Since achieving independence in 1960, Nigeria has suffered through a civil war, the overthrow of elected governments in repeated military coups, and severe economic crises. This study looks at the country's economic development under these conditions and in light of Nigeria's status as a Third World nation with an economy largely dependent on foreign capital and international markets. Focusing on state economic policy, Ohiorhenuan assesses Nigeria's development as a dependent capitalist economy under military rule and identifies both the factors that promote this type of development and those that constrain it.
After describing the country's current economic state, Ohiorhenuan discusses the relationship between economic dependency and capitalist development in Nigeria and then considers the economic policies of successive military regimes. Specific topics include the military's capital accumulation program and management of the economy, the restructuring of property rights, the critical role of Nigeria's oil surplus, and the government's attempts to control the organized working class. In a study of two types of collaboration between the state and transnational capital, Ohiorhenuan explores the limitations on direct governmental accumulation of capital. This systematic and incisive examination of Nigeria's political economy is a significant contribution to the understanding of Third World development processes. This book is a useful resource for policy research, studies or classes dealing with modern Africa, with Third World development, and international political economy.