Postwar propaganda as public relations: British containment of militant nationalism in Nigeria, 1945—60.

This article studies postwar propaganda as an instrument of British containment of militant nationalism in Nigeria, 1945—60. It seeks to elucidate the mechanisms, dynamics and impacts of the stratagems, subsumed under propaganda but presented as public relations for acceptability, which characterized the decolonization process in Nigeria. By using the historical method based on archival and newspaper sources ignored by previous scholars, the article establishes, contrary to conventional wisdom, that propaganda was not a temporary expedient, but a major feature of British colonial imperialism. It concludes that British application of this strategy in Nigeria led to the defeat of postwar militant nationalism, and the transfer of power to the pliable wing of the emergent elite at independence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]