There's a big difference between "socialist", "social democrat" and "communist", but because the world views of so many Nigerians are shaped by US politics, once we hear anything beginning with "social", many of us tune off.

This constrains our thinking.

Will Nigeria be better off as US style laissez faire economy or a Scandinavian style social democracy? This is a relevant question. Let us not assume we MUST do capitalism the same way it is done in the US.

(Problem is, we read too many American thinkers, and nobody else).

I recall a US political scientist confessing that he doesn't fully understand how Japan works.

That's the point. Successful nations tend to do their own thing, not merely regurgitate the thoughts of Thomas Sowell and Milton Friedman.

France does capitalism its own way, ditto for Germany and Singapore. Same must also apply to Nigeria - and a good way to make this happen is to look beyond the practice in the US (where everything is a subject of a fiery debate). Other societies have reached a consensus.