Review

Author(s): Tayo Fashoyin

Review by: Tayo Fashoyin
Source: The Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Mar., 1979), pp. 168-170
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/159912
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I68 REVIEWS

the
theUnited
United
States toStates
the detriment
to theof thedetriment
poorest. Here is the
of orthodox,
the poorest.
modern
modern neo-Marxist
neo-Marxist
explanation as explanation
propounded by Andre as Gunder
propounded
Frank, by
Samir
Samir Amin,Amin,
and others,
andbuttressed
others, by chapters
buttressed
in which the byauthor
chapters
de- in w
scribes
scribeshis experiences
his experiences
and reactions toand
visits reactions
made to India, Tanzania,
to visits and made t
Robert McNamara.
I find it difficult to criticise Harrington's analysis or his conclusion
western socialists should support the present Third-World demands
new economic order - integrated commodity stabilisation schemes, tr
of technology to be internationally supervised, international control
sea-bed, etcetera - even if in the long run a more radical solution is n
to reduce world income disparities. What distinguishes this book f
number of similar texts - mostly Penguin paperbacks - is the pause
argument for descriptions of Harrington's encounters in various coun
For me, these do not quite work, primarily because such musings on
visits appear rather superficial; it is only perhaps great novelists wh
instantly and acutely observe a country's culture and society, and even th
make mistakes. The measure of the success of The Vast Majority: a journe
the world'spoor, however, will be its sales, particularly in America, and I
that Harrington has struck the right balance between academic argument
personal reflection.
RICHARD DISNEY

Keynes College, Faculty of Social Sciences, University

Industrial Development in Nigeria: patterns, pro

edited by 0. TERIBA and M. O. KAYODE
Ibadan University Press, 1977. Pp. xv+402. N 7.50 pa
This is a useful collection of readings designed to sup
for courses on industrial and economic development.
tion because hitherto foreign texts have dominated the
economics in Nigeria. According to 0. Teriba and M.
tively Professor and Senior Lecturer in Economics a
Ibadan, they have attempted 'to fill some of the gap
our understanding of the process of economic transform
in order to interest both policy-makers and general r
Industrial Development in Nigeria: patterns, problems an
many as 28 contributions, i8 of which have been pu
mainly in the Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social S
fore, some readers may have come across these mater
the famous study of 'Planning for Further Indus
Nigeria' by P. C. Asiodu, and 'Towards a New Indust
by 0. Aboyade.
Part I, 'Introduction', contains two original article
the first they stress the importance of industrialisation a
ment in the L.D.C.s, and in the second they outline the p
and then focus on the stock of available natural and h
growth and structural change in the Nigerian econom

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 REVIEWS i69
for economic planning. These issues are certainly important, but for a book
published in I977 it is a pity that their most recent figures are for 1972.
This comment is made in view of the fact that the majority of articles have
also been largely based on data gathered during the I96os and early I970s.
Part II, 'The Industrial Environment', describes the social, economic,
and geo-political setting for industrial development in Nigeria. The opening
study by Sayre P. Schatz on 'Economic Environment and Private Enter-
prise' emphasises the absence of the right type of economic milieu as the
major obstacle to rapid industrial development. E. O. Akeredolu-Ale identi-
fies 'some understressed factors' in 'The Evolution of Private Indigenous
Entrepreneurship', especially low organisational skills and operational in-
effectiveness, although he is optimistic that the spread in education may
change this ugly situation. The articles by Eno J. Usoro on 'Government
Policies, Politics and Industrial Development Strategy, I947-74', and by
M. E. Blunt on 'The Place of Ideology in the Origins and Development of
Public Enterprise', show that there has been a lively controversy on the
r6oe of public industrial policy and political decision-makers.
Part III, 'Industrial Patterns', is less exciting because most of the articles
were published over Io years ago. However, they provide a useful frame of
analysis, and enable comparisons to be made with more recent develop-
ments. In 'Some Aspects of Ownership and Control Structure of Business
Enterprise in a Developing Economy: the Nigerian case', 0. Teriba, E. C.
Edozien, and M. O. Kayode convincingly show the inequality in business
ownership among Nigerians vis-a-vis their expatriate counterparts. This is
a very useful revelation, for the Nigerian Enterprise Promotion Decree of
1972, which now regulates the ownership of business, is aimed at reversing
this situation. There are excellent case-studies on petroleum (Eno J. Usoro),
manufacturing (Philip C. Packard), cement (S. U. Ugoh), sawmilling
(John R. Harris and M. P. Rowe), and printing (John R. Harris), which will
prove useful to anyone desiring to know more about the major industries in
Nigeria.
Part IV, 'Government Industrial Policies and Strategies', brilliantly
presents the various approaches that have been taken to foster rapid indus-
trialisation. P. C. Asiodu and Adedotun O. Phillips examine the use of fiscal
measures to promote private investment, and conclusively show that the
various strategies have had only marginal effect on industrial development.
Tariff protection has not done much better, according to T. Ademola
Oyejide, while it is the view of Sayre P. Schatz that the loan scheme has
been neither economical nor fruitful because of'inept incentives'. Some of
the authors conclude that investment might as well have been left in private
hands, and others favour more direct state participation. While it may seem
tempting to argue that the role of the Government has failed, particularly
with respect to providing incentives, the authors should have stressed that
one major weakness is the attitudinal and organisational ineptitude of the
people concerned.
Part V, appropriately titled 'The Way Ahead', contains suggestions and
recommendations for more effective industrialisation. These include the
continued use of monetary and fiscal policies, albeit in a different framewor

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I70 REVIEWS

as
as well
wellasas
more
more
stress
stress
on non-incentive
on non-incentive
approaches,
approaches,
such as regional
such planning,
as regional planning
locational
locational policy,
policy, and and
indigenisation
indigenisationwith equity.
withThe equity.
emphasisTheonemphasis
small- on smal
scale
scaleindustry
industry is unrealistic,
is unrealistic,at leastatinleast
the view
in the
of this
view reviewer,
of thisbecause
reviewer, becau
there
therearearenow
now probably
probably
too manytoo many
unproductive
unproductive
small unitssmall
in Nigeria.
unitsThein Nigeria. Th
economy
economy has
hasrich
richhumanhumanand natural
and natural
resources,resources,
and if it isand
to develop
if it is to develop
significantly,
significantly, it has
it has
to have
to have
heavy heavy
and high-technology
and high-technology
industries. Happily
industries. Happi
the
theObasanjo
Obasanjo Government
Government is doing
is doing
somethingsomething
about thisabout
now! this now!
The
Theeditors
editors failfail
to offer
to offera detailed
a detailed
critiquecritique
of our lackof of
ourknowledge
lack ofof knowledge o
industrial
industrial development
development in Nigeria
in Nigeria
- which- they
which could
they
easily
could
have easily
done have done
because
becauseofof their
their
closeclose
involvement
involvement in research
in research
and publications
and publications
in this area. in this ar
Nevertheless,
Nevertheless, their
theirpioneering
pioneeringeffortsefforts
are salutory
are salutory
and valuable,
and and
valuable,
should and shou
replace
replacesome
some irrelevant
irrelevant foreignforeign
texts until
texts it until
is possible
it istopossible
write a compre-
to write a compr
hensive
hensiveoriginal
original work work
on the onprocess
the process
of Nigerianof Nigerian
industrialisation.
industrialisation.
I am I am
confident
confident that
that
TeribaTeriba
and Kayode
and Kayodehave provided
have provided
a book that a will
book bethat
of will be of
major
majorusefulness
usefulnessto its
tointended
its intended
readers.readers.
TAYO FASHOYIN

Human Resources Research Unit, Unive

Traditional African Farming Systems in Eastern

LAGEMANN

Munich, Weltforum Verlag, I977. Pp. xvii+269. DM48.oo.

In the typical 'less-developed country', most population growth takes pla
in the rural farming areas. Demographic variables, as a result, influence the
growth and structure of the agricultural sector, including employment, out-
put, and productivity. In this perspective, any study dealing with the
relationships between population growth and agricultural production in
developing economy deserves particular attention.
This book examines the relationships between population growth and
agricultural intensification in Eastern Nigeria, a Region notorious for it
high population density and poor resource base. Here the average rural
population density exceeds 800 persons per square kilometre, and th
annual population growth rate is around three per cent. This situation
exacerbated by problems of soil erosion and fertility, and by an inver
relationship between the availability of land and population density.
Johannes Lagemann attempts in Traditional African Farming Systems
Eastern Nigeria to validate the hypothesis advanced by Ester Boserup th
population growth is the exogenous shock which induces more extensiv
agriculture by bringing into cultivation new lands, and by intensifying som
already known techniques. Her theoretical framework is very briefly intro-
duced, and its apparently uncritical acceptance seriously affects the con
clusions drawn from this study of Eastern Nigeria.
The organisation of this book is clear. By way of background, section one
deals with the genesis of the farming system, and contains a rich and useful
discussion of the process of agricultural intensification, whereby shiftin
cultivation has progressed through a continuum to degraded fallow system
and then to continuous cultivation. The basic conclusion is that short of
agricultural involution more people are subsisting on degraded lands, bu

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