IN WHAT WAYS DID THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUBSEQUENCE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS THAT POST INDEPENDENT NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE HAD TO GRAPPLE WITH

QUESTION 1

IN WHAT WAYS DID THE COLONIAL ADMINISTRATION CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUBSEQUENCE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS THAT POST INDEPENDENT NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT HAVE HAD TO GRAPPLE WITH

One legacy of the colonial administration in Nigeria is that state boundaries were drawn with much regard for traditional, political, cultural or ethnic unities: the pre-independent national ideas where critical on these situation, but not sooner most of the country in African got there independent in an effort to discourage sectionalist movement or to avoid of certain the delicate balancing between various ethnic group in each country.african leader oupted for the reservation of its status quo(living things the way they are) at the Cairo summit organization of African unity(OAU 1964) all members state summerly pledge to respect the boarders existing on their achievement of independence. Thus by independent many country in Africa especially those below the Sahara, are composed of various ethnic groups characteristically they each lack common language, common culture and common historical part all of these are regarded as an important attribute of a nation. The lack of ethnic linguistic and cultural homogeneity has greatly accentuated (facilitated) the problem of political integration in each of these country especially Nigeria

MEASURES OF RESOLVING THESE PROBLEMS IN THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONALIST THAT MAKES UP THE COUNTRY

Integration as a concept, has not learnt/giving itself to a particular definition. Five different definitions are usually listed by authority who believes that all attempts to define what integration is hold the society and a political system together. The more useful definition of the term is giving as the extent to which the entire polity is organized as a system of interacting relations first among the offices and agencies of government, and then among the various groups seeking to make demands upon the system and finally in the relationship between offices and articulating citizens.

From this two aspects of integration stand out clearly

1.      Territory or horizontal integration

2.      Vertical or elites mass integration

Territory or horizontal integration: it is concerned with bridging the gap within the cultural, ethnic or religion maybe created among a people of a country

Vertical or elite mass integration: the process of keeping the nation continuously united is a never ending one, for as more demands are made upon the political system, it has to develop a new level of integration; this what is generally known as political development which is described as the acquisition of a new capability in the sense of specialized role, structure and differentiated operation which together gives a political system the possibility of responding efficiently and more or less autonomously to a range of problem. Thus, every political system, if not to decline and disintegrate most have amongst integrative capabilities. It must be able to hold the diverse people of a nation together and progressively make them transfer their loyalty from the tribe or ethnic group to the nation.

The process of acquiring integrative capabilities and creating national unity is long and difficult, and because of current development in the world at large, developing countries all over the world cannot wait all the time to heal always, they have to consciously develop the act of holding cultural diverse people together in a national community. They must play to develop a centralized and penetrative beaurocracy and supporting by creating national symbols that can mobilize the people and involve them in activities that are supra-local and supra-cultural. It is crucial purpose that the need for a truly national language is generally felt.

People may begin to feel the need for national (as opposed by the sectional, ethnic or regional) leaders, national political parties, national flag and anthem and national ideology. The abduction of short national symbol, if it is advocated, help to reduce cultural particularism and fragmentation, while at the same time help to enhance national pride and identity.  

NATIONALITIES: IN NIGERIAN SITUATION

The pre-independence (colonial period).

Nigerian is a multi-lingual and a multi-cultural state, made up of over 50 different nationalities. When the British came into the country, the discovered that the various peoples of their new territory, each inhabited a geographical area, did not have a common administration and the spoke different languages. For administrative convenience and commercial purpose, the decided to unit all people together under one administration. They maintained among other things law and order over the whole country and a super imposed a new system of justice over the traditional ones. They also built roads and railways and instituted a common currency for the whole country, but perhaps the most important contribution by the British to the Nigerian unity was making English their official language. Today, English remains the official language and official way of communicating between the educated members of various ethnic groups. However, despite the important function that English language has performed in Nigeria it still suffers from some certain limitations, which make some people believe that it should be replaced with an indigenous language.

EXPLAIN WHY THE URBAN DWELLERS DOMINATE THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL LIFE IN NIGERIA

Nigeria urban dwellers are systematically higher than that of the rural inhabitant, a greater proportion of the urban population belong to the privilege classes than the rural population. Converse the percentage of rural dwellers in the working population is higher than the urban population. What this implies is that even though Nigerian urban centres are also divided Nigerians rural/urban dichotomy corresponds to the social division of the society into two major antagonist classes. the privileged classes comprising of the political leadership, foreign and native mainly in the urban areas while the majority of the exploited masses peasant, labourers, petty traders (the unfortunate) etc. are marginalized in the rural areas which labour some or most of the population

The two social groups in urban and the rural areas also have unequal economic power and fairly distinct sources of income. The majority of the elite and the imperialist control most of the means of production like land, real estate, business enterprises, shares, saving etc. from which they earn most of the countries property income such as rent, profits, dividend, and interest. The urban elites also use their superior education to earn higher salaries then the rest of the societies. The poor urban dwellers that have no control over the means of production sales their labour power to the urban elites including the government officials for low wages, or earn low agricultural incomes by commuting from urban slums to their small farms in the outskirt of the urban centres. In effect, the urban elite are a junior partner in the appropriation of the national’s economic surplus which it shares with the foreign owners of monopoly capital.

Indeed, many of the many new rich among the urban elites are nothing but errand boys of instance exposed as front for foreign capitalist. Other is uncreative contractors to various governments.

QUESTION 3

HIGHLIGHT THE PROBLEMS OF URBAN CONCENTRATION (LOCALIZATION) OF INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

      Industrialization brings the level of income higher and primary above all agricultural sector. It also have the other effect on the region it is located. It is not possible that industry can solve all problem of development in the short run and immediate future. Employment increase through a process of production (depending on the technique used).

Effect of industrialization include

1.      The Environment  in which it is structured

2.      A new mentality beginning and directly or indirectly influences the generally activity or wellbeing of the area.

     On this basis industrialization location programs we take into account those activity in ah region whose development would give right to maximum, national or regional benefit. There is need to emphasis that it is absolutely necessary to develop the rural area so that they may market product beyond they variety and add value for their respective region.

Problem of urban concentration of industries

Urban unemployment is perhaps the most serious consequeses of industrial concentration with the inflock of rural people migrating into the few cities and industrial centers. Unemployment rises and heavily demand are also made on existing social amenities and public utilities. This leads to monthly rent and cost of transport, water shortage, sewage disposal, difficult chronic water cost and grossly over head. Etc. most of these afflict cities such as; Lagos, Ibadan, port Harcourt, Kano.

Social overhead: inescapable cost that is things that government will provide that is too much for the state, in addition to social problem creation by over concentration created there is also the implication for cost of economic activities. The dis- economist now being generated in Nigerian major cities particularly in Lagos and Ibadan because of congestion, inadequate and inefficient infrasture services.  Most probably contribute to the rising cost of production, their by reducing the level of economic welfare otherwise derivable from economic development; this statement implies that a person involved in a production of a particular product in an area because of the overhead of the factory, this profit would be put in the production processes thereby increasing the cost of product.

 Furthermore as many dualistic economist, the consequences rural exodus (mass movement) are involved in the chaotic growth of the term. The ever increasing rate of kind of overcrowding (health, school, traffic, housing etc.) The increasing rate of unemployment and encouragement of large degree of speculation. Meanwhile the country side losses it best element to the down and since productivity in the rural sector depends more on the number of hands available , than on investment and capital productivity (particularly in the indigenous sector) is diminished and income is slow.

This is to say that towns are not regularly supplied by the country side even to point that local available product are sometime imported because of inadequacy of distribution circuit. For example in the case of Zaria which until 1960 yielded exportable surpluses (9,000 tons) exported in 1960 but which by the 1970, s/ 1977 to be exact became imported. This implies that the things would should be producing by our self are now imported because the good hands are now migrating to the town and cities.

In addition the rural zones have difficulties in obtaining supplies of manufacture product from the urban economy, either because these goods donnot reach the rural areas (they sometimes circulate only between urban centers) or if they succeed in getting through their prices it can’t be compared to those of agricultural product