Why Nigeria Can’t Quit Its Love Affair With Foreign Goods

Why has Nigeria spent decades trying and failing to reduce its dependence on foreign goods? In the first episode of The Archivist, Mariam follows a question she found in the archives into a much bigger story about Nigeria’s long and complicated relationship with imports. From colonial trade and post-independence industrialisation to oil wealth, import bans, and economic reforms, this video traces the recurring cycle of Nigeria’s attempts to produce more of what it consumes. Why have successive governments struggled to reduce dependence on foreign goods? And why do imports keep finding their way back into Nigerian life? Subscribe to The Archivist:    / @thearchiviststories   The Archivist is Archivi.ng’s storytelling and sensemaking arm. We use archival research to explore the events, decisions, and systems that continue to affect Nigeria today. Follow Archivi.ng Instagram   / startarchiving   Twitter https://x.com/StartArchiving