Impact of kolanuts trade on socio-economic development of Sagamu, 1910-1970

Abstract

The ancient town of Sagamu in the old Ijebu-Remo Province is a household name regarding the cultivation and production of kolanuts cola nitida (gbanja), especially the white variety, in the whole of South-Western Nigeria. This species of kolanuts attracted some itinerant Hausa kolanuts merchants in large number from the north to the town between 1910 and 1970. This paper examines the impact of kolanuts trade on the socio-economic development of Sagamu. It sheds light on the origins of gbanja kola; types of the nuts involved in commercial transactions; and the volume of the trade in Sagamu. In the course of this study, primary and secondary sources, which have been critically assessed and evaluated were used without necessarily undermining the historicity of the subject-matter. The paper concluded with the lessons to be drawn from the trade by contemporary Sagamu society and Nigeria in general.

Keywords: Trade, market, kolanuts, merchant, development