Migrant Entrepreneurship and Socio - economic Impact of Sawmilling in Ore, Western Nigeria, 1970-2011

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Abstract

The history of industrial development in Western Nigeria cannot be fully understood without examining the role of migrant entrepreneurs in key sectors of the economy. Ore Town, located in present-day Ondo State, emerged as one of the major timber hubs in Western Nigeria largely due to the activities of sawmillers. The foundation of the industry was laid by the African Timber and Plywood Company [AT&P], a British firm that operated in the area between 1935 and 1967. However, the departure of AT&P in the wake of global political instability and its eventual sale of assets in 1971 created a significant vacuum. This vacuum was filled by indigenous and migrant entrepreneurs who redefined the structure and scale of sawmilling in Ore. Between 1971 and 2011, migrants, particularly the Ijebu, dominated the industry and transformed Ore’s economic landscape. Despite the importance of this industry, scholarly attention to the nexus between migration, entrepreneurship, and socioeconomic change in Ore’s sawmilling sector remains limited. This paper, therefore, examines the emergence of migrant entrepreneurship in Ore’s sawmilling industry and assesses its socioeconomic impact on the town between 1971 and 2011. Using oral interviews and archival sources, the study argues that migrant entrepreneurs were central to the growth of the industry and to the broader socioeconomic transformation of Ore during the period under review.

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