A deliberate government policy to exclude foreign participation in certain economic activity is known as

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks for the term that describes a deliberate government policy of excluding foreign participation in certain economic activities, leaving them to citizens.

Step 2: Review the concepts

• Commercialization: Running a public enterprise on business lines to make profit, with the government still owning it.
• Indigenization: Government policy that transfers ownership and control of certain businesses to citizens, restricting or excluding foreigners. In Nigeria, the Nigerian Enterprises Promotion Decrees of 1972 and 1977 reserved certain businesses for Nigerians only.
• Liberalization: Removing government restrictions on trade and investment. This is the opposite of exclusion.
• Localization: Not a standard term for this policy. It usually refers to locating or adapting activities to a particular place.
• Privatization: Selling government-owned enterprises to private individuals or firms, who may be local or foreign. It does not exclude foreigners.

Step 3: Match to the question The key idea is excluding foreigners from certain activities, and that is the essence of indigenization. The Nigerian example is the 1972 Indigenization Decree, which reserved some businesses (such as small-scale trading, bakeries and newspaper publishing) for Nigerians.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is B. indigenization.

Exam tip: Link the words to their roots:

• Indigenous means native, so indigenization means for natives only.
• Liberal means free, so liberalization means opening up.
• Private means private owners, so privatization means a sale to private owners.
• Commerce means profit-making, so commercialization means running it like a business.