Effects of Colonialism in West Africa

Effects and Impacts of British and French Colonial Administration in West Africa

1. Exploitation: Africa was being exploited in the resources produced by African labour. When Lever Brothers took over the Niger Company 1929, they became one of the most notorious exploiters of the 19th century in Africa.
2. Failure in Human Resources Development: Colonialism failed to advance Africa in the aspect of human resources development.
3. Setting Indigenous Cultural Goals: Africans ceased to set indigenous cultural goals and standards and lost full command of training young members of the society.
4. Means of Transportation: Means of transportation were not constructed for the benefit of Africans. They were not created to facilitate internal trade in Africa as all roads and railways led to the sea. Instead, they were built to extract gold, palm produce, groundnut, cocoa, etc.
5. Division of West Africa into two: Anglophones and Francophones.
6. Depopulation through slave trade.
7. Master-servant relationships that led to inferiority complex.