In her seminal work The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein outlines a chilling narrative of how crises, whether economic or otherwise, have been exploited to impose pseudo and quasi-neoliberal policies that prioritise personal aggrandisement over the welfare of ordinary citizens. For Nigeria, a country endowed with vast natural resources but plagued by economic instability and deep-seated inequality, as championed by inept and corrupt leadership, this doctrine is all too familiar. Klein’s analysis can directly be applied to the Nigerian context, where external powers and local elites capitalise on moments of manufactured and engineered crisis to push through policies that have left the majority of Nigerians struggling to make ends meet while only a few remain better off.
The journey of neoliberalism in Nigeria, marked by the villainous structural adjustment programs (SAPs), oil dependency, and the collaboration between foreign interests and the local elites, reflects the global trends Klein beams its search light on. Nigeria’s experience offers a sobering case study of how neoliberal policies, often imposed during moments ofconcocted and contrived economic crisis, have exacerbated poverty, inequality, and dependence on foreign vulturecapitalists parading as saviours.
Nigeria’s history of economic exploitation dates back to its colonial era. Under British rule, the country’s economy was designed to serve the interests of the colonial power, with raw materials extracted for export and local industries calculatinglyset to last some decades and no more. This model of economic domination persisted long after (in)dependence, whilst Nigeria struggled to break free from its colonial economic legacy of perpetual dependency and consumerism.
After independence in 1960, Nigeria, like many African nations, faced the daunting task of building a self-sufficient economy. However, rather than pursuing an independent economic trajectory, the postcolonial Nigerian elites often preserved the colonial model, collaborating with foreign powers to maintain a system of resource extraction, economic rent and wealth concentration. In this sense, as noted by scholars like Frantz Fanon, the Nigerian political and economic elites became somenew class of “primitive bourgeoisie,” benefiting from the country’s resources while leaving the majority of the populaceimpoverished.
The 1980s were a pivotal decade for Nigeria’s economy, as the country found itself mired in debt partly due to the collapse of global oil prices and rampant mismanagement of public resources. In response, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank stepped in, offering loans in exchange for economic reforms that followed the neoliberal blueprint: privatization, deregulation, and cuts to government spendings, the cumulative effect of which was and still is further decent to impoverishment of the citizens.
The present era of BAT regime in Nigeria is perhaps the clearest manifestation of Klein’s Shock Doctrine. Faced with an economic crisis, the Tinubu’s government goes on an overdrive in pursuit of policies that opened up its economy to vulture capitalists with insatiable quest for primitive accumulation while simultaneously making life unbearable to the common man.State-owned refineries have since been murdered in cold bloodwith their carcases serving as some special purpose vehicle for heist in the name of turn around maintenance and what not.
For ordinary Nigerians, the impact of Tinubu’s economic reformwas and still is devastating. With the cost-of-living skyrocketing and access to essential services dwindling, millions of people are being pushed further into poverty. As Klein argues in her book, these policies were not designed to benefit the local population but to transfer wealth and resources from the public sector to private interests, both foreign and domestic.
Nowhere is the impact of neoliberalism more visible in Nigeria than in the living standard of the Nigerian populace at present. Despite being one of the world’s largest haven of productivehuman and material resources, the politicians manning the affairs of these country have failed woefully in translatinglimitless resources into widespread prosperity. Instead, these resources have become an epitome of corruption, heist and self-aggrandisement.
It is rather ironical that an oil rich Nigeria with five (5) refineriesmanned by endless list of engineers, economist and other sundry professionals could not refine an ounce of crude oil for the past three decades or so. Yet, virtually all operational expenses in terms or salaries and wages and overheads are still being stolen in the name of managing what never exist for the managing.
For the Nigerian citizens, the situation represents a clear example of what Klein calls “disaster capitalism.” The government, in collusion and cohort with foreign economic advisors, has used the insensitivities of the unpatriotic politicians in partnership with the public servants, push forward policies that prioritize fuel importation and dubious subsidy regime over the overall interest of the nation and its citizens.Efforts by progressively endangered species of conscientious patriots demanding for accountability have been met with impunity and reckless abandon.
This dynamic is emblematic of the broader neoliberal agenda that Klein critiques: the exploitation of deliberately manufactured and engineered crisis to justify policies that serve the interests of vulture capitalists, often at the expense of the people most directly affected.
One of the most troubling aspects of Nigeria’s neoliberal experience is the role played by the politicians in perpetuating these policies. As Fanon predicted, Nigeria’s political and economic elites have often acted as facilitators of foreign economic domination, benefiting from the very policies that have left the majority of Nigerians in vicious circle of poverty.
During the SAP, pre and post subsidy era, for example, many Nigerian elites were able to acquire social, political and economic advantages beyond their wildest imagination, while ordinary citizens bore the brunt of the economic banditryunleashed on the citizenry. The manipulation and personalisation of public institutions has largely benefited a small group of politically connected individuals, while socialservices have remained unreliable and where accessible unaffordable for most Nigerians. As at the time of writing this piece, the electric national grid was reported to have collapsedthrice within a week. Such is a classical manifestation of crass incompetence.
This trend continues unabated, as the Tinubu regime embraces further neoliberal reforms, such as the “regulating” the already deregulated Dangote refinery. These contradictions, while framed as necessary for economic exigencies, have always led to widespread frustration, as ordinary Nigerians see their cost of living rising without any corresponding increase in their quality of life. The serial removal of the never ending fuel subsidies since the successful shutting down of the five Nigerian owned refineries for instance, sparked massive demonstrations across the country, with many Nigerians feeling that the government was more concerned with appeasing the imperialists and lining their pockets than addressing the citizens everyday struggles for survival.
In light of Nigeria’s experience, it is clear that the neoliberal model has failed to deliver the prosperity and development promised by its proponents. Instead, it has deepened inequality, entrenched corruption, and left millions of Nigerians worse off. Klein’s Shock Doctrine provides a critical framework for understanding these dynamics, but it also suggests a way forward: resisting neoliberalism and reclaiming control over Nigeria’s economy.
For now, Nigeria’s experience serves as a cautionary tale of how external forces and internal elites can exploit moments of contrived and coaxed crisis to impose policies that enrich the few at the expense of many. The challenge moving forward is to resist these forces and chart a new course toward true economic independence and social justice.
