A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STRATEGIES ADOPTED BY BRITISH AND FRENCH COLONIAL SYSTEM AND ITS EFFECT ON WEST AFRICA

This research discussed colonialism's impact on West African countries, precisely Nigeria and Senegal. While it was proved that the effects were both positive and negative, emphasis was laid on the adverse effects of colonialism by the British and French. It was noticed that Africans were affected politically, socially, culturally and religiously. The Colonizers used direct and indirect rule for Senegal and Nigeria respectively. The analysis revealed the present state of these African countries and how they are still suffering from the negative impacts of colonialism which has hindered their growth over the years. During the colonial era, African countries were exploited. They were made to produce raw materials to facilitate industrialization in Europe at the detriment of the development of the African continent, thus making them major consumers of manufactured products and key distributors of raw materials to countries abroad; this is still a trend in recent time as both countries are monoculture economically. Nigeria keeps deteriorating in almost every sector even though they are amongst leading suppliers of petroleum. The work concludes by showing that the various ruling methods turn Senegalese into Frenchmen while Nigeria has recorded diverse riots and wars. The research recommended that: the United Nations should facilitate actions on payment of reparation to West Africans; the teaching of Africans’ cultural and traditional norms and values in schools to bring back the lost culture of the people should be imbibed; Africans should trade within themselves more to strengthen their economic values, circulate their products to reduce importation of good from foreign countries.