Neopatrimonial analysts attribute the failure of development policies in Nigeria to entirely internal problems emanating from the personalization of state resources by rulers for their own benefits and as forms of patronage for securing the loyalty of clients. Based on elaborate theoretical and empirical analysis of development policies in Nigeria with special focus on development planning, this book argues that the neopatrimonial analysis is one-sided and does not adequately capture the fundamental factors responsible for the development malaise in the country. Understanding Nigeria's development problems entails looking beyond neopatrimonialism. The adverse effects of diffusionism that underlined development policies, and the associated external factors that fostered neocolonial dependence and peripheralization of Nigeria's economy are crucial for understanding and coming to terms with the development problem. This book makes a strong case for endogenous formulation of development policies and for the reformulation of the Nigerian state in order to make it more developmental.

This book deconstructs the neopatrimonial paradigm that has dominated analysis of Nigerian and African development. It shows that by denying agency to Nigerian societies and devaluing indigenous culture and local realities, Eurocentric diffusionism played a significant role in the failure of development planning.