One of the negative effects of colonial rule on West African states was the

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for a negative effect of colonial rule on West African states. So we must eliminate the positive or beneficial legacies and keep the one that harmed development.

Step 2: Explain the concept Colonial powers (Britain, France, etc.) organised their colonies mainly to benefit the home country. Colonies were made to:

• produce raw materials (cocoa, palm oil, groundnuts, cotton, minerals) for European industries
• import finished goods from Europe
• rely on the colonial power for capital, technology, and manufactured goods

This created dependency syndrome: a continued reliance of former colonies on foreign nations for goods, aid, expertise, and markets, even after independence.

Step 3: Evaluate each option

• A. Building of roads and rail network: A positive effect (infrastructure), even though it was built mainly to move raw materials to the coast. It is generally listed as a benefit.
• B. Social interventions: Things like hospitals and health services are generally counted as positive effects.
• C. Western education: Generally listed as a positive effect, as it produced the educated elite who led nationalist movements.
• D. Dependency syndrome: A negative effect. West African economies stayed tied to exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods, and this weakened self-reliance.

Step 4: Answer The negative effect is D. dependency syndrome.

Exam tip: In "positive or negative effects of colonial rule" questions, remember:

• Positive: roads, railways, schools, hospitals, a common language, ending of slave trade
• Negative: exploitation of resources, dependency, boundary problems, loss of sovereignty, destruction of indigenous culture and institutions

Words like "dependency," "exploitation," and "partition" almost always signal the negative side.