Working Paper
A Review of Social Policy Implementation in Nigeria with Emphasis on Education

This paper presents a brief history of social services provision in Nigeria with special reference to education. It argues that the problems of implementation of social policies are due to state monopolies; the negative effects of structural adjustment conditionalities; central government bureaucracy; the neo-patrimonial nature of the state; and, the neglect of the possible contributions from the civil society.The paper concludes with a call for the encouragement of a viable civil society that will not only help to mitigate the present problem of a top-down approach to policy implementation, but will also help in generating additional resources for social services.