Nigeria once had a manufacturing sector that worked. Textile mills hummed in Kano, steel plants were being built, and there was a real sense that the country was on its way to becoming an industrial power. Somewhere along the line, that momentum stalled, and the question of exactly how and why it happened has never been fully answered.
Nigeria Policy Watch takes that question head on in its latest edition, calling it one of the most important unanswered questions in the country's economic history. It is the kind of inquiry that matters not just for economists and policymakers, but for anyone trying to understand why a nation with so much resource wealth has struggled to convert that into broad, lasting prosperity.
The loss of industrial edge is not just a historical footnote. It shapes everything from youth unemployment to import dependency to the naira's long decline. Getting to the root of it is the first step toward reversing it. The full analysis is worth your time.
Originally published by BusinessDay.