Abstract
This chapter interrogates the concept of deregulation with a view towards the real pressures generated by democratization and globalization. The quest for deregulation of the oil sector is examined in historical exposition with a costs-benefits analysis of the deregulation of the Nigeria’s economy. The chapter engages in the discourse, necessity, and understanding of deregulation under the classical liberalism, radical political economy and the regime consolidation school of thoughts. The chapter revealed the challenges of liberal governance in an oil-rich country and examined the contradictions of implementing the deregulation of essential public services in an impoverished society like Nigeria. Although, deregulation remains important in expanding the economic base of societies and ensuring effective service delivery; however, the inherent contradictions it generates strengthened the positions of protagonists of the neo-liberal ideology.
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Notes
- 1.
Economic policy is conceived as the action-statement of the government pertaining to specific sectors of the economy, describing the intended objectives and how to achieve them. In most cases, the object of economic policy is to improve the welfare of the people, either in the short term or the long run. Theoretically, the formulation of an economic policy involves the collection, arrangement, analysis, summary, and interpretation of economic data, while policy evaluation remains a critical part of the policy process. For more understanding, see Adedipe (2004).
- 2.
See Baig et al. (2007) for robust analysis of privatization policy.
- 3.
Many Nigerians lost their jobs after the privatization of the telecommunication sector as a result of the change in from government to private ownership; former government employees were relieved of their jobs.
- 4.
The two terms—neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism represent a new form of colonialism and imperialism. Imperialism led to colonialism, and the end of colonialism was occasioned by political independence of the colonies without outright economic autonomy. The sustained domination of the economy of the periphery by the former colonial powers and their Western counterparts through exportation of capital and MNCs control connotes neo-imperialism. This is similar to neo-colonialism which was designed to use the weapons of economy in influencing the political and economic decisions of former colonies. It is an act of reclaiming “lost kingdom and protectorates” without affirming direct political authority on the hitherto colonized countries.
- 5.
Nigeria’s downstream oil industry comprises four refineries and, as of 2012, had nameplate capacity of 445,000 billion barrels per day (bbl/d), eight oil companies and about 750 independents all active in marketing petroleum products.
- 6.
Crude oil is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy; it shapes the economy and political destiny of the country. This comprises crude oil and gas, including the upstream and downstream sectors. The upstream sector deals with oil exploration, operated by MNCs , while the downstream sector deals with the distribution and management of diesel , kerosene and PMS (petrol). The government has awarded oil blocs to marketers to import and distribute oil under the management of state institutions. The Niger Delta basin is the largest along the West African coast; it has 246 production fields and 3446 active wells. It has recoverable carbon of over 20 billion barrels of oil and 120 TCF of gas. The confirmed deposit of the offshore is 6 billion barrels of oil. The estimated potential of the basin is 70 billion barrels. The crude oil reserve base was mere 25 million barrels in 1959; in 2012, it stood at 32.5 billion barrels of oil and 187 trillion cubic feet of gas.
- 7.
The principle of uniformity in the country is alien to effective governance . For instance, the same price is attached to petroleum products across the country. This has generated complicity in oil governance due to variation in the landing cost of petroleum products in locations that are very far from oil-depot.
- 8.
- 9.
SUPA is an organization of Nigerian professionals whose membership is drawn from all disciplines and is committed to professional excellence, ethical integrity, social cooperation, justice, selfless service and national progress. It is a network geared towards attaining professional cooperation, social integration, self-development and national services through collaborative efforts and individual contributions; see http://www.supanigeria.org/
- 10.
It takes more than the overturn of the ruling party’s (PDP ) victory in election—in some states—for the judiciary to be vibrant.
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Akinola, A.O. (2018). Deregulation Policy. In: Globalization, Democracy and Oil Sector Reform in Nigeria. African Histories and Modernities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70184-4_3
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