Nigeria is approaching its 50th anniversary, but the country is still struggling, as nothing is working,  I think that if we were colonized more, we could have been reaping the benefits countries like U.S,South Africa are reaping now. though the sacrifices would come with it, but they could have refined our people,system and culture better,with the development that wud come with it.  wat do u think?

Zimbabwe became independent in 1980. Is she really better than Nigeria?

Angola became independent in 1975. Has she totally fared better than Nigeria?

nigeria seems like the british left too early because there are people in nigeria stupid enough to believe the british leaving was a bad thing for nigeria.

these dense people dominate nigeria's affairs and are now making threads about it, this is the real problem.

I blame the British for creating this nation in the first place. Let us go back to the source. Nigeria was bound to fail ever since Lord Lugard amalgamated the South with North. Let the truth be told!

Most of you talk like ignorants, do you think they were here for ur benefits?
The british were here to loot and extol Africa and we are still suffering from what they did.
And dont think they dont have any hand in what is happening to us indirectly, they choose ur leaders for you.
What they never told you about CAPITALISM is that some people have to be poor at the detriment of the west, ask why they want us in debts even when they know this pple arent using the money for anything good.
We are suffering from Modern slavery which is mental slavery and i can actually see it in this forum, You all believe its only the white man that can do it for you and this is why we have house nigg*s in Nigeria.
Get your butts up and do something to what is happening, no white man or No prayer from any church is going to save you house niggas.

#HOTEP.

^exactly. lol
this is so shameful

all the 'good stuff' the british introduced was for their benefit and your disadvantage cause colonialism is and always will be exploitation.
the built roads to ports and from there milked your country of money, people, resources, and whatever else they could
they destroyed traditional forms of law and order so that they can control you and now you're wondering why there's no law and order in africa.
they, on many occassions committed genocide for land and control.
i mean i suppose they brought 'education' but it was just enough for you to be a mindwashed mental slave that thinks he's better then his peers and inferior to them
all the british wanted from you was money. quit fooling yourself and look at your history.

deji.ariyo,

You speak the truth. I hate when a black man begs the white man to solve his own problems. I already know the solution to the problem and it is staring at us in our face.

marocguy:

Nigeria is approaching its 50th anniversary, but the country is still struggling, as nothing is working,  I think that if we were colonized more, we could have been reaping the benefits countries like U.S,South Africa are reaping now. though the sacrifices would come with it, but they could have refined our people,system and culture better,with the development that wud come with it.  wat do u think?

I cant believe that im actually reading a thread like this and the responses from them, it makes me think that most Africans are damn hopeless fools. Since when did the british become your gods. Only an complete embicile would say "I think that if we were colonized more, we could have been reaping the benefits countries like U.S,South Africa ". Really? Are you that useless and dumb. So what you are saying is that Nigerias arent smart enough to live like human beings they need white people to show them how to do things and live? Are u silly?! Then u go and say "they could have refined our people,system and culture better", so i get it now we are a bunch of dogs and monkies and need our white master to civilize us,  You are a fool and you should be ashamed of yourself!


The reason nigeria is the way it is is because nigeria is "Nigeria". It is not a nation but an imaginary territory set to gather different african nations such as your Igbos, your Hausas,your Yorubas, your Edos,and so on to make them fight over resource that they could have traded with each other peacefully, as african brothers, if each of these nations where in their own respective countries. The resource are instead benefiting those few elites who are the ones supplying the british with their share of the wealth.Nigeria along with african countries wwas made to be in an everlasting tug of war. Dont be daft fools!

One thing all of yall should remember if you dont remember anything else, "White people's culture will continue to grow unlike your own because if the white man forgets his culture he can always come to us to relearn it". If you cant read in between the lines and understand what that means then you are lost and should stay away from anything African period! Nonsense

You aren't serious with that question, are you?

I think if the British had left in 1980 Nigeria would have been more developed. As it stands Zimbabwe and Angola are more developed structurally and systematically than Nigeria despite all their issues.

If the British had left in 1980 I reckon there would have been:

An efficient sound railway system
An efficient public transport system in general including buses and water buses, possibly a local metro system.
proper water systems in most areas.
local amenities such that benefit the community such as public libraries, leisure parks, sports centres etc
Most towns and cities in Nigeria would have benefited from proper town planning
the electricity problem would not have been as bad as it is now
The value of the naira would not have depreciated as much as it had
I think the British would have developed Nigeria in to a glorious tourist destination as they would have made features out of of Nigeria's unique natural points and improved accessed to them.

Lagos for instance would have looked like and probably been better than Lagos in Portugal.

This list is not exhausted.

I think Nigerians need to be realistic and realise why after 50 years have they failed to developed their country. Stop pointing fingers and start taking responsibility for your failure.

The sad thing is if the British were given a 10 year lease of Nigeria they would probably have all of the above  and more operating efficiently in less than 8 years.

^^

At indepence Nigeria had the resources and efficient infrastructure suitable for that time.

We had efficient and reliable electricity, rail system, water supply, etc.

The only thing I would agree with is that development was concentrated in the urban centres while the rural areas were largely undeveloped by western standards.

The wide gap in the level of development AMONG OTHER FACTORS led to rural-urban drift which our post-indepence leaders either did not anticipate, did not properly plan for or just simply ignored out of ignorance or selfish interests.

when you talk about the British staying longer than 1960, are you speaking the context of:

1. The Zimbabwean/Angolan model in which the British continued to rule after most African countries had been independent for over a decade?

2. The SA model in which the there was minority rule. I.e. The question of independence does not arise.
3. The context of most African countries not obtaining independence until say the 80s.

We need to situate this discourse is at least one of those contexts.

Whichever context you choose, the real issue as I see it is that we have had a series of leaders who have not been able to maintain and continuously improve the infrastructure they inherited from the colonoialists.

Before independence, Lagos had a working water system for the city.

There was a reliable train system serving both intra and inter city needs.

There were leisure places. The Lagos Marina and Bar Beach (or Victoria Beach as it was known then) were certainly better than now.

Sanitation was given top priority with inspectors feared much like EFCC today.

I don't think the OP should be castigated for introducing this thread. I don't think he/she is calling for neo-colonianism.

I think it's just to encourage intellectual discourse.

so the only means of development for africans is colonialism?
wow.

anyways this is why white people were able to sell ya'll as slaves, smf.
even arabs, arabs, chie,

Btw the Angolans were colonised by the Portugese.

What kind of i'diot is this?

Duh !! its like asking if a black 50yr old man should still be bre[i]a[/i]stfed by his white foster mother. . . it doesnt make sense



imagine Nigeria with no corrupt leaders and it will be a better place. . . A white man should not dictate our destinies in any way.

You mumus castigating the poster have no brains. The poster is not begging the white man to come back nor is he/she saying that colonialism was a good thing. All he/she is asking is did the British leave too early (since they were already here)?

My answer to this is YES!

Angiefan has made very good points and has covered base on almost everything i can think of. All I will add to what she has said is Hong Kong. The British only left Hong Kong in 1999 and it was definitely a blessing in disguise for the country.

do you really think hong kong succeed on the efforts or the british or the efforts of the chinese because its richer then any city in europe let alone england.


the british left america 200 years ago. was that too early?

This is what happens when a countries education of history stops at 1960.

do you really think hong kong succeed on the efforts or the british or the efforts of the chinese because its richer then any city in europe let alone england.


the british left america 200 years ago. was that too early?

Read up on the history of Hong Kong. From my understanding that part of China was leased to the Brits

Ikengawo:

do you really think hong kong succeed on the efforts or the british or the efforts of the chinese because its richer then any city in europe let alone england.


the british left america 200 years ago. was that too early?

Hong Kong is the most developed part of China. If Hong Kong was that way as the result of the Chinese then how comes the rest of China isn't up to the Standard of Hong Kong? The Chinese knew exactly what they were doing when the leased Hong Kong to the Brits for 99 years because now they can take credit for it.

Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong's economic and political systems differ from those of mainland China.[12] Hong Kong is one of the world's leading international financial centres, with a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. Under colonial rule, it espoused minimum government intervention under the ethos of positive non-interventionism.[13] The Hong Kong dollar is the 9th most traded currency in the world

When the Brits left America, they very much left their descendents in charge. George Washington, the first president of America was a member of the British army and his grandparents were born in Britain. In short, all you have to do is go to the East Coast of America to see that the British never really left there.

pappilo:

You mumus castigating the poster have no brains. The poster is not begging the white man to come back nor is he/she saying that colonialism was a good thing. All he/she is asking is did the British leave too early (since they were already here)?

My answer to this is YES!

Angiefan has made very good points and has covered base on almost everything i can think of. All I will add to what she has said is Hong Kong. The British only left Hong Kong in 1999 and it was definitely a blessing in disguise for the country.

Nonsense. Are you guys kids? No serious country, including your God in LONDON, would ever argue that foreign rule was ever better for them. It may bring about certain changes, certain new ideas, but ultimately, the destruction of that nation forever.

The problem with Naija is not whether Queen Eliza left us in 1960 or 1980, but the leadership and culture our people had and have, that accepted and encouraged that poor leadership.

You refer to Hong Kong, lol. China with or WITHOUT Hong Kong can never be colonized by any WHITE POWER, and today, can talk trash to US, a place that they have even bought up billions upon billions of investment, loans, and land.

SO please, think clearly before posting and dont show the world that you think like a typical Nigga.

chyz:

I cant believe that im actually reading a thread like this and the responses from them, it makes me think that most Africans are damn hopeless fools. Since when did the british become your gods. Only an complete embicile would say "I think that if we were colonized more, we could have been reaping the benefits countries like U.S,South Africa ". Really? Are you that useless and dumb. So what you are saying is that Nigerias arent smart enough to live like human beings they need white people to show them how to do things and live? Are u silly?! Then u go and say "they could have refined our people,system and culture better", so i get it now we are a bunch of dogs and monkies and need our white master to civilize us,  You are a fool and you should be ashamed of yourself!


The reason nigeria is the way it is is because nigeria is "Nigeria". It is not a nation but an imaginary territory set to gather different african nations such as your Igbos, your Hausas,your Yorubas, your Edos,and so on to make them fight over resource that they could have traded with each other peacefully, as african brothers, if each of these nations where in their own respective countries. The resource are instead benefiting those few elites who are the ones supplying the british with their share of the wealth.Nigeria along with african countries wwas made to be in an everlasting tug of war. Dont be daft fools!

One thing all of yall should remember if you dont remember anything else, "White people's culture will continue to grow unlike your own because if the white man forgets his culture he can always come to us to relearn it". If you cant read in between the lines and understand what that means then you are lost and should stay away from anything African period! Nonsense

my friend i doubt your reasoning ability, no offense meant, but i think you fail to understand my statement and could have kept silent instead of writing thrash and abusing my person,u are probably a new person seeking cheap publicity here .

Nobody supports colonial rule, but since we couldnt avoid it as it came, we could have made the best use of it by no sending them away when we knew we are not yet ripe to rule ourselves well,look at the effect of our pre mature independence, at 50 years ,we are still struggling.

If we were colonized up till late 70's and early 80's as some people here believe, i believe they would have impacted more discipline in our citizens,groomed and hand over to better leaders,transform old colonial dominated cities like ibadan,lagos,enugu,kano,calabar to pretoria,joburgh and other mega cities built by colonial masters in the world, our electricity problem would have never occured, roads,infracstructure, better political system(perhaps parliamentary system), our rail transport system could have been there, above all our status in the international community and foreign policy would have been an envious one.

just imagine south africa with its limited human and natural resources,compared to ours, are better than us in almost everything. we could have been a the heaven in africa and destination for tourism and business investments in africa, the position S.A has long taken.

I emphasize on S.A in my argument because definitely, S.A is not lacking in bad and corrupt leaders both in government and civil service,but they were able to surpass challenges like that even greater challenges like apartheid. the fact is that come rain come shine the system and structure has been initiated there and hasd come to stay, unlike Nigeria where those systems were still very young when they left.

AT LEAST WE ARE NOT UNFAMILIAR WITH THE SAYING THAT WE WERE IN THE SAME LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT WITH COUNTRIES LIKE SOUTH KOREA BY 1960, OUR INDEPENDENCE YEAR. SO WAT HAPPENED,

i also like how now nigerians act like once upon a time nigeria was developed lol


your country has always been poor. shut up. post independence you were poor, today you're poor, there's no on par with anything lol.
the only reason you had working facilities back then is your population was a lot smaller and the country was more manageable similar to Ghana today.


there also wasn't 30 years of westerner funded and supported corrupt military dictatorship;


america is america because they saw the british trying to exploit them and started shooting and queers till they left
nigeria is nigeria because the british were trying to exploit them, left, and nigerians forgot.

now they wanna vote for IBB lol! you people and your mentality is killing my country.

its even worst because you people have slave mentality.
instead of carving out a future for yourself your aching for the good ol days where the master was hading you table scraps like dogs and getting rich off your land and country.


yeah they should have stayed longer, so that they the commence in genocide like that did in all the other parts of africa. stupid worthless people.


this is why i love america. we got a country of people that would be ashamed to say something this stupid in public, proud of their independence and always looking to extend it
and then there's nigeria, a country of people saying it like it's a part of rational debate, ashamed of their independence, and wondering why they're not like america. blaming everything except their own poor mentality and inability to understand what the world is

Ikengawo:

its even worst because you people have slave mentality.
instead of carving out a future for yourself your aching for the good ol days where the master was hading you table scraps like dogs and getting rich off your land and country.


yeah they should have stayed longer, so that they the commence in genocide like that did in all the other parts of africa. silly worthless people.


this is why i love america. we got a country of people that would be ashamed to say something this silly in public, proud of their independence and always looking to extend it
and then there's nigeria, a country of people saying it like it's a part of rational debate, ashamed of their independence, and wondering why they're not like america. blaming everything except their own poor mentality and inability to understand what the world is

Well said.

It's amusing how most of us get sentimental and subjective about this colonialism matter despite the ugly facts that stare us in the face. All these politically correct views really amount to self-delusion and if you permit me, schizophrenic mastubation.

Save for Botswana, there is NO black (never mind African) country that has achieved anything close to almost European-standard development without considerable WHITE input. South Africa and Namibia are excellent examples. And any one that cares to check would observe that infrastructure in African countries that had extended periods of colonialism is generally better than those in countries that hastily expelled the colonists. Indeed, would any sane person dispute the fact that South Africa's commanding lead in Africa as regards all the development indices is exclusively because of the WHITE influence?

And the argument that Africa would have done better without colonialism is eminently preposterous. Ethiopia (and in a sense, Liberia) are two examples of African countries that were never colonized. How developed are they today? The brutally evident truth is that we blacks are somehow unable to govern ourselves competently - perhaps due to incompetence, perhaps curses, etc. I have no idea. It is only when WHITES are involved that systemic progress 'miraculously' happen. Examples abound.

Indeed, it is rather ridiculous to keep
threading the worn path of "Europeans exploited Africa". . .oh please! Since when did gratuitous altruism become the basis for human existence and interaction - knowing that, as Thomas Hobbes rightly pointed out, Man is fundamentally and necessarily selfish in nature? But I marvel at the European colonists' grace because they at least left enduring legacies of development behind while pursuing their admittedly selfish interests. I have no doubt that, were Africans the colonists, Europe would have been ravaged, despoiled and obliterated.

There is no point deceiving ourselves although the truth is painful and difficult to accept. The answer is: YES, NIGERIA WOULD BE MORE DEVELOPED IF THE BRITISH COLONISTS HAD STAYED LONGER!
Whining and bellyaching and chasing shadows wouldn't diminish that fact. What right-thinking people should do is to SUSS OUT the reasons for our inherent backwardness and then hope against hope that one day we will get our acts right.

^pathetic.

^ Exactly. But that begs the issue.

If it wasn't for influence from Africa and Asia, Europeans would still be living like prehistoric cave men. Before European colonialism Africans were already creating.

they did leave us way too early. all d people here talking thrash here are just too proud to accept it. i believe they could have left around 1990. simple!

Pantsi:

they did leave us way too early. all d people here talking thrash here are just too proud to accept it. i believe they could have left around 1990. simple!

Talking 'thrash'?

pro01:

It's amusing how most of us get sentimental and subjective about this colonialism matter despite the ugly facts that stare us in the face. All these politically correct views really amount to self-delusion and if you permit me, schizophrenic mastubation.

Save for Botswana, there is NO black (never mind African) country that has achieved anything close to almost European-standard development without considerable WHITE input. South Africa and Namibia are excellent examples. And any one that cares to check would observe that infrastructure in African countries that had extended periods of colonialism is generally better than those in countries that hastily expelled the colonists. Indeed, would any sane person dispute the fact that South Africa's commanding lead in Africa as regards all the development indices is exclusively because of the WHITE influence?

And the argument that Africa would have done better without colonialism is eminently preposterous. Ethiopia (and in a sense, Liberia) are two examples of African countries that were never colonized. How developed are they today? The brutally evident truth is that we blacks are somehow unable to govern ourselves competently - perhaps due to incompetence, perhaps curses, etc. I have no idea. It is only when WHITES are involved that systemic progress 'miraculously' happen. Examples abound.

Indeed, it is rather ridiculous to keep
threading the worn path of "Europeans exploited Africa". . .oh please! Since when did gratuitous altruism become the basis for human existence and interaction - knowing that, as Thomas Hobbes rightly pointed out, Man is fundamentally and necessarily selfish in nature? But I marvel at the European colonists' grace because they at least left enduring legacies of development behind while pursuing their admittedly selfish interests. I have no doubt that, were Africans the colonists, Europe would have been ravaged, despoiled and obliterated.

There is no point deceiving ourselves although the truth is painful and difficult to accept. The answer is: YES, NIGERIA WOULD BE MORE DEVELOPED IF THE BRITISH COLONISTS HAD STAYED LONGER!
Whining and bellyaching and chasing shadows wouldn't diminish that fact. What right-thinking people should do is to SUSS OUT the reasons for our inherent backwardness and then hope against hope that one day we will get our acts right.

Well said!

Nigeria had very little educated men and most of them were in their 30s and most were not that brilliant but fortunate that their parents sent them to school then. Zik and co rushed the independence thing when we had very little to no persons to man what would be left behind by the British and had inadequate exposure and vision to plan for the future.

Just look at Hongkong!

If they left late, we would have destroyed the country later.

Zimbabwe?