The Political Economy of Industrialisation in Nigeria: Is Ethnicity a Constraint?

Abstract

Is Nigeria’s multi-ethnic and multicultural configuration responsible for her low level of industrialisation? Is ethnic pluralism really a significant constraint to Nigeria’s industrial development? What role has Nigeria’s political economy played in foisting industrial underdevelopment on Nigeria? What lessons can be learnt from other industrialised but multi-ethnic countries, as Nigeria strives to industrialise? These were the questions that claimed our attention in this paper. The paper discountenances and refutes the hypothesis that ethnicity is responsible for Nigeria’s lack of industrialization, but rather places the burden for Nigeria’s under-industrialization at the doorsteps of vested interests, neo-colonial dependence, and the distorted, dependency worldview of the ruling class responsible for industrial policy formulation.