Produce Buying And Marketing Boards In Nigeria: Interrogating The Fiscal Role Of Western Nigeria Marketing Board 1942-1962

Marketing Board system was one of the mechanisms of British colonial policy in Nigeria. Primary products were channeled through the Boards to Europe at the expense of both the Nigerian state and the farmers, the producers of these commodities. This study examines produce buying via Marketing Boards in Nigeria and specifically interrogates the fiscal role of Western Nigeria Marketing Board. It argues that the Marketing Boards, in spite of their exploitative nature was beneficial to the regional governments. In the Western Region, the Western Nigeria Marketing Board (WNMB) became the fiscal arm of the regional governments. It became the major financier of development projects in the region through the region’s development corporations. The paper concludes that the process of development was circumscribed due to misappropriation and diversion of funds derived from the Western Region Marketing Board. JEL: Q13, E62, O13