The social responsibilty of petroleum development: some aspects of economic nationalism or how to play tengteng with the seven sisters on one leg and win without using a crutch

Abstract

Since the introduction of the New Economic Policy, in fact earlier with the adoption of a new industrial strategy which envisaged greater government participation in industry and commerce, the question of economic nationalism has become a major issue of development policy. The lines of debate on this issue among our policymakers are however still ill-defined. But it is evident that this question, which tantamounts to a critique of the open economy as practised since colonial times, and the forms and consequences of dependency which derive from that openness, has been a painful and sensitive one among some circles. Further, it is clear from recent events that the articulation and implementation of a policy of closure to reduce our external dependency and to increase local control of critical economic forces in the country is a difficult matter.