INDUSTRIAL POLICIES AND JOB CREATION IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IN NIGERIA FOCUS ON SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE INDUSTRIES, 2000-2013

Abstract

The study explored the link between industrial policies and job creation in Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined whether the adopted industrial policies impacted on the growth of indigenous manufacturing sector in small and medium scale industries,
and its implications on job creation in Nigeria, between 2000 and 2013. The Marxist instrumentalist theory deriving from the radical decision making models of economic policy formulation was adopted as the framework of analysis. The qualitative
descriptive method based on the analysis of documentary data was used. The study found among others, that government’s efforts in initiating new policies out of political self-interest of the capitalist class, in turn led to siphoning of the country’s
resources, policy and institutional failure, poor implementation, mismanagement, underdevelopment of indigenous industries, unemployment, etc. On this basis of the findings it recommends that there should be continuity in the adoption and implementation of policies, transparency in governance and reduction in over dependence on foreign technical inputs and expatriates domination of key positions in our indigenous manufacturing sectors will bring drastic reduction in unemployment,
self-reliance on foreign products and technology and thereby give room job creation.