An Assessment Of The Privatization Policy On The Nigerian Economy (19992015)

The precarious socio-economic situation of Nigeria in the 1980s coupled with the poor performance and returns of investments on the part of state-owned enterprises were the subject of emphasis by the protagonists of large scale of privatization of public enterprises in Nigeria. The contradiction that later surrounded the policy of privatization in Nigeria is noted in radical-Marxist, classical-liberal as well as a neoliberal operational framework in a mixed economy. Thus, the main objectives of this paper are to examine the Nigeria privatization program on the eve of President Obasanjo administration to the exit of Goodluck Jonathan regime (1999-2015). Having explored the historical perspective of this policy, the paper observed that the policy is riddled with corruption, inefficiency, ineffectiveness, insincerity, among others, which the policy hoped to address. It was therefore recommended that if the privatization policy is to achieve its desired objectives of economic development the policy should be pro-poor with the goals of redesigning public agencies to deliver quality services and the funds realized from the privatized enterprises should be reinvested in tangible public interests like education, health, and other social services.