No abstract

Scholarly opinions have clearly identified governance deficits, Islamization agenda, power contestations among the elite class, heterogeneous character of African states, dysfunctional socio-economic system and external conspiracy as factors fueling and sustaining the recent wave of terrorism in Northeast Nigeria. Although these varied perspectives have been relied on by most scholars to explain the phenomenon of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, they have increasingly appeared insufficient in understanding the evolution, dynamics and seemingly intractable character of the conflict. The present study therefore explores the neoliberal economic link which provides the grand perspective and heuristically excellent foundation for explaining the intensification and seeming intractability of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. Using the theory of dialectics, the study argues that the neoliberal economy foisted a failed system which could not provide social safety nets, qualitative education and affordable healthcare delivery to the people. Indeed, the ensuing condition of hopelessness generated by the withdrawal of the state in providing essential services to the citizens undoubtedly provided a fertile ground for the birth of Boko Haram insurgency. The study among other things, recommends an economic reform that prioritizes the development of the productive forces in consonance with the autochthonous development conditions of the polity.

This study challenges the argument that the non-enforceability of the procurement law is the bane of infrastructural development in Nigeria. Focusing on the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, the article argues that various attempts at procurement regulation were in fact moves to expand capital accumulation in the service delivery sector. Highly placed individuals leverage the lowest responsive bidding mechanism to engage in sharp practices which undermine the development of the WASH sector in the country. Given the prevailing scenario which presents the state, its institutions and laws – including the procurement legislation – as instruments in the hands of the dominant social forces, any investments in and attempts at rule enforcement tend to produce only minimal outcomes.

This study examines how neoliberalism affected the management of Covid-19 in Nigeria. As a result of its emphasis on privatisation and austerity, neoliberalism discouraged social investment programmes and provisioning. The privatisation of Nigeria’s health sector severely stifled health financing, which led to the collapse of public health institutions and the proliferation of private and informal health delivery systems. It limited universal access to quality healthcare, worsened the health conditions of poor Nigerians and rendered the health sector incapable of managing emergency health situations, such as Covid-19. The absence of well-coordinated social investment programmes to cushion the effects of lockdown widened social inequality and misery, making it impossible for citizens in the informal economy to adhere to the Covid-19 guidelines. The state responded with repression to enforce the rules. This study recommends overhauling the Nigerian state and its political economy as a condition for reducing citizen’s vulnerability to a pandemic.