The Paradox of Nigerianisation: Indigenous Ownership, Labour Casualization, and the Erosion of Decent Work in Nigeria’s Oil and Private Sectors

Abstract

This study examines the paradox of Nigerianisation in Nigeria’s oil and private sectors, where indigenous ownership and local content policies were expected to strengthen national capacity, improve worker welfare, and align employment conditions with international best practice. Drawing on the ILO decent work framework and a mixed-methods design, the study compares wages, welfare packages, and employment security across Nigerian-owned oil firms, IOC/IOC-linked service companies, and Nigerian-owned private enterprises, supported by interviews with workers, HR managers, and union officials. The Findings indicate a marked erosion of welfare provisions, especially medical insurance, pensions, and workers allowances, alongside wage suppression, graduate devaluation, and widespread casualization through short-term and outsourced contracts. The study further highlights a widening gap between executive wealth accumulation and workforce vulnerability, deepening class fragmentation and weakening social cohesion. In many cases, employment in high-revenue sectors functions as underemployment: workers remain in precarious jobs due to unemployment pressures rather than decent work incentives. The study concludes that Nigerianisation has often produced ownership transfer without labour responsibility. It recommends redefining Nigerianisation metrics to include enforceable welfare standards, stronger labour regulation, and incentive structures tied to decent work compliance, to restore dignity, productivity, and inclusive development.