Understanding the crisis of development in Africa: Reflections on Bedford Umez’s analysis

Abstract

Despite the presence of huge mineral and human resources found in Africa, the continent has remained
a victim of underdevelopment. This has prompted several efforts by scholars, African leaders and the
international development agencies to understand and solve the development crisis. This paper is a
review of Bedford Umez’s analysis of the development crisis in Nigeria. The paper exposed the
implications of Umez’s analysis bearing in mind the realities of the Nigerian environment. The paper
concludes that simple as they could appear to be, the policy prescriptions suggested by Umez are
worthy of attention since they will help in solving the crisis of development in Nigeria.