...CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION Many nations of the world have striven to industrialize while others are pushing to get there because of the immense benefits accruable from industrialization. The process of industrialization in a nutshell describes a transition from an agrarian society to an industrial society; a shift from a consumer nation to a producer nation; and a movement from dependence on crude methods of manufacturing of cutting edge technology and jet-age ideas. There are certain prerequisites for any country to industrialize successfully. Economic theorists have listed these as a stable government, a very productive agricultural sector, functioning markets, and a large capable workforce. Sadly enough, these characteristics are largely lacking in Nigeria. Russian economist Gerschenkron (1962) in his theory stated that industrializing countries would have some qualities that set them apart from already industrialized countries. These qualities include: a rapid and intense growth of industrial output, an emphasis on producer goods as opposed to consumer goods, a stress on large scale plant and enterprise, a reliance on technological borrowing and possibly financial assistance from abroad; importance of the government as the promoter of industrial development, spread of ideologies supportive of industrialization, and a passive role of agriculture. Nigeria as a country is trying very hard to become industrialized but does not display most of the qualities of an industrializing...
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