 As a scholar, he contributed a great deal in propelling into academic discourse, new methods for solving African economic problems.As an economist with sensitivity to historical changes, Okigbo researched and wrote about the origins, evolution and transformation of major economic policies and was practical in his identification and application of competing theories of development that he thought suitable for the realities of the political economy of Nigeria and Africa.He gained academic acclaim in Nigeria when he published a book on the national accounting standard of Nigeria.