NIGERIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY: EVIDENCE OF POLICY NEGLECT

Abstract

Petroleum resource dependent Nigerian economy along with poor governance, challenges the Nigerian textile industry. Moreover, there is a sheer lack of political will to formulate policies directed at industrial growth by the Nigerian political class. The growth of textile industry is essential if Nigeria is to foster structural change and translate its potentials. This article examines how poor policy implementation stunted the development of the Nigerian textile industry from 1985 to 2015. The textile industry’s decline reflects internal challenges and the failure to provide supportive policy measures and critical infrastructure for the growth of the sector. This is also related to Nigeria’s overreliance on petroleum at the expense of other economic sectors. This article focuses on the neglect faced by the textile industry.  Our findings indicate that overreliance on petroleum resources emboldened imports of foreign made products especially from China. It calls for the application of an industrial policy to increase the competitiveness of the Nigerian textile industry globally. The article provides an understanding into the reasons for the collapse of the textile industry. It also contributes to the need for industrial policy consideration for resource dependent economies.