Abstract
Onitsha is presented as one of the best and largest laboratories to study the ecology of large urban marketplace and stall traders. How did this European-established slave-trading outpost transform itself from a commodity (mainly palm oil and palm kernel) trading center to a colonial administrative headquarter and eventually into a premier commercial distribution center in West Africa? How is space organized in the marketplace and land use within the urban area? Is the weak management and administration of urban services and transportation facilities a hindrance or a catalyst to the success and role of traders and the marketplace from their strategic command post of the urban economy? What is the nature of the urban transportation system? How will the expanding urban population in West Africa and the continued export of formal jobs in the form of unprocessed strategic raw materials affect the future role of the indigenous economic institution, the marketplace? Are African cities closing their doors to the world for expanded economic growth?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For an excellent anthropological background on the collection, bulking and commercial relationship between Onitsha and the other trading posts, see Richard N Henderson and Helen K Henderson, Onitsha History, Kinship and Changing Cultures, 1962, amightytree.org/otu-onitsha-waterside-1960–1962.
- 2.
A sauce market provides basic cooking ingredients and raw indigenous food supplies and mainly serves neighborhood residents. Some Marketers sell prepared food (to construction workers and others).
- 3.
The federal government is rebuilding the bridge (south of the existing bridge) because it has exceeded its useful life. Because of the diminished integrity of the structural frame, when the traffic is heavy such as the holiday season, travel is limited to one lane each way on the bridge to reduce stress on the frame. See Agbodo, J.A. (2020). Anambra APC lauds Buhari on 2nd Niger Bridge, Enugu-Onitsha expressway, others in South-East, Sun News online, August, 13.
- 4.
This is highway in Massachusetts known for its high concentration of high technology and research institutions within a relatively small land area.
- 5.
For details of the conditions of existing major roadways in Onitsha, see UN Habitat. (2012). Nigeria: Onitsha Urban Profile (section on Transportation), UN, Nairobi, Kenya.
References
Aribigbola, A. (2008). Improving urban land use planning and management in Nigeria: The case of Akure. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 3(9), 1–14.
Astrop, P. C., Maunder, D., & Babu, D. M. (1996). The urban travel behaviour of low-income households and females in Pune, India. Center for Transportation Research, Crowthorne, Berkshire, UK.
Ayo-Odifiri, O. S., Fasakin, J. O., & Henshaw, F. O. (2017). Road connectivity to ease traffic congestion on market roads in Benin. American Journal of Engineering Research, 6(6), 41–48.
Crowther, M. (1966). A short history of Nigeria. Frederick and Praeger.
Emoh, F. I., Ayotunde, O. O., & Egolum, C. C. (2013). Prioritizing residential land value determinants in Onitsha, Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(3), 201–214.
England, A. (2001, December 2). Kenya in battle to fight fake-goods trade. The Columbian, Portland, Oregon.
Floyd, B. (1969). Eastern Nigeria. Praeger.
Gantner, G. (2009). The urban market: Social and spatial configuration in the African city. Conference Paper, African Perspectives, Pretoria.
Hodder, B. W., & Ukwu, I. U. (1969). Markets in West Africa. Ibadan University Press.
Hunter, G. (1962). New societies in tropical Africa. Oxford University Press.
Ikeagbunam, F. I. (2014). Onitsha urban road transport system: Implications for urban transport planning. International Journal of Applied Science and Technology, 4(4), 250–256.
IMF. (2019). Regional economic outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa. Washington, DC.
Izueke, E., & Eme, O. (2013). Urban planning problems in Nigeria: A case of Onitsha Metroplis in Anambra State. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics and Management Studies, 1(1), 41–59.
Kennedy, P. (1988). African capitalism: The struggle for ascendancy. Cambridge University Press.
Krugman, P. (1994, July–August). Does third world growth hurt first world prosperity? Harvard Business Review.
Kumar, A., Foster, V., & Barrett, F. (2008). Stuck in traffic: Urban transport in Africa. World Bank Group, Washington, D.C. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/671081468008449140/Stuck-in-traffic-urban-transport-in-Africa
Lall, S. V., Henderson Jr., M., & Venebles, A. (2017). African cities: Opening doors to the world. The World Bank, African Regional Studies Program, Washington, DC. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/854221490781543956/Africas-cities-opening-doors-to-the-world
Lanjouw, P. (1999). Rural nonagricultural employment and poverty in Ecuador. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 48(1), 91–122.
Lewellen, T. C. (1995). Dependency and development: An introduction to the Third World. Bergen and Garvey.
Obi-Ani, N. A., & Isiani, M. C. (2020). Urbanization in Nigeria: The Onitsha experience. Cities, 104(September) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2020.102744
Okafor, F. (1986). Land use dynamics and planning problems in an urban fringe environment: The case of Onitsha Nigeria. Land Use Policy, 3(3), 221–229.
Okezie-Okeh, C. (2007, July 14). Puzzle: Man murdered, thrown down from second floor, death certificate hurriedly procured by accused who says it was an accident. Daily Sun.
Onyemelukwe, J. O. C. (1974). Factors in the growth of West African urban market towns: The example of pre-civil war Onitsha. Urban Studies, 11, 47–59.
Oxford Business Group. (2012). The report: Nigeria.
Pedersen, P. O., & McCormick, D. (1999). African business systems in a globalizing world. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 37(1), 109–135.
Rapley, J. (2002). Understanding development: Theory and practice in the Third World. Lynne-Rienner.
Schatz, S. P. (1977). Nigerian capitalism. University of California Press.
Teltscher, T. (1994). Small trade and the world economy: Informal vendors in Quito Ecuador. Economic Geography, 70(2), 167–187.
Trager, L. (2001). Yoruba hometowns: Community, identity, and development in Nigeria. Boulder, CO.
Udo, R. K. (1970). Geographical regions of Nigeria. University of California Press.
UN Habitat. (2009). Structure plans for Awka, Onitsha and Nnewi and Environs 2009–2027. Nairobi, Kenya.
Venter, C., Mahendra, A., & Hidalgo. (2019). Towards a more mobile city. From mobility to access for all. Expanding urban transport choices in the Global South. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ochia, K. (2022). Onitsha: The Largest Market in Nigeria—One of the Largest in West Africa. In: Marketplace Trade and West African Urban Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87556-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87556-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-87555-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-87556-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)