Volume 6, Number 3

Here or There? An Appraisal of Industrial Location Factors in Gombe Metropolis, North East Nigeria, 1963-2013

  Authors

Misbahu Sa’idu and Bala Rabiu Hashidu, Federal University of Kashere, Nigeria

  Abstract

The apple of discord among location theorists and stakeholders in the industrial sector has been where best to site an industry. This led to the promulgation of theories and policies to provide a blueprint for the establishment of industries. In spite of the significance of industrial location discourse, Gombe in North East Nigeria did not feature in these decades of intellectual postulations. This is not due to absence of industries in the five decades covered by this study, but rather absence of research on the theme in Gombe. To fill this apparent gap, this paper used both primary and secondary sources. The objective is to give a historical synopsis of the factors and the dilemma that characterized industrial location decisions in Gombe. The result shows that infrastructure such as the railway, road, water and electricity exerted varied influence in the location of industries such as Gombe Oil Mill, Landa Sack factory and Niko Plastic industries among others. However, the paper identifies proximity to market as a major factor of location and government played a central role in determining where an industry should be sited. The paper finally recommends a holistic approach to industrial location where all stakeholders are involved so as to cushion the effects of poor choice of location and by implication, tame degenerative industrialization.

  Keywords

Industries, Industrial location, Infrastructure, Stakeholders, Market, Government.