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  • Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy (Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa)

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Economic Diversification in Nigeria: The Politics of Building a Post-Oil Economy (Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa)

by Zainab Usman (Author) Format: Hardcover
3.0 out of 5 stars (2)
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2026 ACLS Open Access Book Prize Finalist

Nigeria has for long been regarded as the poster child for the 'curse' of oil wealth. Yet despite this, Nigeria achieved strong economic growth for over a decade in the 21st century, driven largely by policy reforms in non-oil sectors. This open access book argues that Nigeria's major development challenge is not the 'oil curse', but rather one of achieving economic diversification beyond oil, subsistence agriculture, informal activities, and across its subnational entities. Through analysis drawing on economic data, policy documents, and interviews, Usman argues that Nigeria's challenge of economic diversification is situated within the political setting of an unstable distribution of power among individual, group, and institutional actors.

Since the turn of the century, policymaking by successive Nigerian governments has, despite superficial partisan differences, been oriented towards short-term crisis management of macroeconomic stabilization, restoring growth and selective public sector reforms. To diversify Nigeria's economy, this book argues that successive governments must reorient towards a consistent focus on pro-productivity and pro-poor policies, alongside comprehensive civil service and security sector overhaul. These policy priorities, Nigeria's ruling elites are belatedly acknowledging, are crucial to achieving economic transformation; a policy shift that requires a confrontation with the roots of perpetual political crisis, and an attempt to stabilize the balance of power towards equity and inclusion.

The eBook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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  1. ISBN-10
    1786993945
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1786993946
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Zed Books
  5. Publication date
    June 30, 2022
  6. Part of series
    Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    6.38 x 0.89 x 9.45 inches
  9. Print length
    308 pages
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book ably demonstrates that what is seemingly absurd and contradictory about Nigeria has to be traded carefully with the results an investigative and inquisitive mind may find. In a country of paradoxes only a few can offer us plausible and documented explanations as to why you can be the largest oil producer or economy of an entire continent and fail to convincingly diversify its economy. An exciting read for all those struggling to explain structural transformation slow pace in Africa.” ―Carlos Lopes, Professor, Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town, South Africa

“Grounded in rich data, careful reflections, and an understanding of economic forces, this is the first book in two decades to offer a comprehensive understanding of the Nigerian postcolonial economy. It identifies the critical challenges against the background of available resources and opportunities, successes and failures, and the political forces that have disabled the creation of a diversified economy. Zainab Usman successfully argues that the wealth from oil and culture are not at the root of the country's slow development, rather it is that the politics and institutions are unconducive to creating a resilient, multi-faceted economy. Its recommendations on policies are viable and can be transformational.” ―Toyin Falola, The Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, the University of Texas at Austin, USA

“This fantastic book is a must-read for anyone interested in how an economy can diversify. It is sobering about the failures, and motivating about the successes of governments in Nigeria. In Kano State a lack of a clear well-aligned vision and unified capacity to implement led to failure. But in Lagos State a clear vision and investments in administrative capacity successfully diversified revenue. This book is well-written and hearteningly positive about how governments can better create conditions for economic success.” ―Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, UK

“A highly readable and very compelling analysis of how the fragmentation of power and politics in Nigeria have held back its development and, more importantly, what can be done about it. A must read for anyone interested in development and Nigeria.” ―Mushtaq Khan, Professor, SOAS University of London, UK

“This scholarly work by a brilliant young Nigerian explores the impact of natural resource endowment on the people and politics of Africa's most populous nation. The author leaves us in no doubt that Nigeria's ruling elite have failed to deliver the dividends of economic development to its citizens, but goes beyond the typical blame game to proffer 5 building blocks which Nigeria should pursue in order to address the challenge of economic transformation. My wish is that sooner than later Zainab finds herself in a position of power and influence where she can contribute to changing the trajectory of Nigeria's growth and progress.” ―Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede

About the Author

Zainab Usman is Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University in the United States. She is Managing Director for International Programs at the Energy Opportunity Lab, where she leads the Center's work on energy for development in emerging markets. Usman was the founding director of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., USA, and before that, a public sector specialist at the World Bank. Her work focuses on the economics and politics of natural resources, covering issues such as energy policy, trade, industrialization and international development cooperation.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Zed Books
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 30, 2022
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1786993945
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1786993946
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.3 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.38 x 0.89 x 9.45 inches
  • Part of series ‏ : ‎ Politics and Development in Contemporary Africa
  • Best Sellers Rank: #9,925,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.0 out of 5 stars (2)

About the author

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Zainab Usman

Zainab Usman

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Customer reviews

3 out of 5 stars
2 global ratings
Excellent book on industrial policy outcomes in Nigeria
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent book on industrial policy outcomes in Nigeria
Dr. Usman has written a well-researched book with both theoretical depth and policy relevance. First, the book stands out because of its interdisciplinary approach, which draws on insights from economics, public policy, and management. By engaging with multiple theories and testing them against evidence, Dr. Usman creates a holistic picture of development issues in Nigeria's rapidly evolving economy. Second, the comparative case studies of the telecommunications and oil sectors brilliantly improve our understanding of why some reforms succeed or fail within the same country. This improves the generalizability and cross-sectoral relevance of the work. Third, I am impressed by the book's blend of firsthand field research and unparalleled engagement with top stakeholders, such as policymakers and industrialists from Kano to Lagos, as well as quantitative data analysis. The book sets a high bar for being academically rigorous while remaining accessible to a broad audience. Highly recommended.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Abdul
    5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent book on industrial policy outcomes in Nigeria
    Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2025
    Format: Hardcover
    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Dr. Usman has written a well-researched book with both theoretical depth and policy relevance. First, the book stands out because of its interdisciplinary approach, which draws on insights from economics, public policy, and management. By engaging with multiple theories and testing them against evidence, Dr. Usman creates a holistic picture of development issues in Nigeria's rapidly evolving economy. Second, the comparative case studies of the telecommunications and oil sectors brilliantly improve our understanding of why some reforms succeed or fail within the same country. This improves the generalizability and cross-sectoral relevance of the work. Third, I am impressed by the book's blend of firsthand field research and unparalleled engagement with top stakeholders, such as policymakers and industrialists from Kano to Lagos, as well as quantitative data analysis. The book sets a high bar for being academically rigorous while remaining accessible to a broad audience. Highly recommended.

    Excellent book on industrial policy outcomes in Nigeria
    Abdul
    5 out of 5 stars
    Excellent book on industrial policy outcomes in Nigeria
    Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2025
    Format: Hardcover

    Dr. Usman has written a well-researched book with both theoretical depth and policy relevance. First, the book stands out because of its interdisciplinary approach, which draws on insights from economics, public policy, and management. By engaging with multiple theories and testing them against evidence, Dr. Usman creates a holistic picture of development issues in Nigeria's rapidly evolving economy. Second, the comparative case studies of the telecommunications and oil sectors brilliantly improve our understanding of why some reforms succeed or fail within the same country. This improves the generalizability and cross-sectoral relevance of the work. Third, I am impressed by the book's blend of firsthand field research and unparalleled engagement with top stakeholders, such as policymakers and industrialists from Kano to Lagos, as well as quantitative data analysis. The book sets a high bar for being academically rigorous while remaining accessible to a broad audience. Highly recommended.

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  • Shib
    1 out of 5 stars
    Overwhelmingly Underwhelming Pontification
    Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2024
    Format: Paperback
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    Right from the start, the book is exceedingly questionable in its scholarship. Usman makes bold claims without backing them up. A fleeting reference or anemic handwaving can never constitute sufficient evidence unless the question at hand has already been squarely settled in the field. For example, Usman asserts that culture cannot explain Nigeria's economic performance since it is the economic conditions that shape culture, not the other way around. She "backs up" this incredible claim by referencing Chang's Kicking Away the Ladder in how the Germans or the Japanese were viewed as unfit for industrialization before industrialization.

    But is it not self-evident that even when we control for economic conditions, cultures differ substantially on countless dimensions? Some cultures enjoy a rich and enduring tradition of property rights defined and practiced at the individual level. Nigerian cultures are not one of them. Can Usman really claim that property rights have no substantive effect on economic development?

    Cultures also differ substantially on norms around the use of public office for private gains. Some cultures never had the notion of public office in the first place while others already had laws that regulate against such behavior more than 2000 years ago. Do we really expect history to not matter?

    The rest of the book is no better. Usman simply enumerates components of her argument (if that) without ever putting them together; she simply documents a history of Nigerian politics without ever showing how each event or development builds toward her thesis. Let me illustrate with a concrete example.

    Early in the book, Usman “establishes” as unequivocal truth that competition for power and resources among the elites is bad for economic growth on the most impressive grounds that some remarkably unremarkable “scholars” have already declared so. Throughout the rest of the book, Usman is satisfied with merely documenting the existence of political competition among the elites in Nigeria. She appears to believe that since she already “established” that political competition among the elites is bad, it suffices to show that there exists political competition among the Nigerian elites. It is beyond me how she never bothers to make her case by explicitly recounting cases in Nigerian politics where, at least in her interpretation, elite competition harmed the economy.

    Overall, this book is akin to a movie where the first act, in its infinitely sorry state, flounders until the bittersweet release that is the closing credits.

    2 people found this helpful
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