[1][2] Initially, the British involvement in Northern Nigeria was predominantly trade-related and revolved around the expansion of the Royal Niger Company.
[3][4] The company did not represent a direct threat to much of the Sokoto Caliphate or the numerous states of Northern Nigeria.
This changed when Frederick Lugard and Taubman Goldie laid down an ambitious plan to pacify the Nigerian interior and unite it with the rest of the British Empire.
Frederick Lugard proclaimed the protectorate of Northern Nigeria at Ida in Kogi on January 1, 1897.
Northern Nigeria was granted independence on March 15, 1953, with Sir Ahmadu Bello as its first Premier.