Study Session 9: Political Economy and Culture of Underdevelopment In Nigeria

Study Session 9: Political Economy and Culture of Underdevelopment In Nigeria

9.1 Introduction

This session explores the historical patterns of Nigeria's political economy and the culture of underdevelopment. It emphasizes the organic and dynamic relationship between a nation's political economy and its development status. Before colonization, Nigerian peoples and empires organized their production to meet basic subsistence needs (food, clothing, shelter), developed herbal medicine, and educated youth through apprenticeship in traditional occupations (farming, fishing, animal husbandry, crafts, trade). The session aims to expose the pattern of pre-colonial political economy and its transformation.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this session, you should be able to:

• Define Political Economy
• Examine the nature of Nigeria's Political Economy
• Identify the yoke of Dependent Status and the culture of underdevelopment

9.2 What Is Political Economy?

Political economy can be defined from two perspectives:

1. Nature and Organisation of an Economy: It refers to the ownership or distribution of the means of production, termed property relations (e.g., feudalism, capitalism, socialism). Property relations determine the distribution of wealth or surplus, which in turn dictates consumption patterns (relations of consumption).
2. Field of Study: It is the study of the nature and organization of the economy, encompassing material production, socio-economic formations, and their dynamics.

Key Concepts:

• Material Production: The basis of human existence, involving labor (physical and mental efforts), objects of labor (natural environment), and means/instruments of labor.
• Means of Production: Comprises objects and means of labor.
• Forces of Production: Consists of labor and other assets.
• Socio-economic Formation: Every production system has a corresponding political system (civil society). Society is made up of the economy (substructure) and the political structure (super-structure). The political class and ruling ideology provide direction for economic development.

Political Economy as a Discipline/Method of Inquiry:

It is indispensable for understanding societal organizational problems because it:

• Recognizes the primacy of the economy and material production as society's foundation.
• Emphasizes the necessity for continuous expansion and transformation of productive forces.
• (Marxist variant) Recognizes the inevitability of change and transformation through the resolution of contradictions.
• Takes a comprehensive view of phenomena, examining elements in their organic interconnectedness.
• Is conceptually and methodologically multidisciplinary, integrating various disciplines.
• Establishes the relationship between the present and the past.

In-text Question Answers:

1. The structure of ownership of the means of production is termed: a. Property relations.
2. Every production system has a corresponding: d. Political system.
3. Political Economy as a discipline or method of inquiry recognizes: b. the primacy of the economy and material production as the foundation of society.

9.3 The Nature of Nigeria's Political Economy

This section examines the structure and organization of production, including property relations, wealth distribution, and consumption in Nigeria, which emerged as a country in 1914 after amalgamation.

Pre-Colonial Era:

• Peoples and empires organized production for basic subsistence.
• Developed herbal medicines and systems of apprenticeship for youth education in traditional occupations.
• Production engagements were dictated by natural environments (e.g., cereals/livestock in the North, root/tree crops in the South, fishing in Niger Delta).
• Practiced a communal system based on cooperation and reciprocity, with control over land.
• Extensive internal trade between groups and zones.
• External relations through Saharan trade routes (North Africa) and the Atlantic Ocean (Europe).

Colonial Era:

• British Conquest: Merchants moved inland, faced resistance from traditional elites (e.g., King Kosoko, Oba Ovonramwen, King Jaja) whose middleman positions were threatened. British military support led to conquest and the formation of "one" Nigeria.
• Motive: Primary motive of conquest was economic exploitation.
• Administration: A central colonial state apparatus was created, taking instructions from the Colonial Office in London.
• Economic Backbone: Agriculture was the backbone, focused on providing industrial raw materials for Britain.
  • Department of Agriculture established (1910-1912) to oversee development.
  • Promoted export agricultural production through new seedlings, botanical gardens, experimentation farms (e.g., Moor Plantation, Zaria, Umuahia, Benin), and technical assistant training.
  • Cash crops were cultivated due to demand and need for cash (for imported goods, taxes, education).
• Transport System Development:
  • Railways: Two main lines (western: Iddo to Kaura Namoda, eastern: Port Harcourt to Nguru) completed by 1930, running from coast to north, connecting major agricultural belts.
  • Roads: Network of Trunk A (main produce routes by PWD), Trunk B (Native/Local Authorities), and Minor roads (local chiefs) connected areas not served by rail.
  • Ports: Colonial rationalization reduced 14 customs ports (1860-1914) to 7, then concentrated traffic in Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Sapele to ensure goods were shipped to Britain.
• Trade: Dominated by British firms (e.g., United African Company, John Holt, Cadbury Brothers) which bought produce and organized export, and imported/distributed industrial goods. Indigenous traders were commission agents.
• Mining: Colonial administration encouraged mining.
  • Tin exploited in Jos (exported to Britain).
  • Coal mined at Udi/Enugu (served railway and British West Africa).
  • Gold exploited in Zaria, Kano, Nupe, Kotangora, Sokoto, Ilesha, Ile-Ife.
  • The colonial state expropriated mineral deposits and granted concessions to British mining interests, making itself the landlord.
• Industrialisation: The colonial administration was outright hostile to industrialization, as it would have defeated the primary aims of conquest (raw materials for Britain, market for finished goods).

In-text Question Answers:

1. The backbone of the colonial economy was: d. agriculture.
2. The involvement of people in production naturally led to: a. exchange and trade.
3. Nigeria emerged as a country in: a. 1914 after the amalgamation.
4. Before the colonization of Nigeria, the different peoples and empires: c. Organised their production to meet their basic subsistence needs of food, clothing and shelter.

9.4 Dependent Status and Culture of Underdevelopment

Colonial Origins of Dependency:

• External Dependency: The colonial economy depended on the metropolitan economy (Britain) for purchasing raw materials (which had no local value) and for industrial goods/consumables (due to lack of local industries).
• Disarticulated Economy: Absence of an industrial sector created a dependent, disarticulated economy lacking internal inter-sectoral interdependence and macroeconomic stability. Colonial agriculture was vertically integrated with British industry.
• Limited Growth: Lack of industrialization limited economic expansion, denied multiplier/accelerator effects, hindered technological improvement, and limited employment opportunities, thus stifling creative energies.
• Exploitation: The political economy of colonialism was exploitative:
  • British firms fixed arbitrary prices for Nigerian produce and imported goods.
  • Resources were mobilized through "unequal exchange" and repatriated to Britain.
  • Mineral deposits were expropriated, and obligations like head tax and income tax were imposed.
• Limited Infrastructure: Physical infrastructure development was confined to produce areas and port towns. Social infrastructure (schools, health centers) remained tokenistic. Nigeria had only one University College at Ibadan by 1960.

Post-Colonial Nigeria (from 1960):

• Petroleum Sector: The most significant change has been the emergence and dominance of the petroleum sector. Crude oil was struck in Oloibiri (Bayelsa State) in 1956, with production starting in 1958. Export earnings became the major source of fiscal revenue since the early 1970s ($630bn contribution).
• Continued Dependency: The petroleum sector remains vertically integrated with industrialized metropolitan states (Shell, Texaco, Mobil, Chevron, Agip, etc.). Nigeria exports crude oil but depends on developed nations for refined petroleum products, indicating continued dependence despite political independence. Political independence freed Nigeria from British monopoly but opened it to other imperialist states (US, Germany, France, Japan).
• Niger Delta Contradictions: Oil exploitation causes environmental degradation (spills, ecosystem destruction), making traditional occupations impossible. The capital-intensive nature of oil production offers limited alternative employment, leading to many being casual workers. Transfer of oil ownership rights from communities to the federal government fuels struggles for resource control and fiscal federalism.
• Lack of Linkage Effects: Oil production has not generated industrialization. Instead, the focus on petroleum has diverted the ruling elite's attention from industrialization, maintaining dependency on metropolitan areas for produce and crude oil.
• Urbanization and Rural Neglect: Post-independence Nigeria continues the colonial pattern of uncontrolled urbanization and neglect of rural areas. Colonial towns grew as "enclaves" of growth (commerce, agriculture, mining, seaports, administration). Public utilities were concentrated in towns, leading to rural-urban migration ("drift"). This asymmetry worsened with state creation post-1963.

The State and the Dependent Culture (Corruption):

The fight against corruption has faced significant challenges:

• General Ibrahim Babangida (1985-1993): Set back anti-corruption efforts, paving the way for looting of public wealth, misappropriation of revenue, and squandering on political transition and ECOMOG.
• General Sani Abacha (1993-1998): Accused of accumulating huge foreign currency savings.
• Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007): Established EFCC and ICPC to combat corruption, but success was limited due to "sacred cows" and alleged political targeting.
• Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua & Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan: Faced ongoing corruption, militant struggles (Niger Delta), and insurgency (Boko Haram). Jonathan's administration, however, made notable achievements in economic growth and food security.
• President Muhammadu Buhari: His administration's full assessment is ongoing.

In-text Question Answers:

1. The political economy of colonialism was: c. exploitative, through and through.
2. One of the main feature of dependency is that the colony depended on: a. the external or metropolitan economy, i.e., Britain, for the purchase of its raw materials.
3. A dependent economy is a: a. disarticulated one.
4. Crude oil was struck at Otuakeme village near Oloibiri in present-day Bayelsa State in 1956, while production began in earnest in: a. 1958.
5. The transfer of ownership rights from the oil hosting communities to the federal government has deprived the communities of: c. The fiscal revenue accruing from oil production.

9.5 Summary of Study Session 9

This session highlights that neo-colonial exploitation and corrupt enrichment by the political elite have led to state poverty, manifested in the inability to transform the economy through diversification and improvement of existing sectors. The parasitic activities of the elite, combined with economic exploitation, have left the state unable to address basic needs or ensure good governance, ultimately transferring its poverty to the people.

It emphasizes that imperialism and mass poverty are fundamental problems stemming from the political economy of exploitation and plunder. Those who benefit from these issues cannot solve them. Therefore, it is the responsibility of progressive forces and the populace to liberate the country from the culture of underdevelopment.

9.6 Self-Assessment Question (SAQ)

• Explain the nature of Nigeria's Political Economy in the pre-colonial era.
• Assess the extent of dependent status and the culture of underdevelopment in Nigeria since 1960.
• Define Political Economy.
• Explain the characteristics of a dependent and underdeveloped economy.

9.7 References/Suggestions for Further Reading

• Kozlov, G.A. (1997) (ed.) Political Economy: Capitalism. (Moscow: Progress Publishers).
• Oni, O & Onimode. B. (1975) Economic Development of Nigeria: The Socialist Alternative. (Ibadan: The Nigerian Academy of Arts, Science and Technology.
• Onyekpe, J.G.N. (2003). `The Nature and Problems of Nigeria's Dependent Economic Status' in O.A. Akinyeye (ed.) Nigeria and the Wider World in the 20th Century: Essays in Honour of Professor Jide Osuntokun. (Ibadan: Davidson Press).