The Role of Traditional Rulers in Addressing Security Challenges: Reflections on Native Authority System in Colonial Sokoto Emirate, 1903-1960

Sokoto Emirate was one of the three (later four) constituent emirates in colonial Sokoto Province, Northern Nigeria. The others being Sokoto, Gwandu, Argungu, and Yauri Emirates. It is located at the northwestern most part of Nigeria. The Sokoto Emirate covers the present day Sokoto and Zamfara states of Nigeria. During the British colonial administration, native authority (NA) system was a model of local government administration created under the “indirect rule system”. It was a system where by the pre-colonial traditional leadership institutions were modified and allowed to function in the local government administration introduced by the British. This paper assessed the role played by traditional leadership institutions in addressing security challenges during the British colonial administration of Sokoto Emirate. In particular, the role played by the NA in arresting Mahdist uprisings, and other related extremist religious movements on the one hand, as well as rural banditry, armed robbery, theft, among other security challenges in the emirate, are highlighted. The paper further argued that some of the roles played by the traditional leadership institutions in successfully addressing those challenges are still relevant in addressing the problems of insurgency on the one hand, and some of the recent emerging security challenges, in northwestern Nigeria, such as cattle rustling, rural banditry, kidnappings, robbery, and other related challenges.