In Nigeria, many artists, critics and scholars of art have been quick to justify the preoccupation of Nigerian tertiary institutions Art Departments with the quest for an identity. Some Art Departments of Nigerian higher institutions have since been identified with one trait or the other and are also classified with one trait or the other or classified as ‘art schools'. Art groupings and movements have also emerged in some of these Art Departments. Inspite of the vibrant and evolving artistic scene in Nigeria's Art Departments, many are worried that the Benin Art Department has not made a collective presence felt on the Nigerian art scene. Certainly, it remains one of the least publicized of the Art Departments in Nigerian institutions. Contrary to these views, the University of Benin Art Department remains an artistic environment of the various representational styles and other artistic approaches as well as subject matter in Nigeria. It can best be likened to a complex art forum where students from various Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics converge to sublimate their art. Despite the now familiar criticisms, there is indeed an underlying philosophy of the totality of the arts in the Benin Art Department as obtained in the pre-colonial period, an attitude, which in turn has encouraged within the Art Department, the development of diverse styles. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 8 2008: pp. 33-48
{"title":"Old Wine in New Skins: The University of Benin Art Department and the “Art School” Trend in Nigeria","authors":"F. Odiboh","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V8I1.32565","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V8I1.32565","url":null,"abstract":"In Nigeria, many artists, critics and scholars of art have been quick to justify the preoccupation of Nigerian tertiary institutions Art Departments with the quest for an identity. Some Art Departments of Nigerian higher institutions have since been identified with one trait or the other and are also classified with one trait or the other or classified as ‘art schools'. Art groupings and movements have also emerged in some of these Art Departments. Inspite of the vibrant and evolving artistic scene in Nigeria's Art Departments, many are worried that the Benin Art Department has not made a collective presence felt on the Nigerian art scene. Certainly, it remains one of the least publicized of the Art Departments in Nigerian institutions. Contrary to these views, the University of Benin Art Department remains an artistic environment of the various representational styles and other artistic approaches as well as subject matter in Nigeria. It can best be likened to a complex art forum where students from various Nigerian Universities and Polytechnics converge to sublimate their art. Despite the now familiar criticisms, there is indeed an underlying philosophy of the totality of the arts in the Benin Art Department as obtained in the pre-colonial period, an attitude, which in turn has encouraged within the Art Department, the development of diverse styles. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 8 2008: pp. 33-48","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128300972","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
From 1999 to date, there would seem to be policy paralysis on the part of government in the context of formulating and implementing policy options that could stem the tide of continuous revolt in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. The revolt is the contemporary manifestation of the resource rights agitations that have pitched the oil rich minority groups in the Niger Delta against the Nigerian state. The Nigerian state is obsessed with the search for peace but fails to address the issues of justice that are central to the raging conflict. The adoption of militarized mediation as a conflict resolution strategy has indeed aggravated tensions, which in turn have led to the transformation and intensification of conflict strategies adopted by the people in the region. The transition from non-violence to violence in the post-Ken Saro Wiwa era is now evident in the re-introduction of old forms of conflict such as kidnapping and oil-flow obstruction, although the brazen nature of these acts seem to convey the impression that these forms of conflict are new. The article establishes the link between these conflicts and the on-going resource agitations in the region. It also explores possible remedies that could stem the tide of violence in the region. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 8 2008: pp. 91-112
从1999年至今，政府在制定和实施政策选择方面似乎出现了政策瘫痪，这些政策选择可能会阻止尼日利亚尼日尔三角洲地区持续不断的叛乱浪潮。这场叛乱是尼日尔三角洲富产石油的少数群体与尼日利亚政府争夺资源权利的当代表现。尼日利亚政府痴迷于寻求和平，但却未能解决导致这场激烈冲突的核心问题——正义问题。采用军事化调解作为一种解决冲突的战略确实加剧了紧张局势，这反过来又导致该地区人民所采取的冲突战略的转变和加剧。后肯·萨罗·维瓦时代从非暴力向暴力的过渡现在很明显，重新出现了绑架和阻碍石油流动等旧形式的冲突，尽管这些行为的无耻性质似乎给人一种印象，即这些形式的冲突是新的。本文确立了这些冲突与该地区持续的资源动荡之间的联系。报告还探讨了遏制该地区暴力浪潮的可能补救措施。拉各斯历史评论Vol. 8 2008: pp. 91-112
{"title":"Resource Rights Agitations and the ‘New Forms of Conflict' in the Niger-Delta, 1999 – 2008.","authors":"V. Ukaogo","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V8I1.32569","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V8I1.32569","url":null,"abstract":"From 1999 to date, there would seem to be policy paralysis on the part of government in the context of formulating and implementing policy options that could stem the tide of continuous revolt in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. The revolt is the contemporary manifestation of the resource rights agitations that have pitched the oil rich minority groups in the Niger Delta against the Nigerian state. The Nigerian state is obsessed with the search for peace but fails to address the issues of justice that are central to the raging conflict. The adoption of militarized mediation as a conflict resolution strategy has indeed aggravated tensions, which in turn have led to the transformation and intensification of conflict strategies adopted by the people in the region. The transition from non-violence to violence in the post-Ken Saro Wiwa era is now evident in the re-introduction of old forms of conflict such as kidnapping and oil-flow obstruction, although the brazen nature of these acts seem to convey the impression that these forms of conflict are new. The article establishes the link between these conflicts and the on-going resource agitations in the region. It also explores possible remedies that could stem the tide of violence in the region. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 8 2008: pp. 91-112","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"61 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130012582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diffusion of 'upo' funerary and 'egungun' textiles in the Niger-Benue confluence area","authors":"T. Akinwumi","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32560","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"218 4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114018153","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article examines the remarkable phenomenon of ‘born-again' obas in Yorubaland both in the colonial and post-colonial periods. It argues that while Pentecostal doctrine does not distinguish between ‘personal' and ‘cultural' conversion, such a distinction might have become pragmatic for many of these obas in order to avert communal crises. Those who remained rigid without the support of higher political authorities came up against serious brick wall in their respective domains. This study shows that the conversion of an oba goes beyond a personal change of religious affiliation, but raises questions of power relations and cultural hegemony. The article also highlights the intersection between conversion, modernity and development. It demonstrates how ‘physical development' gradually became a principal parameter used to assess the performance of traditional rulers in post-colonial Nigeria, and how a high rating in this regard could mitigate hostilities provoked by an oba's ‘born-again' stance. At the heart of this entire discourse is the contestation of power through religious or ‘development' idioms. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 1-20
{"title":"The 'Born-Again' Oba: Pentecostalism and Traditional Chieftaincy in Yorubaland","authors":"O. Adeboye","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32552","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32552","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the remarkable phenomenon of ‘born-again' obas in Yorubaland both in the colonial and post-colonial periods. It argues that while Pentecostal doctrine does not distinguish between ‘personal' and ‘cultural' conversion, such a distinction might have become pragmatic for many of these obas in order to avert communal crises. Those who remained rigid without the support of higher political authorities came up against serious brick wall in their respective domains. This study shows that the conversion of an oba goes beyond a personal change of religious affiliation, but raises questions of power relations and cultural hegemony. The article also highlights the intersection between conversion, modernity and development. It demonstrates how ‘physical development' gradually became a principal parameter used to assess the performance of traditional rulers in post-colonial Nigeria, and how a high rating in this regard could mitigate hostilities provoked by an oba's ‘born-again' stance. At the heart of this entire discourse is the contestation of power through religious or ‘development' idioms. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 1-20","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"133 1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130906642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Although rural areas in Nigeria habour over eighty percent of the national population, they can only boast of about ten percent of the infrastructure and other indices of development. The billions of dollars, which the three tiers of government and international agencies budget for the development of rural areas are often frittered away. Otherwise, with the level of attention and the amount of money expended on efforts at developing the rural communities in Nigeria the disparity and lopsidedness between the rural and urban areas of the country with regard to the level of poverty and socio-economic infrastructure should have been a thing of the past. It appears that the more money is spent on the rural areas the greater the disparity in the level of development between the urban and rural areas. The article explores the reasons for this seeming contradiction. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 21-34
{"title":"The Concept and Process of Rural Development in Nigeria: A Revisitation","authors":"U. Nnadozie","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32553","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32553","url":null,"abstract":"Although rural areas in Nigeria habour over eighty percent of the national population, they can only boast of about ten percent of the infrastructure and other indices of development. The billions of dollars, which the three tiers of government and international agencies budget for the development of rural areas are often frittered away. Otherwise, with the level of attention and the amount of money expended on efforts at developing the rural communities in Nigeria the disparity and lopsidedness between the rural and urban areas of the country with regard to the level of poverty and socio-economic infrastructure should have been a thing of the past. It appears that the more money is spent on the rural areas the greater the disparity in the level of development between the urban and rural areas. The article explores the reasons for this seeming contradiction. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 21-34","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"21 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134357419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
After decades of Cold War, when Africa was simply viewed as a convenient pawn on the global chessboard, and a further period of neglect and retreat, Africa has once again emerged as a vital arena of US interests. After 9/11 and the continuing war in Iraq, it is clear that the US will be more dependent on foreign oil, and needs to ensure the stability as well as increase its suppliers from such sources that may not be entirely friendly. This strongly implies the linking of energy to national security, and the projection of US military might on a global scale to protect its national energy security interest. The reasons for re-engagement are linked to the war against terrorism and the incursions by Chinese oil companies into sub-Saharan African oil producing states and growing Chinese oil imports for its growing military might, and what this portends for US oil interests in Africa and its national security in a global context. It should be noted that the re-engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa, is based on US perception of threats to its vital interests in the region. Furthermore, the process of reengaging Africa is directed at controlling both the territorial space and the resources within it. As such, it masks a new continuity in the subordination of the region to the world's only superpower and its allies. Re-engagement has far-reaching implications for the region's development, as the paper shall make clear. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 105-124
{"title":"From retreat to re-engagement: the new American foreign policy for Sub-Saharan Africa","authors":"C. Dokubo","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32558","url":null,"abstract":"After decades of Cold War, when Africa was simply viewed as a convenient pawn on the global chessboard, and a further period of neglect and retreat, Africa has once again emerged as a vital arena of US interests. After 9/11 and the continuing war in Iraq, it is clear that the US will be more dependent on foreign oil, and needs to ensure the stability as well as increase its suppliers from such sources that may not be entirely friendly. This strongly implies the linking of energy to national security, and the projection of US military might on a global scale to protect its national energy security interest. The reasons for re-engagement are linked to the war against terrorism and the incursions by Chinese oil companies into sub-Saharan African oil producing states and growing Chinese oil imports for its growing military might, and what this portends for US oil interests in Africa and its national security in a global context. It should be noted that the re-engagement with Sub-Saharan Africa, is based on US perception of threats to its vital interests in the region. Furthermore, the process of reengaging Africa is directed at controlling both the territorial space and the resources within it. As such, it masks a new continuity in the subordination of the region to the world's only superpower and its allies. Re-engagement has far-reaching implications for the region's development, as the paper shall make clear. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 105-124","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130358721","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Book Review: Ogbeidi, Michael M. Egypt and Her Neighbours: A General Survey","authors":"Olukoya Ogen","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32562","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"72 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122826425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Spanish policy toward Cuba and Equatorial Guinea up to the end of the 19th century differed markedly. The policy itself is difficult to define but the general principle emphasized the exploitation of the resources of the colonies for the benefit of Spain. It also provided for the spread of Spanish culture and the Christian faith. It is therefore somewhat similar to the French assimilation policy. The emphasis on the economic benefits derivable from the colonies influenced Spain to pay attention to the development of infrastructure and establishment of effective administration in Cuba. This was very different from the situation in Equatorial Guinea. Since Equatorial Guinea did not hold much economically, Spanish policy toward the colony up to the early 20th century provided for the maintenance of loose control over the territory and very little effort was made to establish infrastructure and promote development. The article undertakes a comparative analysis of the experiences of Cuba and Equatorial Guinea under Spanish rule. It argues that although the focus of Spanish colonialism in Cuba, as elsewhere, was the exploitation of minerals and the development of plantation agriculture, the Spanish authorities established administrative structures and social infrastructure in the process. This was however not the case in Equatorial Guinea until the loss of Cuba in 1898 compelled Spain to turn attention to its African colony. The paper therefore disagrees with the view that the primary motive of colonial enterprise was to bring ‘civilisation' to the colonised, and concludes that the economic benefit to Spain was the most important consideration in the colonial enterprise, as was the case with most other colonial powers in Africa and elsewhere. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 57-72
{"title":"Different Strokes: Spanish Policy toward Cuba and Equatorial Guinea during the Colonial Period","authors":"D. Aworawo","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32555","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V7I1.32555","url":null,"abstract":"Spanish policy toward Cuba and Equatorial Guinea up to the end of the 19th century differed markedly. The policy itself is difficult to define but the general principle emphasized the exploitation of the resources of the colonies for the benefit of Spain. It also provided for the spread of Spanish culture and the Christian faith. It is therefore somewhat similar to the French assimilation policy. The emphasis on the economic benefits derivable from the colonies influenced Spain to pay attention to the development of infrastructure and establishment of effective administration in Cuba. This was very different from the situation in Equatorial Guinea. Since Equatorial Guinea did not hold much economically, Spanish policy toward the colony up to the early 20th century provided for the maintenance of loose control over the territory and very little effort was made to establish infrastructure and promote development. The article undertakes a comparative analysis of the experiences of Cuba and Equatorial Guinea under Spanish rule. It argues that although the focus of Spanish colonialism in Cuba, as elsewhere, was the exploitation of minerals and the development of plantation agriculture, the Spanish authorities established administrative structures and social infrastructure in the process. This was however not the case in Equatorial Guinea until the loss of Cuba in 1898 compelled Spain to turn attention to its African colony. The paper therefore disagrees with the view that the primary motive of colonial enterprise was to bring ‘civilisation' to the colonised, and concludes that the economic benefit to Spain was the most important consideration in the colonial enterprise, as was the case with most other colonial powers in Africa and elsewhere. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 57-72","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"17 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"122652664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Studies in British war propaganda during the Second World have focussed mainly on the efforts made at “selling the war at home.” In many of these studies war propaganda in the colonies is seen simply as extensions of the discourses produced in the metroples of Europe. Imperial propaganda was essentially the dissemination of information from the metropole to the colonies. This paper argues that West Africans were not just receivers and replicators of colonial war propaganda. The colonies were also sites for the production of imperial war propaganda and Africans were central to colonial propaganda machinery. Imperial propaganda had to be modified to meet the needs of the colonies and Africans played important roles in this process. The role of Africans in the making of colonial war propaganda is particularly evident in the impact of war propaganda on the politics of decolonisation in British West Africa. Although war propaganda provided an opportunity for Britain to rally the support of her West African subjects against what was presented as a dreaded common enemy, it also provided new opportunities for emergent West African elites to articulate nationalist demands on a world stage drawing on the same discourses of self-determination that underscored British war propaganda. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 35-56
{"title":"Selling the War Abroad: West African Initiatives and the making of British War Propaganda 1939-1945","authors":"Bonny Ibhawoh","doi":"10.4314/lhr.v7i1.32554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/lhr.v7i1.32554","url":null,"abstract":"Studies in British war propaganda during the Second World have focussed mainly on the efforts made at “selling the war at home.” In many of these studies war propaganda in the colonies is seen simply as extensions of the discourses produced in the metroples of Europe. Imperial propaganda was essentially the dissemination of information from the metropole to the colonies. This paper argues that West Africans were not just receivers and replicators of colonial war propaganda. The colonies were also sites for the production of imperial war propaganda and Africans were central to colonial propaganda machinery. Imperial propaganda had to be modified to meet the needs of the colonies and Africans played important roles in this process. The role of Africans in the making of colonial war propaganda is particularly evident in the impact of war propaganda on the politics of decolonisation in British West Africa. Although war propaganda provided an opportunity for Britain to rally the support of her West African subjects against what was presented as a dreaded common enemy, it also provided new opportunities for emergent West African elites to articulate nationalist demands on a world stage drawing on the same discourses of self-determination that underscored British war propaganda. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 7 2007: pp. 35-56","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2008-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132462194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In the late 1950s, it seemed clear that Britain would soon grant Nigeria her independence. However, to guarantee her economic and strategic interests in independent Nigeria, it sought to manipulate the decolonisation process. One key strategy employed was to side with the faction of the Nigerian petty bourgeoisie whose political, economic and class interests were in agreement with that of Britain, and this was the Northern Nigeria political elite. Unfortunately, the faction's economic base was weak. Although it was the largest and supposedly the most populated region, the North was also the poorest. Thus, the faction could not develop its region much less guarantee British interests—unless its economic base was further developed. One key sector of the economy that could be used for the purpose was agriculture. However, the greatest obstacle to further agricultural production was the inefficiency of the existing transport system, particularly the railway. From early 1950s, the Northern establishment began to pressurise the central colonial government into constructing a railway extension into the potentially agriculturally rich Bornu province. The pressure worked, and the Bornu Extension was adopted despite concern for its viability, and lack of finance for it. The 400-mile extension was eventually constructed and opened in 1964. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 6, 2006: 148-170
{"title":"The political economy of railway construction in Nigeria: the Bornu railway extension","authors":"T. Ayoola","doi":"10.4314/LHR.V6I1.32551","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/LHR.V6I1.32551","url":null,"abstract":"In the late 1950s, it seemed clear that Britain would soon grant Nigeria her independence. However, to guarantee her economic and strategic interests in independent Nigeria, it sought to manipulate the decolonisation process. One key strategy employed was to side with the faction of the Nigerian petty bourgeoisie whose political, economic and class interests were in agreement with that of Britain, and this was the Northern Nigeria political elite. Unfortunately, the faction's economic base was weak. Although it was the largest and supposedly the most populated region, the North was also the poorest. Thus, the faction could not develop its region much less guarantee British interests—unless its economic base was further developed. One key sector of the economy that could be used for the purpose was agriculture. However, the greatest obstacle to further agricultural production was the inefficiency of the existing transport system, particularly the railway. From early 1950s, the Northern establishment began to pressurise the central colonial government into constructing a railway extension into the potentially agriculturally rich Bornu province. The pressure worked, and the Bornu Extension was adopted despite concern for its viability, and lack of finance for it. The 400-mile extension was eventually constructed and opened in 1964. Lagos Historical Review Vol. 6, 2006: 148-170","PeriodicalId":339050,"journal":{"name":"Lagos Historical Review","volume":"38 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2006-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132839614","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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