THE NIGERIAN OIL BOOM IS NO BLESSING.
Nigeria is a country blessed with natural resources. These resources take various forms ranging from tin to crude oil which is the most predominant, therefore making Nigeria the largest producer of crude oil in West Africa. The oil wells which supply the nation with a large percentage of her revenue have been exploited by people who know their worth. As a result, Nigeria which can conveniently support herself depends on foreigners for the oil which we originally produce. The carelessness and corruption of our political leaders have led the country to state of disarray. In spite of Nigeria’s oil boom, one may contend that it is not a blessing.
Others may argue that the oil boom has provided the nation with revenue. Nigeria, unarguably receives high revenue from oil. The presence of oil has also exposed Nigeria to the rest of the world due to the presence of associations like the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries (O.P.E.C). If the oil boom is truly a blessing, why then should a nation rich in oil sell its raw oil to international refining companies which in turn re-sell to us, when we have four refineries in our country? If the refineries were put into use, Nigeria will not need to spend money exporting oil, and then importing it after refining. Also, where does the revenue go? In what way has the revenue derived from oil benefitted us when we still have issues like inflation, mass unemployment, and poverty to tackle? With all these, I still strongly state that, the presence of oil has not been beneficial especially to the citizens of Nigeria.
The indigenes of oil producing areas have been exploited. Foreign oil companies come into Nigeria to dig for oil which they refine and sel...
... middle of paper ...
...ed prices. We hear of issues of fuel scarcity because the pump prices of fuel are high, and the independent marketers engage in hoarding these products. It should be unheard of that a country known for its oil wells lacks its oil products. Meanwhile, countries Nigeria trades with rarely lack petroleum products. Due to mishandled practices, a nation like Nigeria lacks petroleum products. In situations like these, how can someone be convinced that the oil boom has been of more good than harm to Nigeria’s citizens.
In conclusion, Nigeria is blessed but does the blessing extend to her citizens? For as long as indigenous citizens of oil producing states are exploited, oil spillages occur and take away peoples sources of income, all sorts of violent acts still occur, and petroleum prices remain high, I will still state that the oil boom is not in any way a blessing.
The political instability inherent in emerging economies make for very challenging business environments. In late October 1995, Royal Dutch Shell founds itself in just such a tenuous environment in Niger. As Paine and Moldoveanu (2009) outlined,Shell came under scrutiny in the 1990’s for the environmental impact that they were having on the Niger Delta. Shell was accused of creating an “ecological disaster” on the region, caused by oil spills, emissions from flaring of natural gas, and drainage of contaminated water into the waterways (Paine & Moldoveanu, 2009). Adding to the operating complexity, the Nigerian government and its leader faced escalating international condemnation for the actions of a special military tribunal
Niger, home of the free flowing Niger River, is a Sub-Saharan, western African nation. Sadly, it is an extremely poor country because part of the country is desert and less than 3% open for crop use. The present economic situation is bleak at best. Yet, the vibrant tradition and history of this country lives today in its tribes and its people even through all of its adversities. From severe droughts to military coups to a dysfunctional government to the culture has stayed strong.
Ejikeme begins her article by asserting that every year for a half of century; the Nigerian residents living in the Niger Delta are suffering from the oil spill which is equivalent to one Exxon Valdez – it is one of the worst environment disastrous conditions to live in imaginable. The situation is getting more atrocious when the amount of oil spills does n...
Oil pollution has been a major environmental concern since commercial scale oil extraction began in the Niger Delta in the 1950s and it will be for as long as oil extraction continues. Since the 1950s because of the increasing demand for crude oil and the existence of large oil reserves, the Niger Delta has experienced what can be called an environmental disaster from oil pollution, which resulted in major consequences for the environment and for the indigenous people who depended on the region for their livelihood. A study on Ogoniland, located in the Rivers State of the Niger Delta, revealed that the soil, groundwater, vegetation, surface water and even the air had been contaminated by petroleum hydrocarbons, devastating aquatic and agricultural communities and causing serious health issues for many residents (Environmental Assessment 2011). Many historians, environmentalists, political theorists, and other parties have discussed and explored this disaster, leading to disagreement about who is to be blamed. Two general positions have emerged as a result: the first position, suggests the Nigerian State made the country ripe for such a disaster and that although multinational oil companies (MNOCs) like Shell might have played some role, the state that is primarily responsible for the environmental disaster in the Niger Delta because it is in control of rules, regulations, policies, and revenue. The second position argues that MNOCs themselves, with Shell being used as an example, are primarily responsible for the environmental disaster in the Niger Delta because they are in direct contact with the oil, equipment, and local people. Ultimately, the examination of popular and secondary research and of both positions outlined above l...
oil in Nigeria. Nigeria’s large supply of high quality crude oil helped Shell climb to the top,
The usage of oil throughout history has helped form the world and how people live. Countries economies, world politics, and the worlds environment has all been changed by oil. Since there is such a large market for oil, world economy has been affected greatly by trades and prices. In politics, there have been both advancements and conflicts because of the world’s dependence on oil. Oil has also had different effects on the world’s environment. Overall, the dependence on oil has greatly impacted the way the world functions. Without oil, the world would not be in the state it’s in today.
In the fateful year of 1884, the Berlin Conference convened (Berlin Conference). The Nigerian natives did not know this, but, because of that meeting and many other factors, they would soon be conquered by Britain, pressured to convert to an alien religion, and would hurt culturally and economically not just during their time as a colony, but even after they achieve independence, with the their future political system inefficient and hard to reform as an added bonus. To begin, this paper’s goal is to reveal the symptoms of Britain's reign over Nigeria and how they continue to be a huge nuisance even today in the form of huge economic, ethnic, and political difficulties.
The oil conflict in Nigeria consists primarily of two parties the oil companies and the local interests. The conflict has turned deadly as individuals have protested through violence their frustration for what they believe to be an injustice. The locals believe that the oil companies owe them rent for land use. The oil companies have been avoiding land use fees by using government resources to their advantage.
The U.S dependency on foreign oil presents many negative impacts on the nation’s economy. The cost for crude oil represents about 36% of the U.S balance of payment deficit. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). This does not affect directly the price of gas being paid by consumers, but the money paid circulates in the country’s economy and affects areas such as; the job market and production facilities. (Wright, R. T., & Boorse, D. F. 2011). In addition to the rise in prices, another negative aspect of the U.S dependency on foreign crude oil is the risk of supply disruptions caused by political instability of the Middle East. According to Rebecca Lefton and Daniel J. Weiss in the Article “Oil Dependence Is a Dangerous Habit” in 2010, the U.S imported 4 million barrels of oil a day or 1.5 billion barrels per year from “dangerous or unstable” countries. The prices in which these barrels are being purchased at are still very high, and often lead to conflict between the U.S and Middle Eastern countries. Lefton and Weiss also add that the U.S reliance on oil from countries ...
Nigeria has been fondly termed the 'Giant of Africa' and it is expected that as a giant, Nigeria should not only be the voice of Africa, but should be a big brother to the rest African-states. Present experience and occurrences however points away from the "Giantness" of Nigeria. A giant that has come to be relegated to the background, whose economy has continuously weakened and whose political climate cannot be used as a prototype or model for other African states to follow. It therefore begs the question, what happened to the great giant? Did the giant fall? Has the giant turned to a toddler? Is the giant sleeping? Oh! the giant is crippled. It is now understandable why Osaghae thinks the giant has crippled. If the giant has not crippled, why hasn’t the giant taken its place? Shouldn’t the giant be in charge and be dominating? The questions become endless. Little surprise Osaghae submitted that
But the growth has not been inclusive, broad-based and transformational. The implication of this trend is that economic growth in Nigeria has not resulted in the desired structural changes that would make manufacturing the engine of growth, create employment, promote technological development and induce poverty alleviation. Available data has put the national poverty level at 54.4 per cent. Similarly, there has been rising unemployment with the current level put at 19.7 per cent by the National Bureau of Statistics
The question to be answered in this paper is to what extent has the resource curse affected the Nigerian economy and government? Resource curse is a term that states the observation that countries that have a plethora of natural resources (e.g. oil, coal, diamonds etc.) usually have unstable political and economic structures (Sachs, 827). Nigeria is categorized as a nation that has succumb to the resource curse as it has an abundance of, and an overdependence on, oil, and a decreasing gross domestic product (GDP) (Samuels, 321-322). Nigeria is known for its specialization and overdependence on oil and according to Ross, nations of such nature tend to have high levels of poverty, large class gaps, weak educational systems, more corruption within the government, and are less likely to become democracies (Ross, 356). The political instability and regime change in Nigeria will be observed in this paper. The resource curse has greatly weakened Nigeria as it has led to the numerous regime changes, the hindering of the nation’s democratization, corruption in the government, as well as, civil conflict.
The importance of oil to the modern world is unique in character and far-reaching in scope. It is a singularly autonomous variable in the world economy and it is used inter alia for transportation, heating and production.
The objective of this report is to give understanding on the culture of Nigeria, the diversity of its people and the overwhelming struggles that exist. It also discusses the movements of the people, and how kingdoms arose and grew, and the expansions in their industries, in petroleum and their rural contributions, also the demographic features of the population of Nigeria, including population density, ethnicity, economic status, religious affiliations and added aspects of the population, and how Nigeria incorporates a more complete range of climate settings, and the environmental dangers the lands face, with corrosion, and the campaigns local and national, that fight to protect land from industrial development. The country's land that varies greatly, with lowlands in the south, hills and plateaus in the central region and plains in the north, with coastal swamps and tropical forests take over the southern lands, while the north is mostly savannah and semi-desert.
Nigeria, with its prodigous oil and natural gas reserves, has the potential to be one of the most affluent places on the planet, were it not for the rampant corruption that defines it. Instead, it is the 20th poorest country in the world1. Much like the guanxi of China, Nigeria practices prebendalism—the use of high-level positions to gain personal wealth. In other words, people exchange money for political favors, which of course creates a greedy and corrupt society. The extent of this fraudulency is such that most of Nigeria's oil wealth is sucked up by one per cent of the population, while more than 60% falls below the poverty line. In fact, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has determined that 92% of Nigeria lives on less than one dollar a day2. Meanwhile, it is estimated that in the past 50 years, three to four hundred billion dollars have been stolen by government officials.