THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND THE POLITICS OF SOURCING AND PROCESSING LOCAL BUILDING MATERIALS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN COLONIAL NIGERIA, 1931- 1960

Abstract

Building materials are very important in the construction value chain. The Public Works Department which was in charge of constructing public infrastructures relied both on imported and local building materials. The recourse to local building materials got official backing in the early 1930s following the global economic meltdown of that era, from when it became more pronounced. This was because it was found that the use of local building materials was far cheaper than that of the imported ones. This study focuses on how the PWD went about the procurement and the processing of local building materials for carrying out construction works in colonial Nigeria. The overall essence is to reveal strategies for cutting down rising cost of building materials through the sourcing, processing and use of local building materials. It will also show that the local natural resources of the country went into public infrastructure provision and not just the forced and unpaid labour of the people. The study adopts a historical approach combining both primary and secondary sources which are analyzed qualitatively using a narrative and discursive approach. The primary sources used are archival documents obtained from the National Archive, Enugu, while secondary sources used are textbooks and journal articles. The study finds that local building materials were extensively used by the PWD to complement the imported ones, albeit, with caution to protect British market interest. Moreover, the main reason for their use was to cut down building costs.