RESUSCITATING AGRICULTURE AND OTHER INDIGENOUS INDUSTRIES: THE PANACEA TO NIGERIA’S ECONOMIC QUAGMIRE, PRECOLONIAL TO 2000

Abstract

There is a gross neglect of Nigeria’s indigenous industries and agriculture. Those who engage in them are treated as dullards. In pre-colonial era, Nigeria prospered in agricultural and technological products. In fact, even during the colonial era, it is on record that agriculture earned the country 70 percent of her foreign earnings. Shortly after independence, agrarian economy and industry were deemphasized while crudonomy (economy based on crude oil) was promoted. This paper argues that Nigeria’s economic quagmire could be rightly traced to the neglect of agriculture and the indigenous industries which followed the discovery of oil in 1958 and therefore advises a reconsideration of the pre-colonial economic activities as the only way out of the nation’s economic problems especially now that crude economy is noose diving. Operating a mono economy based on crude oil is like standing on a slippery ground, and is equivalent to one putting all eggs in one basket. Borrowing a leaf from the Asian tigers, this paper shows how the country can wade through the current economic tide through the development of her agricultural and technological industries rather than a heedless dependent on oil. The paper adopts the historical method of qualitative and interdisciplinary approach applied in the review of extant literature, archival materials as well as oral tradition. The scope covers from pre-colonial period to the post-civil war. The significance of this work lies in the fact that it will be useful to government and public administrators especially in making policies that will combat hunger and reduce unemployment.