Cultural Impediments to Socio-Economic Development in Nigeria: Lessons from the Chinese Economy

Abstract

This paper attempts to describe how human environment is an important determinant of socio-economic development. Over the past three decades, Nigeria has been confronted with deep-seated socio-economic crisis evident in high level of poverty, inflation, foreign debt overhang, closure of industries, epileptic power supply, budget deficit, absolute lack of good governance at the grass root, environmental degradation and high unemployment. In the early part of the 21st century, there was high hope among Nigerians that the emergence of democracy and the increasing global capitalist markets feasible in the oil and telecommunication sectors will result in high level of accelerated development. Elsewhere in Asia, globalization and world capitalist market have changed the faces of fundamental problems of underdevelopment. Studies have even confirmed that the successes recorded by China in the global markets confirm that a country’s economy does not grow in vacuum; it exists within the environment and thrives therein. The failure and crises experienced in Nigeria today have been linked with cultural factors such as corruption, leadership failure, lack of entrepreneurial skills, over dependence on western values and culture, insincerity and weak bureaucracies. Using quantitative data and content analysis, the paper concludes that Nigerian government at all levels must rise up to the challenges posed by the problems of underdevelopment in the 21st century.