Nigeria’s recent economic performance appears reversible. The global economic downturn has
threatened to reverse the economic growth of the last decade. This paper examines the impact,
policy responses and implication of the global financial crisis on Nigeria. It also reviews the
received economic doctrine which has fundamentally contributed to the crisis and calls for a rethinking
of the dominant economic dogma which emphasizes minimal government and freedom of
private resource owners to seek maximum private profits even at the expense of the generality of the
people. In addition, the paper cautions that care must be taken in involving the government
especially for a country like Nigeria where weak institutions persist. This is because basic
institutional arrangements and safeguards must be put in place to manage the demands of
alternative government intervention strategies. The challenge, therefore, is for economists to
rethink the existing economic paradigm in line with current reality. More fundamentally, it would
be appropriate to strengthen regulation in the financial system and re-examine the free market
rationality assumption given the fact that greed and self-interest have been at the core of the
current global economic crisis.