Samuel Aluko (August 18, 1929 – February 7, 2012) was a Nigerian public economist and scholar who wrote articles and papers that analyzed government's social and economic policies.
While Aluko was at Ile-Ife, he was a member of an informal advisory committee of AG, along with Wole Soyinka, Victor Oyenuga, Dr Odumosu and a couple of expatriate lecturers.
Aluko's views on economic growth and public finance was less elitist and was to approach decision making by using the federal, state and local government institutions as an instrument of growing the national economy.
Aluko's view was drawing funds through higher rates of taxation and tracking tax defaulters to generate government income.
He also supported measures to increase workers productivity through better supervision and cutting of waste such as subsidized rent and allowances to government employees.
[2] As oil production increased in Nigeria in the 1970s, Aluko was still inclined to support the thought that the state can be an engine of industrialization through funding of technical education, agriculture extension and infrastructural development.
[4] During Ibrahim Babangida's administration, Aluko still steadfastly held on to the thought that the tiers of government had a major role to play in developing the economy.
[5] Aluko's trouble with SAP also extended to the multilateral institutions who made the recommendations and the Nigerian economists who followed the dictates of Western capitalist thought.