The dual mandate was proposed by Lord Lugard. He was a British colonial administrator who served as the Governor of both the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria from 1912 to 1919. Lord Lugard believed that the British colonial administration had a dual mandate in Nigeria. The first mandate was to rule and govern the country for the benefit of the people, and the second mandate was to develop the country economically and socially. In other words, the dual mandate meant that the British colonial administration had a responsibility to improve the economic and social conditions of the people while also governing the country. This concept was controversial as it was seen by some as a justification for colonialism, and by others as a recognition of the responsibility of colonial powers to improve the lives of the people they governed.
