The ‘Nigerianisation’ of the officer class of Nigeria Police Force: A study of the role of Sir C.S.K. Bovell, 1956-1962

Abstract

One of the major events that dominated the history of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in the last decade of British rule was the Nigerianisation of its officer ranks. This was necessitated by the fact that the officer ranks of the Force were dominated by expatriate police officers while a majority of Nigerians in the Force belonged to the Non-Commissioned Offices. The imperatives of independence necessitated the Nigerianisation of the officer ranks of the Force in the last years of colonial rule and early postindependence period. During these critical years of decolonisation and the Nigerianisation process, Sir C.S. Kerr Bovell (KCMG) was at the helm of affairs as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) from 1956 to 1960 when independence was granted and till 1962 when he retired from the Force. His position as the IGP placed him in a crucial position as the originator, implementer and defender of some of the Nigerianisation programmes and schemes which facilitated the rapid promotion of Nigerians into the officer ranks of the NPF between 1956 and 1962, which ultimately led to the emergence of the first indigenous Inspector-General of Police in 1964. This paper examines the major issues and programmes in the Nigerianisation of the officer ranks of the NPF and the roles played by Sir Bovell in the formulation and implementation of these Nigerianisation schemes which led to the rapid promotion of Nigerians into the officer ranks of the NPF. Relying on the analysis of primary documents spiced with relevant information from secondary materials, the paper shows that Sir Bovell, more than any other British IGP of the NPF, contributed immensely to the Nigerianisation of the officer class of the NPF during the decolonisation period.