The British colonial economic policies and Nigeria’s underdevelopment

Nigeria’s current state of underdevelopment can be attributed to the antecedents of preindependence economic activities. Although domestic forces and the imbalances in contemporary global economic relations and exchange have hampered Nigeria’s drive towards positive economic advancement, the present article focuses on colonial economic policy as the root of Nigeria’s current economic crises. It reviews empirical literature on British colonial economic policies and Nigeria’s backwardness, and provides an argument illustrating the possible repercussions of London’s colonial policy of integrating Nigeria into the capitalist mode of production. It finds that a negative relationship exists between British colonial economic policy and Nigeria’s efforts at achieving sustainable economic advancement. The strength of this adverse relationship is such that it has increased the awareness of Nigerian policymakers that the structure of capitalist production offers marginal opportunity for their country’s economic development and should not be embraced with great enthusiasm. Bibliogr., sum. [Journal abstract]