Western Development Plans: A Re-Examination Of Post-Colonial British West Africa

Abstract

This paper is an examination of Western Development Plan in Post-Colonial British West Africa. British colonial administration has been characterized by scholars based on their different views and examinations. It has been examined by African scholars within the context of self-interest and by European scholars within the context of imperialism. However, the result of the interaction and relationships which African states had with their European counterparts has adversely affected their economic sustainability and social acclimatization. Since independence, West African States have maintained close political and economic ties with their former colonial powers. During the colonial era, the colonial administrators successfully imposed and impressed their alien pattern and orientation on the economic affairs of West African countries. West African economic affairs were distorted to an extent that two decades after independence, most of the African countries are very much dependent economically on their former colonial administrators. Post-colonial African economies are replete with the scars of uneven and exploitative nature of colonialism. Despite the abundant resources of Africa, African countries are among the least developed and industrialized nations in the world. Thus, it cannot be denied that the post-colonial African economies are, by and large, a function of their colonial experience. The colonial economies were directly linked to the economics of their respective metropolitan powers through an array of policies ranging from control of currency, trade policies and infrastructure. Hence, this paper examines the various development plans drafted after independence. This paper will benefit from both primary and secondary sources.