Abdulaziz Bilyamin Chulla
Abstract
Bandawa town is a mile from the River Benue, situated on the north bank on a rising ground,
making the town visible to early British explorers of the River Benue. The independence of the
community vanished with the imperial expansion of British colonial interest in Africa, which
culminated in the establishment of British colonial rule over the Muri Emirate in 1900. The
annexation of the Muri Emirate domains, by the British colonial administration unintentionally
brought Bandawa under colonial rule. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the period Bandawa
was under British colonial rule from 1900 to 1960 and the objective is to bring to light the social,
political and economic changes that took place in Bandawa as resultant consequential to British
colonial policies. The research adopted a qualitative research methodology which involved the use
of primary and secondary sources and the multi-disciplinary approach. The study concludes by
bringing to the glare of the public the transformations brought about by colonial policies in
Bandawa.
Introduction
British contact with the peoples of the Northern Nigerian area dates back to the early explorations
across the Sahara Desert. However, it was not until the mid-19th Century that the British became
interested in developing a close commercial link with the Niger-Benue territory where their traders
had been operating. During the last quarter of that century, a British trading concern, the National
African Company, became dominant in the…