African Migration to Europe and the Emergence of Modern Slavery Africa: Who is to Blame? Nigeria in Perspectives (original) (raw)
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Colonization of Nigeria began with the British Empire's conquest of the region in the late 19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, the British Empire established colonial rule in the region. As a result of the independence movements that grew stronger after World War II, the struggle for independence began in Nigeria. As a result, Nigeria gained independence in 1960 and the decolonization process was completed in the "political" field. However, the continuity of dependency relations in the region is still a matter of debate. This study aims to examine the country's current position in the Sub-Saharan region by taking a historical look at the colonization and decolonization processes in Nigeria. Nigeria has recently become one of the economically richest countries in the region and the most populous country in the region in terms of population. However, the country is also experiencing some turmoil in the political and social spheres. This historical research will be limited to the history of political thought. The document analysis method is used in the study and the social history school is used as an approach. The document analysis method considers a wide range of sources, such as letters, diaries, official documents, newspaper articles, maps, photographs, and other archival materials. When reviewing documents, factors such as the reliability of the sources, the author's intention and the context of the content are considered. The social history school to be used as an approach refers to a historiographical movement that developed at Cambridge University in the 1960s. The social history school brings new perspectives by using critical approaches in historiography. They particularly emphasized the impact of economic, social, and cultural factors on history and question the traditional understanding of political history. In this context, the study aims to read history from the eyes of the "losers" rather than the "winners" by making use of this critical position. The study is divided into two parts, apart from the introduction and conclusion sections. The first part examines the processes of colonization and decolonization, and the second part examines the role of these historical processes in understanding Nigeria's current regional position. Keywords: Colonization, Decolonization, Nigeria, Political Thought, Social History
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The challenges of scholarship in conceptualizing or teaching modern African history and politics in the African perspectives has been identified by several scholars as a source of weak understanding and inquiry within the space of western and African academia. More of acceptable or age-long perspectives tend to give credence to only ideas that were either propounded or perpetuated as the way and manner that European schools view the African society and what is left of the beauty of their westernization of the African locale in the name of civilization and modernization. The challenges that encircles the overall activities, process and system introduced by the western incursion in Africa has left much in doubt about the sincerity of European incursion in Africa long after African countries have gained political independence from European States who colonized Africa. With the dearth of intellectual materials on the study of European policies and impact on Africa societies, a combination of these seminar presentations written and presented by me in the postgraduate class as a Doctoral Research Scholar at Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti has been compiled as a relevant view point of modern African perspectives on TOPICAL ISSUES IN IMPERIALISM, COLONIALISM AND NEO-COLONIALIM IN AFRICA. It is expected that the study will bridge the gap in intellectual space and stimulate further research into the study with a view to situate and understand what western intervention meant to Africa and how it will continue to be seen for a long time until, Africa is able to break the yoke of underdevelopment and structural crisis that came with European civilization and modernization processes.
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By the 19th C, the scramble for territories by the European powers took a new turn as they began to make significant advances into tropical Africa. By 1913, European powers had divided the African continent into a patchwork that showed little regard for ethnic and linguistic boundaries. In this piece, the researcher makes a study of European colonization of Africa. The researcher also tries to trace how the foot prints of colonialism still looms at the horizons of Africa's present crisis. As a way forward, the researcher proposes that Africa must stop crying over split milk and begin to raise her own cows. She must stop blaming the whites for the evils of the past and begin to face the challenges of the present. This is a process that must involve the governments and peoples of Africa.
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The purpose of this paper was to examine the the factors that impairs African development such as slave trade, colonization, neocolonization and corruption which played a vital role in stagnating African development. This study is conceptual one, utilizing secondary source of data, and the method of analysis was analytical. This study revealed that apart from slave trade, colonialism and neo--colonialism, corruption is the most devastating factor that stagnate African development. The study recommends that corruption should be fought from all angles and severe punishment should be meted on corrupt officials. This study argues that African underdevelopment could be traced to slave trade era where about 15--20 million of able bodied men and women were carted away from Africa to Europe and subsequently to America. Africans were colonized and their mineral resources were exploited, and in order to continue the exploitation of the African resources neo--colonialism was introduced through their stooges and multi--National Corporations. The African leaders on their part embezzled public funds which has greatly affected the development effort negatively.
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It has been established that, theoretically, every society possesses the capacity to evolve independently, progressing through various stages of development until it becomes a fully developed entity capable of meeting its own needs while also addressing the needs of neighboring societies. Nigeria, with its expansive land and diverse communities, is home to numerous emerging and established societies. These societies were on a trajectory toward self-sufficiency, transitioning from traditional agrarian systems to cash crop production and engaging in trade both domestically and internationally. Over time, Nigeria’s social structure gradually evolved into a more feudal system, leading to the emergence of distinct societal classes. It was evident that the country was advancing toward development at its own pace—until the arrival of European powers disrupted this process. African and Asian societies were developing autonomously until they were subjected to direct or indirect control by capitalist entities. The political dynamics of Nigeria and other African nations can be traced back to the colonial era, revealing that the continent's progress was significantly hindered by European colonization. As a result, many African nations, including Nigeria, can be seen as having bypassed crucial stages of development, becoming dependent rather than self-sufficient.