Colonial Political Economy of Iron Production and Technology in Nigeria: The Jos Plateau Case

Colonialism is a deliberate way of expressing the political might of the Europeans as well as a method of expanding markets for the industrial products, and an equally dumping ground for their waste products. In order to avoid competition, some policies were put in place to suppress any local industry (such as iron) that could pose a threat to their imported industrial products/waste in the colonies. The policies were enacted and enforced in such a manner that the local population would have no option but to depend on the imported materials/colonial economy. Both their political and economic policies were designed in such a way that the local economy was forced to collapse, but it was protected where it was to enhance their interests. This paper, therefore, focuses on the colonial economic policy in the Jos Plateau and how it impacted the local industries, particularly iron smelting. During World War II, an attempt was made to revive local iron-smelting industries (which they had destroyed through their economic policies) in the Jos-Plateau area to meet local needs and for export, since Europe was preoccupied with the war and was no longer producing iron. More so, iron was in high demand in Europe, and the only alternative for them was to revive the local iron smelting industries in the Jos-Plateau. The paper also discusses the colonial policies involved and other factors that contributed to the final collapse of the industry during the post-war period. Information for the writ-up was sourced from oral interviews, archival materials, textbooks, and journal articles. The paper concludes that the need to revive local iron-smelting industries in Jos-Plateau was prompted by the selfish colonial economic desires and not to benefit the interests of the people.