Development Question and Abundant Natural Potentials of Taraba State: The Need for Paradigm Shift

International Journal of Humanities and Social Science

© 2021 by SSRG - IJHSS Journal

Volume 8 Issue 1

Year of Publication : 2021

Authors : Isa Mohammed, Oruonye, E.D

10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V8I1P106

How to Cite?

Isa Mohammed, Oruonye, E.D, "Development Question and Abundant Natural Potentials of Taraba State: The Need for Paradigm Shift," SSRG International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, vol. 8,  no. 1, pp. 41-48, 2021. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.14445/23942703/IJHSS-V8I1P106

Abstract:

This paper examines the development of the Taraba state from the perspective of its untapped abundant natural resources and potentials over the years. State creation in Nigeria is aimed at bringing the government closer to the people and engendering development. The creation of Taraba state on 27th August 1991 by the military administration of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (Rtd) brought hopes in the minds of its growing population for development. Taraba state grapples with its development question from the federation of Nigeria in the context of the unrealistic national development plans, programs, and policies of past successive governments. The study relies on content analysis and collected data from secondary sources. The study adopts political economy as its theoretical framework on the fact that it explains the interface between politics and economy by way of public policies on production, distribution, and consumption of economic goods and services. The study found that the Taraba state has large deposits of untapped natural resources that must be exploited to promote industrialization and agriculture in order to provide jobs to the citizens. Arguably, another major problem that undermines development in the state is the incessant ethnoreligious conflicts, which claimed many human lives and scared away investors. The paper concludes with recommendations that the State Government should invest in Research and Development (R&D), produce a blueprint on the economic and natural resource potentials and the laws governing its exploration, to maximize its comparative advantage and diversify its revenue sources for sustainable development of the state.

Keywords:

Development question, Natural potentials, Political Economy, Paradigm Shift, and Taraba State

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