A. H. Ekpo & 0. J. UmohINTRODUCTION
This article overviews the growth and development of the Nigerian economy from inde pendence to present times. Specifically, the following periods are discussed: the pro-oil boom decade (1960-70); the period of the oil boom (1971 1977); the period of stabilisation and structural adjustment (1986 - 1993) and the period of guided deregulation (1994 -1998).GENERAL PERFORMANCE OF THE ECONOMY The Nigerian economy has had a truncated history. In the period 1960-70, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recorded 3.1 per cent growth annually. During the oil boom era, roughly 1970-78, QDP grew positively by 6.2 per cent annually - a remarkable growth. However, in the 1980s, GDP had negative growth rates. In the period 1988-1997 which con stitutes the period of structural adjustment and eco nomic liberalisation, the QDP responded to economic adjustment policies and grew at a positive rate of 4.0. In the years after independence, indus try and manufacturing sectors had positive growth rates except for the period 1980-1988 where indus try and manufacturing grew negatively by - 3.2 per cent and - 2.9 per cent respectively. The growth of agriculture for the periods 1960-70 and 1970-78 was unsatisfactory. In the early 1960s, the agricul tural sector suffered from low commodity prices while the oil boom contributed to the negative growth of agriculture in the 1970s. The boom in the oil sector lured labour away from the rural sector to urban centres.The contribution of agriculture to GDP, which was 63 percent in 1960, declined to 34 per cent in 1988, not because the industrial sector increased its share but due to neglect of the agricultural sec tor. It was therefore not surprising that by 1975, the economy had become a net importer of basic food items. The apparent increase in industry and man ufacturing from 1978 to 1988, was due to activities in the mining sub-sector,...