The capital, state and the production of differentiated social value in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This paper re-visits secondary literature on racial capitalism and problematises the Nigerian oil-dependent capitalist economy. The economy of oil extraction dispossesses the peasants of their land and exposes them to pollution. This Oil economy creates a contradiction by producing the agent of its transformation; the community-based social movements. The state and the capital respond to these contradictions by instrumentalizing differences to prevent communal solidarity. Consequently, the indigenous people are racialised as a minority people and within the oil-producing region as sub-ethnic communities. The absence of communal solidarity promotes unmitigated environmental disaster, state hegemony and high returns for the capital; local and global in Nigeria.

KEYWORDS:

• The capital
• state
• social differences
• racial capitalism
• exploitation and expropriation

Acknowledgments

I sincerely appreciate the editors and indeed the anonymous reviewers for the rich insights provided on the initial draft. These comments have enriched this paper.

Disclosure statement

There is no potential conflict of interest on this paper.