Plantain Theory of Sustainable Development

Abstract: The essence of this study was to explore the feasibility of designing a theory of Sustainable Development for Africa and specifically, Nigeria.  This was because; the dominant   form of development is not sustainable. The impetus for this study, rest on the fact that human species augment its kind, however, the natural resources required are exhaustible, the environment for hosting human beings, is degraded geometrically by human activities. There is a problem, waiting for the future generation of Africans and Nigerians. The study was approached from the "˜explorative research' perspective, with "˜musa paradisica' (plantain), adopted as metaphor of the theory because it constantly reproduces itself. Thus, any element of Sustainable Development must be regenerative in nature. The approach yielded certain fundamentals of Sustainable Development as identified in the case study of "˜Singapore' under "˜Lee Kuan Yew' to include; benevolent and patriotic leadership, which would embark on national investment which reproduces its kind for the present generation to meet their needs, without depleting natural resources for future utilization, human capital accumulation, State directed investments among others. These and many others, should regenerate itself as the "˜plantain tree does for its cultivators. This was the essence of plantain theory of Sustainable Development.