The Political Economy of Industrialization in Nigeria since Independence

Abstract

Inadequate Internal dynamics are often alleged to be at the root of poor industrialization in Nigeria. In contradistinction, this paper situates the crisis of industrialization in Nigeria centrally within the context of global unequal power relations among nations. Thus, the hope for industrialization that attended on the independence was dashed when confronted by the inequities in the international political economy. The vacillation from the policy of import substitution to export promotion in the context of the neoliberal era it heralded inevitably culminated in a dilemma. Through critical, conceptual, and historical evaluation, we argue that this was rather inevitable. The shrinking autonomy that attended on the activities of the neo-liberal project denied the country an adequate framework for the interaction of economic agents and government. Imperialism ensured this through an asymmetrical process of global interaction; in a similar manner it aborted national development programs. Therefore, there was absence of functional co-evolutionary process required for economic convergence, and industrial growth. The paper suggests the strategy of'economic guerrilla warfare', a refurbished approach to import substitution as a remedy.