Making sense of neoliberal governance through nature : a study of privatisation and environmental governance in the Nigerian cement industry in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria

• Main Author: Bakare, Hakeem Oladimeji
• Published: University of Birmingham 2018
• Subjects: JC Political theory
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.760437

This study investigates the impacts of neoliberal and environmental regulation policies introduced recently to improve sustainable development challenges in the growing Nigerian cement industry. The study identifies the devolution of economic responsibilities and the rising poverty in developing economies despite their resource wealth as a research gap requiring a multilevel environmental governance framework to understand and explain the process at play. I have applied the framework to the new Nigerian cement industry in Ogun state, Southwest Nigeria. The study adopted a qualitative research approach to examine the effects of privatisation of the Nigerian cement industry and environmental policy reforms on state and non-state actors’ role and relations in the governance of the sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among the actors identified among government, business and society stakeholders related to the industry and the case study areas. Findings reveal that the institutional and political relationships governing the interactions between state and non-state actors in the extractive sector historically indicate a multi-scalar governance approach with persistent dysfunctional institutional arrangement. Also, the political will to decentralise and devolve political roles to subnational government actors in particular and civil society organisations has hindered governance for sustainable development in the new Nigerian cement industry. The application of multilevel governance framework in this study has illuminated the complex interrelation of actors in neoliberal resource governance and the need for inclusive resource development strategies in developing economies like Nigeria. Evidence also revealed the growing relationship between community-based organisations and corporate actors without non-governmental organisations.