A critical analysis of the processes of adopting the various economic development policies revealed that they have been greatly influenced by resource push, environmentally activated and externally imposed factors. Unlike most other developing countries, Nigeria's case presents a puzzle. In spite of the country's abundance of potential natural resources the adoption of several policies and strategies, and the dialec;ics of their adoption, Nigeria's economic development has remained a daunting challenge over the years. Econ.omic performance has not matched the efforts and resources · committed to the process of economic development. Rather than policy prescriptions closing the--gap...heiwn economic perfonnance and the discipline of economics, the gap is getting wider every year. In fact, Nigeria's economy is currently characterised by macroeconomic instability, sectoral imbalances, declining real per capita income, endemic poverty, among others. This puzzle, therefore, poses a serious question to every policy analyst in Nigeria: Why are policies not working in the country? The answer to this question constitutes the rhajor challenge of this paper. In addition, it also aims at analysing the evolution and the dialectics of economic development policies and strategies in Nigeria. To accomplish this task, the rest of this paper is organised into four parts. Following this introduction is Part II which examines the dynamics . and dialectics of economic development policies in Nigeria. Part III analyses the outcomes of development policies. Part IV examines the reasons for policy failures in Nigeria while the policy implications and conclusions of our discussion are contained in Part V.