(sat on the chair arm), Justice S.B. Rhodes (in the middle, sat on chair), Steve Rhodes (far right)
Legislative Council Prior to joining the Legislative Council, S.B. Rhodes had been called to the bar at the
Middle Temple in London, and was a practicing lawyer in Nigeria. On 21 January 1942, Rhodes was nominated as an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Nigeria, assuming office as the
Richards constitution came into force. He had represented various interests in the Legislative Council between 1933 and 1943, serving as a representative of the Rivers division. He was sometimes characterised during this time as a nationalist. In council, he pushed for the nationalisation of all Nigerian industries. He also pushed for more autonomy for the native courts in relation to the firm grip used by the executive, through administrative officers, to control the Native Courts. He asserted that the Native Courts were the most unsatisfactory aspect of the judicial reform of 1933, and called for a reconsideration of the Native Courts Ordinance in November 1937.
Judiciary On 9 October 1945,
King George VI gave directions for the appointment of Steven Bankole Rhodes C.B.E. as a Puisne Judge of the
Supreme Court of Nigeria . He was the first Nigerian lawyer to be elevated to the Supreme Court Bench straight from the Bar, assuming his role on 8 November 1945 . Others on the Bench included, Puisne Judges O. Jibowu; A.G.B. Manson; H.M.S. Brown; C.T .Abbott; W. Wells Palmer; G.G. Robinson; F.W. Johnston; E. Hallinan and G.R. Gregg. One of the most famous and controversial cases brought before him was the trial of Heelas Ugokwe, a Nigerian postal worker, for the attempted assassination of colonial official H.M. Foot.
Nnamdi Azikiwe, a political activist who would later serve as the president of Nigeria, is quoted as asking in response to the judgement: The judgment infuriated Dr. Azikiwe and his fellow Zikists, who had come to regard Heelas as a champion for Nigeria's liberation.
Executive Council On 23 September 1942,
King George VI gave directions for the appointment of Steven Bankole Rhodes, Esq. as a member of the Executive Council of Nigeria. Before World War II, the educated elements - with a few exceptions - were excluded, not only from the central government, but also from the native administration of the country. The total exclusion of Nigerians from this policy-making body was one of the sharpest criticisms that the Nigerian political leaders leveled against the Legislative and Executive system of colonial administration in the period between the two world wars. As a result, three individuals were elected from the township of Lagos and one from
Calabar by an electorate composed of the wealthier members of the communities . All the elected and appointed African members came from the educated class (five clergy men, six lawyers, one journalist, one wealthy trader, and one district chief from the Cameroons) yet only two of them - both elected from Lagos - would have been considered nationalists at the time they served, and they were all repudiated by the postwar nationalists. Two educated Africans (Sir
Adeyemo Alakija and Justice S.B. Rhodes) were appointed to the governor's executive council in 1943, but both were considered by the colonists to be ‘safe’ government men. Before 1943, no African had participated directly in policy formulation at the central executive level. Shortly afterwards, Sir Adeyemo Alakija and Justice S.B. Rhodes were appointed to the Executive Council, shortly followed by G.H. Avezathe and the
Emir of Katsina. Many Nigerians tended to belittle this inclusion of two of their countrymen in the Executive Council; Sir Bernard Bourdillon was obliged to remark in 1944:
“The importance of the step …received insufficient notice locally, chiefly because those Africans appointed were not of the same political colour as the press, but it was a real step forward, unofficial Africans now for the first time being in the inner Councils of the Governor.” It was later said of these newly appointed leaders, S. B. Rhodes and A. Alakija of Nigeria, and others, excelled with brilliance of speech and of pen. One cannot get a clearer picture of the type of men to whom the task of political leadership was entrusted, nor appreciate the esteem in which these men were held. ==Honours==