5 - The Second World War and Its Aftermath

Summary

This chapter describes the sociopolitical and economic changes that accrued in Nigeria during the critical postwar years and situates these developments within different contexts. Foremost on the minds of colonial officials was the anticipated effects of the demobilization of thousands of men who had been employed as soldiers, and in auxiliary services, such as drivers and hospital orderlies, and who had enjoyed a higher pay, and the concomitant unemployment that would be experienced after demobilization. It reveals that the postwar period was characterized by continuing shortages of food and other essential items and labor strikes in many parts of the country, causing disruptions in shipping and manufacturing. It argues that the significant amounts of cash that entered the economy as a result of the war became the impetus for new social formations as ex-servicemen returned to their villages with a substantial amount of money and trading firms paid higher prices for export produce than in the prewar times. With this influx of money during the war years, cultural practices, including local marriage practices, were affected. The political changes that ultimately led to the independence of Nigeria from colonial rule occurred during this period of significant social and economic change.