“Food is a Munition of War”: Second World War and The British Food Control Scheme in Southwestern Nigeria, 1939 – 1945

Abstract

The Second World War profoundly impacted many aspects of the colonial economies. Some of the areas affected were food production, consumption, and exportation. This article examines the far-reaching consequences of the Second World War (1939-1945) on the food crisis in Southwestern Nigeria. Due to the effects of the war and wartime development, the British colonial government resorted to a price control scheme known as the Pullen Price Control Scheme to regulate the market prices of foodstuffs. The scheme was considered necessary due to the increasing scarcity, inflation, and demand for foodstuffs. Hence, this article, which relies on primary and secondary data sourced from the National Archives, Ibadan, and published books and journals, examines the British food control price scheme during the Second World War. The article finds that the responses of the colonial government regarding food price control were influenced by the high prices of food in urban centres and, consequently, the inability of hinterland-producing areas to meet the growing demands for foodstuffs. However, the market and food price control initiatives faced stiff resistance from market women and retail businesses, which was countered by indigenous traders who sabotaged their efforts through the impersonation of price control officers and the black market economy. The indigenous resistance contributed to the disruption of the control price scheme, which was considered a policy of commercial exploitation and market control. The article concludes that the Second World War had a significant impact on Nigerian citizens on the home front through the introduction of wartime policies aimed at providing necessary support to the British and maintaining colonial control during the war.