ABSTRACT
Economic development in Nigeria has been viewed mainly in terms of the growth of the country’s development indicators, especially GDP and GNI performance over time as captured by the World Bank and other international and national agencies that align with this neo-classical economic pattern. These agencies argue in favour of good governance indicators as preconditions for economic growth and development, and consistently measure the six good governance indicators: voice and accountability, political stability, rule of law, control of corruption, government effectiveness and regulatory control. Another school of thought prefers the good enough governance agenda, which stresses only those areas of governance that are sufficient to drive minimal economic development and reduce poverty. Unemployment as a major cause of poverty was reviewed using a rather qualitative approach, since unemployment figures are unable to tell the full story. Many Nigerians in the informal sector who claim to be employed are not gainfully employed; rather, they scrounge for part-time job opportunities that come by chance. This shows that in reality, unemployment in Nigeria may be much higher than the World Bank estimate of 50 million in its working age data.
