Agebah Emmanuel Mbahon
Department of History
College of Education Katsina – Ala
08033404190
Abstract
This article addresses deregulation and privatization as they affect the Nigerian economy. The article contends that deregulation and privatization are components of the liberal and neo – liberal ideology of capitalism. The article with its historical methodology, posits that the origin of deregulation and privatization in Nigeria can be traced to the conditionalities of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) introduced in the country in 1986 under the leadership of General Ibrahim Babandiga (1958-1993). The article shows that prior to the introduction of deregulation and privatization, the Nigerian economy was almost a command one with a wide range of government control. The introduction of SAP was aimed at salvaging the Nigerian economy following the oil glut but even after deregulation and privatization of enterprises the economy became more crunched. To this end, the Abacha regime (1993-1998), suspended SAP but when Abdulsalami Abubakar (1998-1999) took over he resumed the privatization programme with the promulgation of another privatization decree. The civilian government led by President Obasanjo which took over from 1999 also pursued deregulation with vigour. However, the article shows that in spite of the theoretical arguments in favour of deregulation and privatization, has not been able to attract the touted benefits for Nigeria. The article therefore calls for more efforts to address corruption and increased prudence in the management of the nation’s resources.
