigeria and includes every person for the time being administering the Government of the said colony.  ‘Colony’ means the colony of Nigeria. ‘Nigeria’ used without qualification means the colony and protectorate of Nigeria.

    (iv) The Governor and Commander-in-chief for the time being of the colony of Nigeria (hereinafter called the Governor) shall be the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the protectorate of Nigeria and he is hereby authorised, empowered and commanded to exercise on His Majesty’s behalf, all such powers and jurisdiction as His Majesty at any time before or after the passing of this order had or may have within the said territories, and to that end to make or cause to be taken all such measures and to do or cause to be done, all matters and things therein as are lawful and as in the interest of His Majesty’s service he may think expedient, subject to such instruction as he may from time to time receive from His Majesty or through a Secretary of State.

    (v) The Protectorate shall be divided into two or more portions, each under the immediate administration of a Lieutenant-Governor appointed by His Majesty.  Provided that every Lieutenant-Governor shall be under control and authority of the Governor and subject to such instruction as he may from time receive from him.  And provided further that it shall be within the discretion of the Governor, subject always to the approval of a secretary of State, to transfer a Lieutenant-Governor from the administration of one portion of the protectorate to another portion, and to vary the limits of the area administered by a Lieutenant-Governor.

    (vi) Every person appointed to fill the office of Governor shall with all due solemnity, before entering on any of the duties of his office, cause the commission appointing him to be read and publish at such place in the protectorate as he may deem expedient, in the presence of the Chief Justice or some other Judge of Supreme Court, and of such members of the Executive Council to the colony and Protectorate as can conveniently attend, which being done, he shall then and there take before them the Oath of Allegiance in the form provided by an Act passed in the Session Holden in the Thirty-first and Thirty-second years of the Reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, intuited ‘An act to amend the Law relating to promissory Oaths, and likewise the usual Oath of Governor and for the due and impartial administration of Justice, which Oaths the said Chief Justice, or, if he be unavoidably absent, the senior member of the Executive Council then present, is hereby required to administer.

    (vii) The Executive council of the colony of Nigeria shall be and deemed to be the Executive Council of the Protectorate.

    (viii) It shall be lawful for the Governor, from time to time, by ordinance, to provide for the administration of justice, the raising of revenue, and generally for the peace, order and good government of the Protectorate, and of all persons therein, including the prohibition and punishment of acts tending to disturb the public peace.

    Provided as follows:

    1. That nothing in any such ordinance or ordinances contained shall take away or affect any rights secured to any natives in the said territories by any treaties or agreement made on behalf or with the sanction of her Majesty, Queen Victoria. His Late Majesty King Edward the Seventh, or shall be and remain operative and in force, and all pledge and undertaking therein contained shall remain mutually binding on all parties to the same.

    2. That all laws, Ordinances, Proclamations, bylaws and regulations of whatsoever nature in force at the date of the commencement of this force until repealed or revoked by or in pursuance of any Law or Ordinance passed by the Governor.

    3. That the Governor in making Ordinances shall respect any native laws by which the civil relation of any native chiefs, tribes, or populations under His Majesty’s protection are now regulated, except so far as the same may be incompatible with the due exercises of His Majesty’s power and jurisdiction, or clearly injures the welfare of the said natives.

    4. That every suit, action, complaint, matter, or things which shall be pending in any Court within the said territories at the commencement of this Order shall and may be proceeded within such court in like manner as if Order had not been passed.

    (ix) The right is hereby reserved to His Majesty to disallow any such Ordinance as aforesaid.  Such disallowance shall be signified to the Governor through a Secretary of State, and shall take effect from time when the same shall be promulgated by the Governor.  The right is also hereby reserved to His Majesty, with the advice of His Privy Council, from time to time to make all such laws or Ordinances as may appear to him necessary for the peace, order, and good government of the protectorate as fully as’ if this Order had not been made.

    (x) In the making and establishing of all such Ordinance the Governor shall conform to and observe all rules, regulations and directions in that behalf continued in any instruction under His Majesty’s Sign Manual and Signet.

    (xi) Whenever and so often as the Governor is absent from the seat of Government, or is absent in the colony, and any place in the protectorate of Nigeria in the exercise or discharge of any powers or duties conferred or imposed upon him by His Majesty or having obtained leave from His Majesty under His sign Manual and Signet or through a Secretary of State, is absent from the said passage as aforesaid, he may continue to exercise and shall be deemed to be capable of exercising all and every powers invested in him by this order in councilor by any instructions from His majesty and may be an instrument under the public seal appoint any person or person to be his Deputy or Deputies within and part the protectorate during such absence, and in that capacity to exercise, perform and execute for and on behalf of the Governor during such absence but no longer, all such powers and authorities by this order in councilor otherwise vested in the Governor as shall in any by such instrument be specified and limited, but no others.  Every such Deputy shall conform to and observe all such instructions as the Governor shall from time to time address to him for his guidance, provided nevertheless that by the appointment of a Deputy or Deputies as aforesaid the power and authority of the Governor shall not be abridged, altered or in any way affected otherwise than his majesty may at anytime hereafter think proper to direct.

    (xii) Whenever the office of Governor is vacant, or if the Governor is vacant, or if the Governor becomes incapable or is from any cause prevented from acting the duties of his office, then such person may be appointed under the royal sign manual and signed or if there be no such person so appointed, or if such person be absent from Nigeria or unable to act, then the senior member of the Executive council present for the time being in Nigeria shall, during his Majesty’s pleasure, administer the government of the protectorate, first taking the oaths herein before directed to be taken by the Governor, and in the manner herein prescribed which being done, the acting Governor his hereby authorized, empowered and commanded to do and execute, during his Majesty’s pleasure, all things that belong to the office of Governor according to his majesty’s order and according to his Majesty’s instructions and law of the protectorate.

    (xiii)      Whenever the office of the lieutenant Governor becomes vacant or if a lieutenant-Government is administering the Government of the colony and protectorate or is absent from Nigeria or otherwise becomes incapable of or is for any cause prevented from performing the duties of his office, the Governor may, by an instrument under the public seal of the protectorate appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

    Such officer shall cease to act as lieutenant-Governor as soon as either his majesty shall have appointed another officer to the office shall again be capable of performing the duties of the office,or the Governor shall appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

    Such officer shall cease to act as lieutenant-Governor as soon as either His Majesty shall have appointed another officer to the office shall again be capable of performing the duties of the office, or the Governor shall appoint another officer to act provisionally as lieutenant-Governor.

    (xiv)       The Governor may constitute and appoint all such judges commissioners justices of the peace and other necessary officers as may be lawfully constituted and appointed by his Majesty, all of whom unless otherwise provided by law shall hold their officers during pleasure.

    (xv)         The Governor may upon sufficient cause to him appearing, dismiss any public officer not appointed by virtue of a warrant from His Majesty whose pensionable emoluments do not exceed one hundred and fifty pounds of intended dismissal are definitely stead in writing, and communicated to the officer in order that he may have full opportunity of exculpating himself, and the matter is investigated by the governor with the aid of the head for the time being of the department in which the officer is serving.

    The Governor may, upon sufficient cause to him appearing, suspend from the exercise of his office, any person holding any office within the Protectorate whether appointed by virtue of any commission of Warrant from His Majesty, or in His Majesty’s name, or by any other mode of appointment.  Such suspension shall continue and have effect only until His Majesty’s pleasure therein shall be signified to the Governor.  If the suspension is confirmed by a Secretary of State, the Governor shall forthwith cause the officer to be so informed, and there upon his office shall became vacant.  In proceeding to any such suspension, the Governor is strictly to observe the direction in the behalf given to him by any instruction from His Majesty signified through a Secretary of State.

    (xvi) When any crime or offence has been committed within the Protectorate, or for which the offender may be tried therein, the Governor may, as he shall see occasion, in His Majesty’s behalf, grant a pardon to any accomplice in such crime or often, who shall give such information as shall lead to the conviction of the principal offender, or of anyone of such offenders if more than one, and, further, may grant to any offender convicted in any court, or before any judge, justice, magistrate, or other officer within the Protectorate, a pardon, either free or subject to lawful conditions or any remission of the sentence passed on such offender, or any respite of the execution of such sentence, for such period as the Governor think fit, and may remit any fines, penalties, or forfeitures due or accrued to His Majesty.

    (xvii) The seal now or hereafter in use as the Public Seal of the Colony of Nigeria shall be and be deemed to be also the Public Seal of the Protectorate of Nigeria, and shall be used for sealing all things whatsoever that shall pass the said Seal.

    (xviii) This order shall come into operation of the First Day of January 1914, and shall be published in the Government Gazette; and the Governor shall give directions for the publication of this Order as such time or times as he thinks proper for giving due publicity thereto within the protectorate of Nigeria.

    (xix) The above-recited Order to Council of the Twenty-seventh day of December 1899, the Nineteenth day of March 1908, the fourth day of February 1911, the Twenty-eight day of March 1912 and the Eleventh day of October 1912,shall from the commencement of this Order be revoked, without prejudice to anything lawfully done thereunder.

    (xx) His Majesty may from time to time revoke, after, add to, or amend this Order.  And the Right Honourable Lewies Harcourt, one of His Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, is to give the necessary directions herein accordingly.