Communalism and the gains from development, the case of Nigeria

Nigeria is a multiethnic society undergoing rapid economic and social development. Inequalities and fear of inequality have developed amidst strong, communal competitive pressures. There are several government measures which tend to increase communal equality. The creation of nineteen states has eliminated the political imbalance inherent in the old regions. The allocation of federal revenues over the years has become much more egalitarian. There has been strong effort to introduce universal primary education. The paper describes the communal structure, communal income distribution, federal revenue allocations to regions and states, the distribution of education, and the shares in exports and industrialization. There have been three major growth forces in the modern Nigerian economy: export agriculture, industrialization, and the petroleum industry. There is a review of how the different communal groups have shared in the development forces represented by non-oil exports and industrialization. When the regions were created, the colonial authorities associated each one with at least one major export crop as a source of revenue. The proceeds from petroleum go primarily to the federal government and to expatriate companies. The impact on employment or income of a state, other than through federal allocations, is rather limited.