INLAND WATERWAYS AND THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE NIGERIAN REGION C.1800 TO 1950
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Date
2022-02-27
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Faculty of Hummanities, Kaduna State University
Abstract
Inland waterways are one of the natural resources that have continually contributed to the development of many civilizations and societies since the prehistoric period. The purpose of the study is to examine the inland waterways in Nigeria and how it was utilized by the people for the economic and social development of their communities during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The traditional historical method was adopted in writing the paper, these consist of the use of primary and secondary materials gotten from the archives, journals, textbooks, official documents and oral interviews of the key informant. Some of the major findings were that the inland waterways in Nigeria are many with varying sizes and lengths, however, the largest river Niger has several tributaries across Nigeria from which the country derived its name, it was also discovered that major economic activities such as trade, transportation, aquaculture and agriculture were embarked upon by the people through the utilization of the inland waterways. Findings from the study show that inland waterways are indeed important and contribute to the development of their host community if properly utilized and maintained, it is no wonder that some located along the waterways like the Igala, Nupe, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Calabar and other pre-colonial societies tried to exert full control of the waterways for economic and socio-political gains. The study, therefore, concludes that inland waterways have contributed a great deal to the economic development of Nigeria before and after the colonial period.
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Hadizat, A.S: (2022), Inland Waterways and the Economic Development of the Nigerian Region C.1800 to 1950. Kaduna Journal of Humanities. 6 (2): 225-240, Published by Faculty of Humanities, Kaduna State University. Available online at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hadizat-Salihu