History of West Africa more states. Early human settlers arrived in West Africa around 12,000 BCE. In the fifth millennium, as the ancestors of modern West Africans began entering the area, the development of sedentary farming began to take place in West Africa. The Iron industry, in both smelting and forging for tools and weapons, appeared in Sub-Saharan Africa by 1200 BCE, and by 400 BCE, contact had been made with the Mediterranean civilizations, and a regular trade included exporting gold, cotton, metal, and leather in exchange for copper, horses, salt, textiles, and beads. Culture developed further with the Nok culture (1000 BCE to
United Africa Company of Nigeria the firm. It was the first modern departmental store established in British West Africa. The first Kingsway store was opened in Lagos in 1948 and by 1982, the firm had 13 stores across major cities in the country including a three storey store at Ibadan. The stores initially provided access to consumer goods found in departmental stores of foreign countries, but over time, majority of its SKUs were procured in Nigeria. Towards the end of the 1980s, price and currency regulations and a downturn in the economy forced the closure of many stores and eventually the closure of Kingsway Stores.