Politics in a sub-formal economic setting: Workplace investment cooperatives in Southwestern Nigeria c. 1986-2011

Abstract

In Nigeria, the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) was much like a gale wind. In one fell swoop, it blew off étatism and the symbols of its administrative price regime, not the least of which were commodity boards. Market forces were also unleashed on the economy and society with a vigor not associated with public action in Nigeria since at least the 1970s. More than two decades on, SAP has remained controversial; the debate is yet ongoing about the wisdom of some of the policy changes that came on stream in July 1986, and on the manner of their implementation. However, there is evidence that, at the macro level, some of the official proclamations on SAP bore little resemblance to the facts on the ground.1 On a few micro-level subjects, such as organization among cocoa farmers, some of the outcomes have been shown to belie official claims.2.