ABSTRACT

The study examines the challenging economic development environment Nigera is and the impact it has had on the wellbeing and standard of living of Nigerians. Further it examines the role of international organizations such the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as well as foreign aid on the economic development of Nigeria. The study adopts the historical method of data analysis involving a critical but systematic analysis of secondary data extracted from textbooks, journals, articles newsprint amongst others. The findings reveal that foreign aid has had both positive and negative impacts. Nevertheless, its impact on Nigeria has clearly been insufficient in many cases to counteract other unfavourable influences. Various studies have shown that foreign aid have barely compensated for losses resulting from the decline in terms of trade, let alone meeting the resource needs for rapid and sustained growth. Furthermore, the high burden on a society, identified by a high dependency ratio, has a significant negative impact on growth in most specifications. The study however, recommends that Developing countries, including Nigeria should intensified efforts within the country aimed at establishing a policy framework that is more conducive to investment and employment generation that reaches out to the poor.