Soft change
Britain’s Indirect Rule in northern Nigeria (1900-1914) is an example of soft change. By maintaining the existing institutions in northern Nigeria, Britain collaborated with northern elite to accomplish their mission of colonizing the area. The British failed in other parts of Nigeria, where they reversed their soft approach for a radical change.
Soft change was also foremost in Usman dan Fodio's successful transformation of Hausa kingdom to a Fulani emirate, beginning in 1804. Dan Fodio, a descendant of Fulani immigrants from Western Sudan, implemented his reforms softly. How? He retained a largely Hausa culture, which included the the language, trade, and tax system. He also retained the leadership structure—except that he replaced the Hausa leaders with Fulani leaders, that is, himself, his son Muhammed Bello, and brother Abdullahi dan Fodio. By retaining what the people care-about most, he was able to unite the people against their former leaders, whom he accused of immorality and injustice; unite tens of northern tribes people, whom he promised to free from their oppressors; build an army from these diverse peoples. And together, they put an end to the Hausa kingdom forever; build a capitalist economy to replace the old feudal economy; introduced a new government called Caliphate, based on the Sharia law, to replace the worship of idols. Gone were the times only the political elite owned properties and wealth. In the new system that he introduced, anyone who worked hard became wealthy—something unheard-of during the old system.
Dan Fodio did not aim at the whole pie—which would have been radical change—and would have made his reforms more difficult to implement. Instead, he went for the essential fraction of the pie—the people's hearts and minds. He exploited their love for their language and trades, indifference to the tax policy (these he retained), and indifference to leadership, and and hate for their leaders (these he replaced by making himself head and appointed his son and brother his lieutenants). He called the new leadership Caliphate, and moved the capital of the Hausa people to Sokoto in present-day Sokoto State.
When Queen of Elizabeth 1 of England, Portugal, and France declined to fund Christopher Columbus' expedition to the New World, he did not fight. He left these countries for Spain. He simply took advantage of the battle for supremacy among these nations in Europe at the time. In particular, England and Spain were at longerheads over control of the whole of Europe and the world. So, when Queen Elizabeth 1 turned Columbus down, he travelled to Spain to pitch her main rivals, King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella, first King and Queen of Spain respectively. Columbus promised to help King Ferdinand II become the greatest and wealthiest ruler in the world. He pledged to give ownership of all information and materials collected during the voyage and about the American continent to the Spanish government. Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus made four voyages, all of them sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain. He also delivered on his promises, and Spain became the wealthiest and strongest kingdom in the world, likewise King Ferdinand II.
Spain also became the first European nation to colonize the American continent—long before Britain joined the fray in the 1570s and 1580s. For being first, between 1533 and 1572, Spanish conquistadors took advantage of the huge gold deposit of the Inca Empire and other parts of America. This helped Spain to solidify its position as the new world power—ahead of Britain, France, and Portugal.
But Spanish system of colonization of the Americas was brute and radical. It was the opposite of the British and France, for example, who quickly adjusted to a soft approach, allowing colonies the United States of America and Canada to govern themselves by their own laws. This change of approach strengthened relationship between Britain and USA, and helped Britain to regain control of Europe following the defeat of the Spanish by England under Queen Elizabeth I. The alliance with USA also helped crushed Hitler's threat to Britain and the world during World War II. But this time it was the US that stamped its position in the world ahead of Russia, becoming the most powerful country on Earth.
Christopher Columbus' remarkable achievement, which also helped to alter the history of the world, teaches us the extraordinary power of soft change. Do not underestimate what you can accomplish using soft change.
Soft change requires creativity and far thinking. It is the favourite of the wise and virtuous. The approach is gradual and demanding, but the vacuums it may create are shallow and easily filled. Following soft change, a rock on a mountain top could be lifted to a designated spot on the base of the mountain, and then, if we desire it, take the rock back to the top of the mountain.
Soft change uses the familiar as foundation. It does not reform everything at once. This makes it the coolest way to win both short and long wars.
Many people prefer being direct and confrontational, as a way to show their strength. They want people to know and feel their presence there and then, so they do things the radical way, react to the cravings of their impulse, and in the process, make more enemies and competitors, and inflict more pains on people and the world.
But Columbus and dan Fodio showed us that we can make a change that lasts happen by relying more on our wits than on our fists. That, in fact, a revolution or major disruption can occur without anyone firing a gun—just because the approach was soft.