Concept:The British colonial administration in Southern Nigeria relied on a strategy of controlling different groups by setting them against one another.
Explanation:The policy known as
divide and rule involves breaking a larger population into smaller, weaker sections.
Colonial powers used this method to maintain authority over diverse ethnic and political groups.
By favouring some groups and creating distrust among others, the British made unified resistance difficult.
This approach allowed a small colonial administration to govern a vast territory more easily.
Direct dialogue or persuasion alone could not secure the control the British wanted in Southern Nigeria.
Trade associations were economic bodies, not administrative tools used for governing the region.
Therefore, the method that best matches the British system of administration is divide and rule.
Answer:B. Divide and rule