Forty years after the Federal Government adopted the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) under the influence of the International Monetary Fund, various economists and civil society leaders have denounced the ongoing privatization of state services. During an Abuja conference titled Forty Years of Structural Adjustment Programme in Nigeria: History, Impact and the Way Forward, experts argued that these reforms have consistently failed to resolve the nation’s economic challenges.
The event was coordinated by several organizations, including the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD), ActionAid Nigeria, and the Nigeria Labour Congress. Dr. Otive Igbuzor, the founding director of Centre LSD, stated that the policy failed to meet its goals, serving primarily to expand the market economy rather than foster genuine development. He emphasized that successful nations like the United States, Japan, and Rwanda achieved growth through strong state participation rather than absolute market reliance.
Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, a political economist, contextualized the failure within the Washington Consensus, noting that Nigeria still struggles with high poverty, unemployment, and a heavy dependence on crude oil. He advised that a nation cannot effectively regulate markets or provide public infrastructure if its state institutions remain weak. Similarly, activist Ayo Obe highlighted that current government policies, such as currency floating and subsidy removals, are essentially a continuation of SAP-era strategies.
Other speakers, including Celestine Okwudili Odo of ActionAid and development expert Dr. Hussaini Abdu, criticized the reduction of government spending on social welfare. They argued that prioritizing private enterprise over public institutions has eroded the quality of education and health services. The consensus among the participants was that Nigeria must pivot toward a developmental state model, where the government actively guides economic growth and ensures the well-being of its citizens rather than retreating from its service obligations.
