The colonial masters preferred them (Hausa/Fulani) over everybody because they could do whatever they say. The colonial masters did everything in favour of the Hausa. They manipulated the census figures to favour them, manipulated the election to favour them, and manipulated the House of Representatives numbers to favour them because they were afraid that if either the Igbo or the Yoruba got central power in Nigeria, before the British packed their things and reached their London after colonialism, Nigeria would have been a rival in the comity of nations against Britain because the British knew very well that the Igbo are go-getters.
They knew the Yoruba are go-getters, very competent people. So, neither the Yoruba nor the Igbo could pitch the interest of the British. For the Fulani, yes, but you had this feudal system which the Hausa/Fulani enjoys. Feudalism means ‘keep the man down; let him not be above you or compete with your children’. My prayer is ‘let my child be bigger than myself; let the people I bring up be numerous’. That is the egalitarian system of the Igbo. To a large extent, the same thing applies to the Yoruba. Instead of (the Igbo and the Yoruba) thinking deep and realising the thing being done against them, they got caught in the trap of the British and kept fighting (each other), while the British gave power to the Hausa/Fulani and those people were using their power very violently.
