On the 17th of March, 1941, Sir Bernard Henry Bourdillon addressed the Legislative Council in Lagos, Nigeria as regards the progress of the Colony as well as estimates for the years 1942, 1941, and 1940 and an update on war efforts from Nigeria. Sir Bernard Bourdillon also mentioned to the council that all efforts to make Nigeria self-supporting made useful progress, as produces like Sugar, Groundnuts, Tin, Cocoa, Starch, etc. saw increased production and some industries could export a certain percentage of some of these products to other West African Colonies like the Gambia, Gold Coast and Sierra Leone.

There was also an increase in activities in the Public Works Department while the Education Department saw a reduction in European schoolmasters or tutors and were left with exceptional African tutors who stepped into the role of these absent staff and kept the high standard of education. The war on the other hand didn't affect the newly constituted Labour Inspectorate. The war also resulted in the creation of the Information Office which served as a Public Relations Office alongside the public press, including providing the public with information on activities by the Government as well as regular war news.

In his final note, Sir Bernard Henry Bourdillon spoke of his meeting with General Charles de Gaulle, General de Larminat, and Colonel Leclerc, as well as other adherents to General de Gaulle in Lagos and his appreciation of the United States of America's material aid. In this episode, we conclude the lengthy speech given by the Governor General.

Let us know if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

Kindly rate our podcast 5 🌟 on your respective listening platforms.

Instagram: @thefacadenigeria

Twitter: @FacadeNigeria

TikTok: @thefacadenigeria

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.