The Anticolonial Struggle in Nigeria

Abstract

This chapter examines the nationalist struggle in Nigeria. It takes a historical look at the movement and the various factors that facilitated its spread. It argues that while nationalism is often seen as agitation against the colonial order, in precolonial Nigeria the various reactions of its peoples and societies against the incursion of the British into their territories laid the foundation for the latter anticolonial struggle. This chapter further highlights the role of some key actors in the nationalist movement and how their ideological dispositions and personal preferences helped to define the nature of the struggle. It concludes with an assessment of the impact of the nationalist struggle on the post-independence Nigerian society, especially the unending attempts at building and sustaining a true nation out of the Nigerian state.