Factors hindering industrial growth in Nigeria?

Answer 1

The main issue with Nigeria is the resource curse. The resource curse is where a nation or a state with a very valuable and plentiful supply of resources. It is also referred to as the paradox of the plenty because countries that seem to have an enormous amount of wealth tend to have less economic growth and a lower standard of living than those regions that have a less wealth. One explanation for this is that the government has no incentive to be accountable to its citizens. This is because the government does not need to tax its citizens in order to garner funds and therefore has no stake in creating infrastructure in order to improve the standard of living for its people. Another factor contributing to the underdevelopment of Nigeria is the dominance of conflict and civil war in Nigeria. Wars cost a lot of money and the average African civil war lasts 10 years and cost 64 billion dollars. There is also a 50% chance that the region will go back into civil war. In Nigeria there is a complex situation involving a myriad of parties including but not limited to: transnational oil companies, oil engineering companies, funders, banks, construction companies, military and private/public security functions. Nigeria gains 70-80 billion dollars a year and the government has shown that they are willing to take direct and indirect action to repress any movements that threatens the current Nigerian social structure.