THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANTATION AGRICULTURE IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA, 1901-1960
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND PLANTATION AGRICULTURE IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA, 1901-1960

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the nexus between the development of infrastructure and plantation agriculture in Southwestern Nigeria. It specifically analyses how the British constructed railways and roads in Southwestern Nigeria in particular in order to achieve their colonial economic policy in the country during colonial period. This is in agreement with the views of some African scholars like Toyin Falola, Walter Rodney, Michael Crowther and Julius Ihonvbere, who contend that the British interest in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general was facilitated by economic motives. The development of modern transport and the introduction of British monetary system were some of the major direct and indirect means pursued by the British towards achieving their economic interest in Nigeria. The paper argues that though the railway and road infrastructure constructed by the British positively affected the means of transport system, they were used to tap the resources of Southwestern Nigeria in no small measure during this period. The methodological approach adopted in this paper is historical, thematic and qualitative. Sources of information include primary and secondary materials derived from archives and extant literature.

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