From marginalization to tokenism: The political economy of industrialization in Gombe, North East Nigeria, 1963–2013

At independence, most African countries viewed development as synonymous with industrialization. With the enactment of the Aid to Pioneer Industries Ordinance in 1952, industrialization became a major development objective in Nigeria. However, the history of industrial policy in the north-east is understudied, and the literature on Nigerian industrial policy in general underplays political factors in the conception and implementation of industrial projects. This inhibits understanding of how non-economic factors led to industrial decline. This paper fills the gap using oral interviews and government publications within the purview of political economy. The results show that political factors are critical in understanding industrial development as evident in how the relocation of industries from Gombe to Bauchi beginning in 1976 partly informed the movement that led to the creation of Gombe State in 1996. However, successive administrations in the new state of Gombe largely failed to accord industrialization its rightful place, instead using proposed industrial projects to woo the electorate. This paper observes a trend in Gombe industrialization where claims of marginalization have shifted to the tokenism of rhetoric and minimum compliance with standards - a trend, this paper argues, is more the result of political factors than often-cited economic variables.