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Drugs and development: exploring nuances based on the accounts of Nigerian retail dealers

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  • Nelson, Ediomo-Ubong Ekpo

Abstract

The production, distribution, and consumption of drugs has long been seen as a threat to social and economic development. On the other hand, conditions of unemployment and poverty foster expansion of illegal drug markets. In this study, I offer a nuanced view of the drugs/development connection where poverty and unemployment incentivise participation in the illegal drug market as a response to the failure of state-led development. The study is based on 31 in-depth interviews with male retail drug dealers in Nigeria. Findings revealed various ways the participants framed retail drug trade in connection to development. This includes, drug dealing as a pathway to social and economic mobility, drug dealing as way of mitigating youth crime, drug dealing as a response to failed development promises, and drug dealing as a means of capital formation for legitimate investment. The complex relationship between drugs and development revealed in these accounts troubles the narrow emphasis on counter-narcotics that dominate Nigerian drug policies. They indicate a need to view illegal drug trade, especially low-level distribution, as grassroots dissent from exclusionary development. Social policies designed to provide skills and opportunities for legitimate, gainful employment for at-risk youths offer scope for curbing involvement in retail drug trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Nelson, Ediomo-Ubong Ekpo, 2024. "Drugs and development: exploring nuances based on the accounts of Nigerian retail dealers," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 122169, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
  • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:122169
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    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/122169/
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. God’stime Osariyekemwen Igiebor, 2019. "Political Corruption in Nigeria: Implications for Economic Development in the Fourth Republic," Journal of Developing Societies, , vol. 35(4), pages 493-513, December.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    drugs; development; drug policy; Nigeria; retail drug market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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