COLONIAL URBANISATION IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA: WARRI 1891 -1960
COLONIAL URBANISATION IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA: WARRI 1891 -1960
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Date
1998
Authors
DIDEN, Anthony A.
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Abstract
The intense human interaction which takes place within the urban centre
has made it more often than not the centre of historical study, whether
consciously or unconsciously. Surprisingly, the impact of colonialism on the
urban process in Nigeria is a theme which has hardly received the attention it
deserves. Recent works are now coming to light in thesis and published form,
expressing concerted efforts to delve into this hardly explored theme.
This work is thus a contribution to our understanding of the impact of
colonialism on the urban process in Nigeria with special reference to Warri.
In our attempt to do this we have located Warri within the Nigerian
colonial economy which in turn is located within the global capitalist economy.
By so doing, we have come to realise that Warri's urban development and
function within the colonial system was determined by its integration into the
world capitalist economy and British colonialism. Because of its strategic
location, Warri as early as 1891 developed as an important colonial
administrative centre and commercial trading post.
We showed how Warri on account of its dual significance was used to
exploit and dominate, for British interests, certain parts of the Nigerian area.
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Our work also shows that Ward's importance as an administrative and
commercial centre attracted a large population to the area. Therefore we focused
on the nature of Ward's urban administration within the context of colonialism.
We analysed residential development and road construction as well as the
provision of urban utilities, health, educational and recreational facilities to meet
the needs of Ward's growing population.
We concluded that Ward's dual purpose as an instrument of political
domination and exploitation through unequal exchange manifests the essence of
British colonialism in Nigeria. In the light of this observation, Warri aptly fits the
description of a colonial urban centre as it was the product of colonialism,
manifesting colonialism's basic features and functioned within the colonial
system to sustain and maintain it.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Post-Graduate School,
Ahmadu Bello University, in Partial Fulfilment of the
Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Arts (History)
Department of History
Faculty of Arts
Ahmadu Bello University,
Zaria.
Keywords
COLONIAL URBANISATION ,, SOUTHERN NIGERIA,, WARRI 1891 -1960