Anthills of the Savannah: Governing for Failure

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Recommended: The consequences of imperialism in Nigeria

Throughout Chinua Achebe’s Anthills of the Savannah, there are several thematic elements used to express the corruption of the government in post-colonial Nigeria. Nigeria has been culturally changed due to colonial British rule. Colonial Britain has changed the way Nigerians govern, which has resulted in many coups throughout the timeline of Nigeria. The way and life now for Nigerians is very different than it would be without interference from outsiders. Anthills of the Savannah demonstrates the hardships that the people of Nigeria faced due to colonial British rule and corruption of their own government by using symbolism, foreshadowing, and, motifs throughout the novel.

Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other country in Africa. People were first known to inhabit Nigeria as early as 5 B.C. They first constructed a kingdom in the center of Nigeria, which is named Jos Plateau. This was the first of many widespread kingdoms of that region, but two centuries later it would extend to Bornu, which is located on the western region of Nigeria (Gascoigne 1). Nigeria was made up of mostly kingdoms until British colonized in the 1800’s. The Soko Jotojhad and Yotruba wars encouraged slave trade at the time the British were trying to abolish the slave trade. Slaves were normally traded for European goods such as guns and gun powder. At this time, the British encouraged trading palm oil over trading slaves. Many of the slaves that were exported to Britain were intercepted by naval ships and shipped to Sierra Leone to collect palm oil. Some Nigerians began to migrate back from Sierra Leone in search of their homes and trade. British missionaries were invited to follow the slaves back, and in the 1840’s they wer...

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...elf-Dependent Government: Post-Colonial Nigeria in the Era of

Globalization." HubPages. HubPages, 2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .

Infoplease. "Nigeria." Infoplease. Pearson Education, 2000-2014. Web. 13 Mar. 2014.

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Jones, Jim. "AFRICAN HISTORY TIMELINE: Independent Nigeria." AFRICAN HISTORY

TIMELINE: Independent Nigeria. West Chester University, 1998. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .

Literature of Developing Nations for Students. "Anthills of the Savannah." BookRags. Ed.

Literature of Developing Nations for Students. BookRags, 2000-2007. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .

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