Eclipse of the Sun: The Political Economy of Food Dependency in Nigeria

Abstract

The main rhythm of this paper is on eclipse of the sun: the political economy of food dependency in Nigeria. The title of the paper is germane because of the unsavory situation of food dependency that is prevailing in the country. The aftermath of the latter sentence has led the nation to depend on the importation of all classes of food from western nations etc. This has cast a shadow of indices of underdevelopment on the nation economy. This unpalatable situation has brought opprobrium to the nation. She has spent over three hundred trillions dollars on food importation, in order to feed her teeming population. This is an anathema to the yearning and aspiration of her citizenry that Nigeria should be self-sufficient in food. The main factor that is adduced for the economic dislocation f food dependency in the country is traceable to the diabolical economic policy of her erstwhile colonial master and her neocolonialist collaborators etc. Consequently, the paper defines the concept of political economy, food dependency. The paper is explicated with the aid of dependency theory. The authors take a holistic discourse of food dependency in Nigeria. Epitomizing, the paper opines that current economic realities of food dependency in the country is an albatross to Nigeria developmental aspiration.