The Nigerian State, Civil Society and National Question: Issues, Contradictions and Contestations

The Nigerian state emerged from the colonial state; the resultant post-colonial state lacks autonomy and is peripheral in nature. The state is enmeshed in contradictions that raise questions on its relevance, meaning and purpose. The limitations of the Nigerian state have been posed as the national question. There is, therefore, a relationship between the nature of the Nigerian state and the national question. There is lack of unanimity among scholars on the nature of the national question in Nigeria. The citizenship, indigeneship and settler questions are aspects of the national question that underline the contradictory character of the Nigerian state. The lopsided nature of the Nigerian state and the ensuing national question have elicited the involvement of civil society organizations. The civil society groups have engaged different aspects of the national question; and have posed alternative constructs to the dominant political, economic and administrative arrangements. The Buhari administration insists on the nonnegotiable nature of the Nigerian federation thereby provoking renewed debates on the country’s federal architecture. This article reviews the theoretical and empirical debates on the Nigerian state and theorizes on the civil society and the nature of civil society organizations in Nigeria. The specific nature of the national question in Nigeria is appraised amid the struggle between the state actors and civil society groups on the alternatives. Keywords: State, Civil Society, National Question, Federatio

The left, economic crisis and alternative development paradigms

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the left economic crisis and alternative development paradigms. Methodology: The study used desktop research methodology. Results: In appraising options in the globalized economy, the Nigerian state should re think market policy and the nature of mix between the state and market. The state and market should co-exist and compete amid a superintendent role for statist structures. In other words, the state should supervise the market with a view to protecting the interest of the weak and vulnerable social groups. It should play a leading role in development, identify, and pursue relevant development agenda required to exit Africa\u27s structural distortions and underdevelopment. Conclusion: The Nigeria\u27s political economy demands that development should be predicated on human progress, qualitative development, and the capacity to conquer and adapt to the physical milieu

The State, Market Reforms and Social Inequality in Nigeria: A Political Economy Interpretation

The neo-liberal economic reforms and corresponding arrogance of the Nigerian governing class on the inviolability of market reforms depicts aspects of the Nigerian crises. The resultant social inequality among social groups because of the implementation of market reforms raises question on its purpose, relevance, and implications. The neo-liberal paradigm had been posed and foisted on the Nigerian economy by external agencies as panacea to its structural distortions and underdevelopment. The market reforms, however, have been pigeon-holed as retarding development and signposting social inequality. Social inequality reflects the social backlash of economic reforms; the lopsided sacrifices of the working people, urban poor, and peasants in relation to the affluence and profligate lifestyle of state officials and their allies, changing lifestyles and decline in the living conditions of affected social groups. The victims of market reforms question its purpose and insist on endogenous, pro-poor and pro-people based alternative economic and developmental frameworks. The political economy approach offers theoretical basis to examine the Nigerian economy, its social classes, and the ensuing social class struggles against market reforms and social inequality. This work poses specific questions to situate the interfaces of state, market reforms and social inequality in Nigeria. Who are the beneficiaries of economic reform programs? Who are the victims of social inequality? How do the victims respond to social inequality? How do economic reforms result in social inequality? How does the Nigerian state deal with the question of social inequality? How adequate are these measures?

The Nigerian State, Civil Society and National Question: Issues, Contradictions and Contestations

The Nigerian state emerged from the colonial state; the resultant post-colonial state lacks autonomy and is peripheral in nature. The state is enmeshed in contradictions that raise questions on its relevance, meaning and purpose. The limitations of the Nigerian state have been posed as the national question. There is, therefore, a relationship between the nature of the Nigerian state and the national question. There is lack of unanimity among scholars on the nature of the national question in Nigeria. The citizenship, indigeneship and settler questions are aspects of the national question that underline the contradictory character of the Nigerian state. The lopsided nature of the Nigerian state and the ensuing national question have elicited the involvement of civil society organizations. The civil society groups have engaged different aspects of the national question; and have posed alternative constructs to the dominant political, economic and administrative arrangements. The Buhari administration insists on the nonnegotiable nature of the Nigerian federation thereby provoking renewed debates on the country’s federal architecture. This article reviews the theoretical and empirical debates on the Nigerian state and theorizes on the civil society and the nature of civil society organizations in Nigeria. The specific nature of the national question in Nigeria is appraised amid the struggle between the state actors and civil society groups on the alternatives. Keywords: State, Civil Society, National Question, Federatio

Nigeria’s External Debt: Has the debt Trap Ended?

The debt question in Nigeria is recurring issue that bothers on the structure of the economy, nature of the international capitalist system, behaviour of the governing class and politics of the belly. This research adopts the dependency approach to explain the correlation between the nature of the international economic and political system and the peripheral nature of Nigeria’s economy; and the social forces engaged in the struggles on the nature of external debt. The dependency theory provides the basis to proffer alternatives to resolve the recurring debt crisis in the Nigerian economy. This work finds that the country’s external debt crisis is the result of the location of the Nigerian economy in the global capitalist system as dependent, peripheral entity; and the resultant unequal relations between the core capitalist states and Nigerian state. The research finds that the debt problem is exacerbated by the internal contradictions that characterize the national economy. The resolution of the debt burden requires radical shift from orthodoxies, which addresses the question of dependence, peripheral and neo-colonial nature of the Nigerian economy. The debt portfolio will likely increase when the economy remains largely import dependent, lacking export orientation, characterized by a predatory state, and reflecting politics of the belly. This work posits that the country will likely recede into new debt trap except its status in the global political economy is addressed. &nbsp