Accounting for divergences in the performance of cement and textile industrial policies in Nigeria

The performance of industrial policies in Nigeria’s cement and textile industries has shown puzzling divergence. The Backward Integration Policy (BIP) transitioned Nigeria from a net cement importer to a self-sufficient producer, whereas textile industrial policies have failed to revive the ailing Nigerian textile industry. To understand this divergence in policy outcomes, this paper triangulates the political settlement framework (PS) with the technological capability (TC) theory and the concept of rents space (RS). It finds that while political leadership support is vital for policy performance, three factors account for the divergence in industrial policy outcomes between the case-study industries. These factors are (i) the nature of the requirements, adoption, and implementation of appropriate learning, capabilities, and routines in particular industries, (ii) the relative capabilities of entrepreneurs in individual industries, and (iii) the importance of entrepreneurs in particular industries to ruling elites in terms of political financing. This study contributes to the literature by exploring the puzzle of differing policy performances among sectors of the same economy. It also applies a dimension of the PS theory that existing literature underemphasises—that is, the dimension of how the relative power and capabilities of productive entrepreneurs in particular sectors can affect the performance of policy institutions.