Abstract

Nigeria remains one of the hardest developmental puzzles in Africa. This state of affairs largely reflects the disconnect between the abundance of Nigeria's natural and human resources and its extraordinarily reversed socioeconomic development. The interrelatedness of these trajectories is one of disjuncture, even when the developmental potentials of the nation are not in doubt. This gives an account of Nigeria's developmental trajectories in a way that shows how the crucial contradictions and exceptionality of the country can suggest sustainable developmental pathways for it, with implications for Africa as a whole. This article is based on an idea that has the potential to offer crucial insights into Nigeria and counter the continued temptation to deal with sub-Saharan Africa as a homogeneous mass.

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