The State as an Instrument of primitive Accumulation: the Nigerian Example, 1999 – 2013

Abstract

One of the factors responsible for the crisis of underdevelopment plaguing Nigeria is the fact that those who occupy state offices in the country use their positions not for service delivery to the people, but for the primary goal of self-enrichment. This essay draws attention to this fact by examining the Nigerian state as an instrument of primitive accumulation. It is argued that those at the helm of affairs of the Nigerian state since 1999 have used its institutions and apparatuses to feather their nests at the expense of delivering public goods and services. It is also contended that the wealthiest people in Nigeria are those who have occupied state offices – either directly or through proxies. The paper concludes that Nigeria needs – and deserves – a new system in which the enormous resources of the country shall be deployed only for the purpose of meeting the needs of the masses.

Keywords: State, wealth, primitive accumulation, ruling class, corruption.