How the trade liberalization influences economic growth is a subject of interest that has attracted a large number of researchers. This work investigates the importance of trade openness in accounting for the dynamics of per capita real income in Nigeria, during the period 1981-2015. This study makes use of the vector error correction model (VECM) as the method of estimation. The VECM is used in analyzing the short-run and long-run dynamics of economic variables, namely, gross domestic product per capita, oil rent, value-added of agriculture, human capital, gross capital formation and trade openness used as a proxy for trade liberalization.