The National Inland Waterways Authority and its Contributions to the Development of Inland Waterways in Nigeria, 1997-2014

Pages 98-150
Keywords: Inland waterways Nigeria marine department Niger River Royal Niger Company

Abstract

Inland Waterways were the major highways in the pre-colonial and colonial eras. In the Niger-Delta, they are still the major highways in the socio-political and economic activities of the area. This work focuses on the history of the administrative authorities that had serially managed and controlled the Nigerian inland waterways over the years. The Government Maritime Depatment was established by Britain a month after it declared the north as a protectorate to ensure that the department managed and controlled the inland waterways on her behalf.i It inherited the powers exercised by the Royal Niger Company (RNC) on the Niger River before the revocation of the Royal Charter in 1899.This study adopts the use of primary and secondary sources. The primary data include official documents from NIWA, such as Newsletters, ships registries, licenses, vouchers and other relevant materials in the national archives, Kaduna. In addition, in-depth interview with serving and retired staff of NIWA also formed part of primary sources. The secondary sources which include published and unpublished works relating to the study were adequately analyzed for proper interpretation and reconstruction in order to bridge the gap in the historiography of inland waterways.

How to Cite

Harvard Style

Shuaibu, M.L. (2017), "The National Inland Waterways Authority and its Contributions to the Development of Inland Waterways in Nigeria, 1997-2014", in Niger Delta Research Digest Vol. 12, No. 1, pp98-150, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17319255.

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