economic history of Nigeria

The Economic history of Nigeria falls into three periods. They are the: pre-colonial, the colonial and the post-colonial or independence periods. The pre-colonial period covers the longest the part of Nigerian history. The colonial period covers a period of 60 years,1900-1960 while the independence period dates from October 1, 1960. Colonialism Colonialism is a period or time where one country takes over the political control of another country with the intention of profiting economically from the resources of the weaker country and having dominion over the colonised nation. Colonialism can also be defined as a practice where one country dominates another country through subjugation of the weaker people over the stronger people. Colonialism is a major feature of the economic history of Nigeria. Britain eventually gained control of the Nigerian administrators covering the period . After independence, the Nigerian economy seemed very promising. Many saw Nigeria, with 15% of Africa's population, as an emerging economy. However, this potential never materialized. A series of unfortunate political and economic events have stalled Nigerian growth. The country still plays an important economic role in the world, especially as a producer of fossil fuels.