Overview

In this insightful book, development historian Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina addresses the crisis of development in Africa by locating it in its colonial historical past. Using Nigeria as a case study, he argues that the nature and practice of British colonialism in this colony created social and economic deficiencies that have left a legacy of underdevelopment. Ukelina outlines the processes that led to the 1945 Nigerian Development Plan and the evolution of colonial agricultural policy and practices in Nigeria. He argues that a few key factors led to the failure of development in the late colonial period: the imperial and neocolonial imperative to exploit African resources and people, poor planning as a result of this imperative, and the racial ideologies of the colonial state that resulted in a total rejection of local African experience and knowledge in favor of Western ‘experts.’ The Second Colonial Occupation uncovers and analyzes the short and long term impact of colonialism. It reveals that though colonial rule was promoted as a benevolent mission, at heart, it was a system that guaranteed that Africans continuously paid for their own exploitation. Ukelina argues that ‘postcolonial’ Africa will continue to face development challenges unless it breaks free from the intellectual relics of colonial rule and the economic shackles of neocolonialism.

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9781498529242

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Reviews

In this well-researched, well-written, and fascinating study, the author provides us with valuable and penetrating insights into the nature and practice of British imperialism in Africa, focusing especially on the nuts and bolts of development planning, the centrality of agriculture to the colonial economy, and the clash and ultimate failures of development ideologies in Africa during the late colonial period. Using Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, as a case study, the book rejects the conventional explanations, by scholars, that are focused on implementation. A product of careful archival research and nuanced analyses, this is a new and refreshing perspective on the failure of development plans in colonial Africa and a major contribution to our understanding of the successes and failures of British imperialism in Africa. -- Funso Afolayan, University of New Hampshire

Author Information

Bekeh Utietiang Ukelina is assistant professor of African history at the State University of New York, Cortland.

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