Colonialism is a major feature of the economic history of Nigeria. Britain eventually gained control of Nigerian administration. After independence, the Nigerian economy seemed very promising. Many saw Nigeria, with 25% of Africa’s population, as an emerging economy. However, this potential never materialized. A series of unfortunate political and economic events have stalled Nigerian growth. The country still plays an important economic role in the world, especially as a producer of fossil fuels.

Direct trade with Europe started from the fifteenth century. Portuguese had explored the coasts to avoid Saharan intermediaries in the trade of West African gold to Europe and that was a way to India. They built coastal bases and introduced the Atlantic slave trade when they bought captives from the kingdom of Benin (nowadays Nigeria) and sold them to African tradesmen on the coast (nowadays Ghana).

The period from 1680-1800 was dominated by a boom of the Atlantic slave trade because of the growth of the Atlantic plantation system. The effects on peaceful production and trade were terrible since slave trade was a cause of conflicts. However, the Atlantic trade still brought advantages. Especially, the currencies that West African tradesmen adopted were more efficient than earlier commodity currencies. This helped to reduce the cost of doing business.

The Nigerian economy has experienced good and bad times. There had been great days and there had been a few accounts of miserable days. The economy had encountered its best previously and it had likewise encountered the most noticeably bad one can ever envision.

History of Nigeria’s economy gone back to before autonomy on October 1960. Truth is imperialism assumes a major part ever of economy.

There were extremely encouraging signs about Nigeria’s economy after the nation picked up freedom from Britain. As at that point, Nigeria had 25% of all the number of inhabitants in Africa.

Nigeria was seen then by numerous over the world as a rising economy. It is however awful that Nigerian never turned into the developing economy numerous individuals figured things being what they are to be.

In spite of the difficulties confronting Nigeria’s economy today, the nation is still among the nations delivering petroleum product, which makes Nigeria a noticeable nation in assurance of world economy.

Prior to the disclosure of non-renewable energy source, Nigerian economy had its premise on charge created from organizations set up by Europeans along the Nigerian coasts. These organizations were built up as exchanging posts by the Europeans, including the British. This was amid the period slave exchange was thriving.

Aside slave exchange, agribusiness similarly contributed an awesome arrangement to Nigeria’s economy. For all intents and purposes all Nigerians were ranchers well before the British came to overcome the land. Cultivating proceeded with relentlessly and soon, Nigeria began wandering into creation of money crops.

These money crops were utilized locally, however a large portion of them were sent out on board. This got more remote trade and shot Nigeria’s economy to the spotlight. Subsequently, Nigeria was not only the nation with the biggest number of dark individuals on earth; Nigeria was additionally monster of Africa as far as financial development.

A large portion of the financial exercises going ahead in Nigeria before freedom were gathered in Lagos and the Niger delta regions.

At the disclosure of oil between the 1980s, Nigerian economy got much greater lift. Reliance on farming shot Nigerian high among the comity of countries, however revelation and exportation of oil pushed the nation considerably further to the spotlight.

Nigeria turned out to be so honored financially to the degree that one of the previous military presidents proclaimed that the issue of Nigeria was not cash, but rather how to spend the cash.

Revelation and exportation of oil made Nigeria to fabricate various refineries. As time went on, Nigeria began overlooking horticulture and were relying upon oil alone. The north was not delivering groundnut any longer and the southwest was not creating cocoa any longer.

This was the correct establishment of the present day monetary disaster that is occurring for Nigeria.

To additionally aggravate the issue, the military leaders of those days changed over Nigeria from territorial arrangement of government, where each district could create at its own pace, to the elected arrangement of government, where everybody needs to rely upon government for sustenance.

Fall in cost of raw petroleum uncovered the rot in the Nigerian economy. Reliance on oil has swung Nigeria to a mono-monetary country and the fall in raw petroleum cost is causing mark in essentially every part of life in Nigeria. As at today, the Nigerian economy is not a big deal.