Abstract
The origin of development planning in Nigeria can be traced to the colonial period, specifically 1946, when the ten-year plan for development was launched. Prior to that time, two development plans had been launched in 1929 and 1940, for all the British colonies. The launching of development plans meant that Britain had abandoned the economic doctrine of laissez faire in favor of some form of state intervention in the economy. A number of factors gave rise to this change. Among them are the economic depression of 1929, the impact of World War II on the economies of European countries, and the increased demands for political and economic reforms in the colonies.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Notes
T. Falola, Development Planning and Decolonization in Nigeria, Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 1996, xx.
See, for example, Okigbo, National Development Planning in Nigeria; and W. J. Okowa, The Political Economy of Development Planning in Nigeria, Port Harcourt, Nigeria: Pam Unique Publishing Company, 1991.
See, for instance, E. Dean, Plan Implementation in Nigeria: 1962–66, Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University Press, 1972.
A. Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, London: Routledge, 1890.
E. J. Usoro, “Colonial Economic Development Strategy in Nigeria 1919–1939: An Appraisal,” Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, Vol. 19, No. 1, 1977, 122–125.
B. H. Bourdillon, Economic Development in Nigeria, Lagos: Government Printer, 1939.
United Kingdom, Colonial Development and Welfare Act, 1940, London: H.M.S.O., 1943, Section 1.
Government of Nigeria, Preliminary Statement on Development Planning in Nigeria, Sessional Paper No. 6, Lagos: Government Printer, 1945, 1.
See J. M. Lee and M. Petter, The Colonial Office, War, and Development Policy, London: Maurice Temple Smith, 1982, 207–214.
B. Niculescu, Colonial Planning: A Comparative Study, London: Allen and Unwin, 1958, 62.
See C. Nwaubani, The United States and Decolonization in West Africa, 1950–1960, Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 2001.
F. Cooper and R. Packard, “Introduction,” in F. Cooper and R. Packard eds., International Development and the Social Sciences: Essays on the History and Politics of Knowledge, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1997, 8.
See J. M. Lee, Colonial Development and Good Government: A Study of the Ideas Expressed by the British Official Classes in Planning Decolonization 1939–1964, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1967, 124.
A. Adedeji, “Federalism and Development Planning in Nigeria,” in A. A. Ayida and H. M. A. Onitiri eds., Reconstruction and Development in Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria: Oxford University Press, 1971, 98.
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), The Economic Development of Nigeria, Lagos: Government Printer, 1954, 19.
P. B. Clark, “Economic Planning for a Country in Transition: Nigeria,” in E. E. Hagen ed., Planning Economic Development, Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, 1963, 255.
O. Aboyade, Foundations of an African Economy: A Study of Investment and Growth in Nigeria, New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966, 150.
United Kingdom, Fifth Report from the Select Committee on Estimates, (Session 1942–48, Colonial Development, H.C. 181, 1948), viii, xiii, xviii–xix, cited in Stolper, Planning Without Facts, 36–37, and Lee, Colonial Development and Good Government, 85.
Government of Nigeria, A Revised Plan of Development and Welfare for Nigeria 1951–56, Sessional Paper No. 6, Lagos: Government Printer, 1951, 5.
E. A. Brett, Colonialism and Underdevelopment in East Africa, New York: NOK Publishers, 1973, 21–22.
For details, see P. Kilby, Industrialisation in an Open Economy: Nigeria 1945–66, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969.
G. K. Helleiner, Peasant Agriculture, Government and Economic Growth in Nigeria, Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, 1966, 334–335.
G. K. Helleiner, Peasant Agriculture, Government and Economic Growth in Nigeria, Homewood, IL: Richard D. Irwin, 1966, 334–335.
Usoro, “Colonial Economic Development Strategy in Nigeria,” 122–123. The policy of regarding British colonies as undeveloped agricultural estates that needed to be developed for the purpose of satisfying the raw materials need of British industries was first propounded by Joseph Chamberlain, the British Colonial Secretary, in August 1895. See Parl. Deb., Commons, ser. 4, vol. 36 (August 22, 1895), cols. 641–642. Cited in Falola, Development Planning and Decolonization in Nigeria, 9. Scholars like Allan MacPhee, have praised this policy as marking Britain’s commitment to the development of her colonies. A. MacPhee, The Economic Revolution in British West Africa, London: Routledge, 1926, 29. However, contrary to this claim, the primary aim of the policy was to promote the production of raw materials for the use of British industries.
For details on the activities of the marketing boards, see Helleiner, Peasant Agriculture, Government, and Economic Growth in Nigeria, 154; and P. T. Bauer, West African Trade: A Study of Competition, Oligopoly and Monopoly in a Changing Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1954, 283–299.
E. O. Akeredolu-Ale, The Underdevelopment of Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria: Ibadan University Press, 1975, 36.
G. Williams, State and Society in Nigeria, Idanre, Nigeria: Afrografika, 1980, 34. Also see Nwaubani, The United States and Decolonization in West Africa.
W. A. Lewis, Industrialisation and the Gold Coast, Accra: Government Printer, 1953.
K. A. Awosika, “The Role of Fiscal and Monetary Policy in Nigeria’s Industrialisation, 1956–1966,” D. Phil Thesis, University of Oxford, 1973, 57.
Government of Nigeria, Federation of Nigeria: Opportunities for Overseas Investment: Joint Statement by the Federal and Regional Governments of Nigeria, Lagos: Federal Government Printer, 1956.
See Government of Nigeria, The Role of the Federal Government in Promoting Industrial Development in Nigeria, Sessional Paper No. 3, Lagos: Federal Government Printer, 1958.
Copyright information
© 2013 Jeremiah I. Dibua
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dibua, J.I. (2013). Colonial Planning and the Foundations of Eurocentric Diffusionism. In: Development and Diffusionism. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137286659_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137286659_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-44938-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-28665-9
eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)