Imperialism In Nigeria

Nigeria, a country in West Africa, was one of the leading producers of palm oil, cocoa, and groundnuts, that had the potential of becoming a powerful nation. However, in 1885, European powers, such as Portugal, France, Britain, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Belgium, gathered all together at the Berlin Conference, deciding on which African colony they were each going to take over. This was the beginning of New Imperialism. During the Scramble for Africa, many African regions were colonized by European nations, and without consulting the natives, Nigeria was taken over by the British. Demanding for independence, the Nigerian people created a constitution legislated by the British, electing Abubakar Tafawa Balewa as prime minister and Benjamin Nnamdi
Unfortunately, the majority of the British’s actions were not beneficial to the Nigerian people, creating a great amount of tension and disunity within the country. British imperialism in Nigeria was harmful due to Nigeria’s loss of political power and political unity. The cheap labour with the payment of higher taxes as well as the misuse of money was economically harmful to the country, while the influences of Christianity and the lack of health care prioritization had a negative social impact in Nigeria.
First of all, British imperialism in Nigeria was politically harmful because of the loss of power in Nigeria’s government and the political disunity within the country. For instance, “the policy of Indirect Rule was adopted in Nigeria as the cheapest and handiest solution to an otherwise insoluble administrative problem” (Afigbo 273). Indeed, the British wanted to govern Nigeria using indirect rule since they believed that the government of Nigeria was not functioning properly due to the lack of staff, and they thought it was beneficial to have a cheap administration so they could
The loss of political power and political disunity led to political harm in Nigeria whereas the cheap labour in addition to the payment of higher taxes and the misuse of money caused economic harm. Likewise, the quick spread of Christianity and the lack of prioritization in health care had a negative social impact in Nigeria. Henceforth, Nigeria has always suffered politically ever since British rule. Even today, after gaining back their independence for over 50 years, the Federation of Nigeria is still currently experiencing political disharmony and loss of their own religious traditions due to European colonization in the late 19th century. The actions taken by the British to make changes in Nigeria had impacted on how the country is destined to run during post-independence. It was clearly not rightful of Europeans to have colonized African regions during the Scramble for Africa without consulting the natives in advance because every country should have the right to share their thoughts, to have their own say, and to be given the freedom to rule however way they want or feel what is best for their own country, not having another powerful colony tell them how to