Competition law and socio-economic advancement: Nigeria as a case study – giving a hungry man a silk tie?

This thesis follows the recognized position that a means of improving the Nigerian socio-economic environment is through a free market economy and a competitive economic environment that has strongly rooted equal and easy access to raw materials, workforce, and technology that would be available to all businesses. It backs the position that in free market economies, through protecting demand and supply, competition law more efficiently maximizes consumer welfare as opposed to government regulation or unregulated competition, and it enhances economic development.
The thesis recognizes that competition law is relatively new in Nigeria, answers the question: to what extent can the proper implementation of competition law and policy be employed to promote economic advancement in Nigeria? The submitted views are somewhat based on an analysis of the objectives of competition law and policy, in order to determine whether Nigeria has unique problems, and if so, whether the common principles in competition policy are adequate to address them. Furthermore, this research examines existing regulatory regimes and the role it plays with regards to competition regulation.the question that arises is whether the regulations set out by these bodies are sufficient to promote and preserve competition. This thesis analyses the position and effectiveness of these regulatory organs in the promotion of competition.
The thesis examines the historical antecedent and institutional structure, including developments in competition law in the United States of America (US) and the European Union (EU). Furthermore, it examines some of the standards in the competition policies of these jurisdictions such as those concerning agreements, abuse of dominant position and mergers, to determine which competition model could be best adopted by Nigeria.
The thesis recognises that in 2019 the Nigerian President, General Muhammadu Buhari signed the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2019 which repealed the Consumer Protection Council Act. The introduction of a codified set of competition rules into Nigeria’s regulatory oversight framework came as a long anticipated change, to ensure that market distortions across all sectors are minimized and rules of fair play are respected in the market place. Before the enactment, the laws governing competition and consumer protection were separate, fragmented and industry-specific. The thesis recognises that while the enactment of the law was a good start, there will be certain challenges.
It proposes Nigeria uses these laws and advancements which have been made over the years as a mechanism to determine whether the same rules could apply, which competition law model could be best adopted and for building a suitable competition law. Through examining these jurisdictions, the thesis provides a setting to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems and identify best practices so as to make recommendations which may improve existing policy.