The 'indirect' elections at Kano, 1951

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Periodical article

Title:	The 'indirect' elections at Kano, 1951
Author:	Ubah, C.N.
Year:	1980
Periodical:	Ikenga: Journal of African Studies
Volume:	4
Issue:	2
Pages:	40-48
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	elections 1951
Abstract:	Sir Arthur Richards' Constitution of 1946 did in fact introduce the idea of representation in a Regional House of Assembly, but the parliamentarians from each province were simply nominees of the bureaucratic machine known as the Native Administration (NA). The first parliamentary elections ever held in the Northern Provinces of Nigeria were those of 1951 conducted under the Macpherson Constitution. The Constitution of 1951 abandoned the arbitrary method of representation in favour of the indirect system. Though this system fell far short of the principle of democratic elections as understood in Western societies, it was a step in the right direction. The indirect elections were held at a crucial stage in Nigeria's political development when British colonial officials were obsessed with the idea that the true leaders of the country were to be found in the native administrations rather than among nationalist politicians. This paper describes in detail the way the candidates for the elections were selected in the emirate of Kano. It also analyses the factors which, especially in the case of the final electoral college, determined the electoral fortunes of the candidates. Ref., tab.