The Amalgamation Story and Misrepresentation of the Making of Nigeria: Periscoping Nigeria since c.1914 A.D.

Abstract

On 1st January, 2014, Nigeria marked one hundred years since the Southern and Northern part of the country were brought together to form a single entity under the Imperialist Amalgamation Policy. However, various explanations have been given as to why it became necessary for the Amalgamation; the most popular being that it was for administrative convenience. This paper argues that on the contrary the amalgamation became necessary so that the colonialist could tap the resources of the people more easily as well as tie their economy into the capitalist economic (exploitative) web. The paper using historical document is of the view that, that period marked the beginning of another phase of colonial exploitation in the history of the people, as instead of uniting the people, the colonial amalgamation  began the process of the balkanization of the area by  sowing the seed of hatred and discord among the people, thereby dividing them along ethno-religious lines, and destroying the internally developing amalgamation built through historical process over time.