The Intricacies of Colonial Transport and Merchandise Regulation in Lokoja Trading District 1900-1960
Anthony D. Ali and Andrew B. Maren
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study is to discuss the intricacies of colonial transport and merchandise regulation in Lokoja trading district in Nigeria from 1900 to 1960. This is a contribution to the literature in the economic history of trade, transportation and merchandise control in Lokoja trading district in the Lower Niger region. The Lower Niger River was a dominant mode of transportation in Nigeria in the colonial period. This study is significant because in the colonial period, Lokoja was a trading district for the purchase of groundnuts and other agricultural produce. Measures were taken to regulate imports and to apply austere measures to imports so as to reduce cost. The paper argues that the primary policy guiding colonial importation was to serve the interest of the imperialist countries. As a result, there were strict regulations on the importation, sale and distribution of all imported goods. Most consumer goods were machinery and equipment. Imported items mostly used by the public works department were railing stock, rough iron, consisting of galvanized iron bars, joist plates, constructional materials, timber, pipes, iron sheet, coal for fuel, etc. The research adopts historical methodology using primary and secondary evidence. The paper concludes that in the colonial period there were strict regulations on the importation, sale and distribution of all imported goods to serve the interest of the imperialist countries.
