Idealogy and Economic Development in Nigeria

Abstract

Ideology is the body of ideas, views, theories and aims that constitute a political, social or economic programme of a state. Ideology ultimately reflects the prevailing economic relations in a state. This article is an analysis of the claim by the Nigerian ruling class that Nigeria has no ideology. The paper examines the introduction of capitalism into Nigeria during the colonial period and identified its main features namely, private ownerships of the means of production, distribution and exchange; monetization, commodity production and the introduction of wage labour. Political independence has not altered the capitalist base of the Nigerian economy. The paper concludes that because of its class interest, the post-colonial Nigerian ruling class have not only retained the free enterprise economy in Nigeria but they have also enshrined it in the 1999 constitution.