A system of administration which allowed traditional rulers to rule their people under the supervision of the British officials in West Africa is?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the colonial administrative system in which traditional rulers (emirs, obas, chiefs) governed their people, but under the supervision of British officials.

Step 2: Explain the concept This is Indirect Rule, introduced in Nigeria by Lord Frederick Lugard in the early 1900s. The British used existing traditional political structures and rulers as agents of colonial government. This saved the British money and manpower, because they did not need many European administrators.

Step 3: Examine each option

• A. Divide and rule: A strategy of keeping colonized peoples divided so they could not unite against colonial authority. It is not an administrative system in which chiefs rule under supervision.
• B. Colonization: The general process of taking over and controlling a territory. It is too broad and does not describe a specific administrative method.
• C. Indirect rule: Traditional rulers governed their people through their existing institutions, supervised by British Residents and District Officers. This matches the question exactly.
• D. Assimilation: The French policy of turning colonial subjects into French citizens by teaching them French language, culture, and institutions. It was not British and did not rely on traditional rulers.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is **C.

Exam tip: Remember the contrast between the two colonial styles:

• British = Indirect rule (use local chiefs)
• French = Assimilation (make Africans "French")

If you see "traditional rulers" plus "British supervision," think Indirect Rule and Lugard.