Power, Politics, and Educational Policy Formation in Nigeria: An Elite Theory Analysis

This study applies Elite Theory to critically analyse the power dynamics and political processes shaping educational policy formation in Nigeria. Education policy in Nigeria is frequently characterised by an incongruence between stated goals and implementation realities, and by the marginalisation of grassroots stakeholder interests in favour of elite political and economic preferences. While the political sociology of Nigerian education has attracted scholarly comment, doctoral-level analysis grounded in a coherent political theory framework remains largely absent. The study employs a critical qualitative design combining analysis of 30 major education policy documents from 2000 to 2024 with 40 elite interviews involving senators, federal and state ministry officials, education technocrats, and private sector policy actors drawn from across the six geopolitical zones. Data are analysed using Critical Policy Studies methodology and Elite Theory, drawing on C. Wright Mills, Robert Dahl, and the more recent Epistemic Elite Theory of Collins. Findings demonstrate that Nigerian education policy formation is dominated by a concentrated policy elite characterised by overlapping economic, political, and bureaucratic interests, and that community voices, teacher unions, and subnational stakeholder groups exercise minimal influence over national policy outcomes. The study contributes an original Elite Theory of Nigerian Education Policy Formation that maps the structural conditions enabling elite capture of educational governance. Recommendations address constitutional and institutional reforms to democratise educational policy formation processes in Nigeria. Keywords: elite theory, education policy, political power, policy formation, Nigeria.