Author(s)

D. D. Ajayi

Abstract

Perhaps one major problem facing Nigeria today that has received little or no attention remains her low industrial base. Indeed, apart from South Africa and Egypt, both of which are outside tropical Africa, the contribution of manufacturing to the economy of Nigeria, places Nigeria far behind the Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs) of the South East Asia. Manufacturing in Nigeria has largely been dominated by a valorization of raw materials and import-substitution type that are capital intensive rather than labour intensive. In addition, the absence of heavy industries and car manufacturing has militated against effective transfer of technology hence the heavy investment in manufacturing. There is the general low level of inter-industry linkages-failure on the part of industries to utilize the products/by-products of other industries especially in the production process. Studies on manufacturing in Nigeria have focused on small-scale industries and some behavioral aspects of manufacturing at the regional level. In some cases, explanations have been offered in terms of factor endowments. The last three or four decades have largely witnessed a reorientation in industrial geography and especially in a globalizing economy whereby a lot of emphasis is placed on inter-industry linkages, and especially networks of production subcontracting in the development of industrial activities and the economy as a whole. This paper thus seeks to examine the extent to which Nigeria’s manufacturing has been affected by inter-industry linkages, and especially production subcontracting, and the challenges for Nigeria’s manufacturing/industrial development in the new millennium. Keywords: import-substitution, valorization, privatization, commercialization, inter-industry linkages, production subcontracting.

Keywords

import-substitution, valorization, privatization, commercialization,inter-industry linkages, production subcontracting.