The Nigerianization of the private and public sectors (1948-1980)

The Nigerianization of the private and public sectors (1948-1980)
The Nigerianization of the public sector was one of the main issues of contention stemming from the Western educated Nigerian elite throughout the 1940s. Disputes already started in the 1910s due to the existing form of “glass ceiling” whereby senior posts were only allocated to British civil servants. The 1948 High Foot Committee introduced the Nigerianization of senior posts in the civil service. The Nigerianisation of the public sector was enacted in 1959 and spread to the private sector until the 1970s. The main idea ex ante was to shift power and wealth from the former colonial master and foreigners to the Nigerian citizens.
The nationalisation of the Nigerian economy followed many processes. This paper proposes to cover the different steps of the Nigerianization of the private and public sectors by considering the evolving economic and political context of the Nigerian nation and the consequences on the economic, political and social development of Nigeria ex post.