Nigeria Case Study

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Case Study 2: Nigeria Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of territory and population; this abundance in human and material resources, purports an ability for the country to overcome its vicious cycle of poverty and autocracy. Despite being independent from Britain’s colonial rule for nearly six decades, however, Nigeria’s hopes for a breakthrough have been continually stifled. Within an abounding state that has been autonomous for half a century, it follows that issues should be blamed almost entirely on domestic influences; this assumption, however, neglects the impact of path dependency on a developing nation. Changes forced upon the country in both the pre-colonial and colonial eras had consequences that continue to affect …show more content…

Although it is impossible to know specific details of what Nigeria would be like today without it, the fact remains that the slave trade directly caused a reduction in human resources, a factor essential for industrial and economic progress. This consequently led to a huge loss of potential surplus and a stagnated level of development in Nigeria during the early 19th Century. In addition, this era had a discernible social impact; in order to gather captives for export, the slave trade had the Oyo conquer and raid nearby groups. Pitting “residents of eventual Nigerian territory against one another” served to exacerbate social issues that already existed within the area (Baker, …show more content…

Economically, Nigeria was adapted to become dominated by foreign private capital, serving the interests of the colonialists dominating the economy, while the local population lost control of its production process. In order to integrate the economy of Nigeria with that of Britain, Nigeria's import-export trade was completely monopolized: products were exported at British prices, and sold almost exclusively to British subjects. Furthermore, in terms of importation, the British manufactured all of the products, decided which would be brought to Nigeria, and determined the prices. This exploitative system of trade was devastating for development and created a huge need for cheap primary products. Exposing Nigerian agriculture to the imperialist market insured stagnation, as unequal trade meant produce was exported cheaply and little money could be made by the productive classes. As a result, Nigerian agriculture lost any internal stimulus for development and the physical and social base of this colonial economy became fragile and export orientated. This deterioration is often cited as one of the most significant consequences of the colonial presence in

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