Oil Wealth And Citizens’ Welfare

Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources. However, the nation’s laziness and the inexplicable inability of its leaders to explore, exploit and deploy these resources have resulted in hydrocarbons falsely claiming pride of place in the pecking order of nature’s endowment, with the result that oil wealth has remained the mainstay of the economy for decades.

The humongous revenue accruing from this resource has not significantly impacted the people’s welfare. Today, the country has much hardship due to mismanagement, more so than the touted unavailability of funds.

It is on record that Nigeria is Africa’s biggest oil producer, pumping about 1.4 million barrels of oil daily—although this is below its standard of around two million barrels per day.

The 17-month-old administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu claims to be instituting ‘bold reforms’ in the energy, power, and foreign exchange sectors to free up funds to invest in critical sectors like infrastructure, health, power, and many others.

While Tinubu’s efforts have been lauded abroad, especially by the country’s nemesis, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, at home, Nigerians face the worst inflation in recent memory, pushing the vulnerable into more severe poverty.

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In response. the government has put in place a cash transfer programme for those considered the most vulnerable, but the process has been slow.

Experts believe that with the country’s clement weather, arable land, generous rainfall and other ecological variations, agriculture should have been the backbone of the nation’s economy. This particular sector of the nation’s natural endowment accounted for the country’s wealth and its status as the richest in Africa in the past. This enviable record was achieved through the exportation of cash crops and raw materials and the total consolidation of her domestic crop production, which sustained the economy immediately after independence in the 1960s.

Also, hunger, malnutrition, disease transmission, and poverty were manageable in those days. Over the years, however, the proceeds of the country’s petroleum resources have not been judiciously used for the overall benefit of the citizens. The wealth generated from oil has been primarily mismanaged and misappropriated through other corrupt tendencies by government officials and their cronies. As a result, people do not enjoy the full benefits of the natural resources.

The situation has become so dire that Nigeria, despite being one of the world’s largest oil producers, still struggles with poverty, unemployment, and a lack of basic infrastructure, including inadequate roads, power supply, and healthcare facilities. Education is also in disarray, with many children out of school and those in school receiving below-par instructions.

The World Bank has recently advised the Nigerian government to ensure that it uses the nation’s oil wealth for the welfare of the people amid the present administration’s economic reforms. This advice is timely and apt, as the country’s leaders must prioritise the people’s welfare over their pervasive self-interest.

This newspaper believes that the government must begin investing in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure. It must provide adequate funding for healthcare facilities, equipment, and personnel. Education is also a vital sector that requires urgent attention. There is an urgent need to provide adequate school funding and ensure that teachers are adequately remunerated to attract the best brains into the sector.

Infrastructure is also a critical sector that requires sustained attention. The government must invest more in road construction, power, and water supply. Adequate infrastructure will drive economic growth and development, attract foreign investments, and create employment opportunities for the people.

While most experts believe that the World Bank and IMF may have significantly contributed to Nigeria’s economic woes, we feel that corruption is one of the primary reasons the country has not enjoyed the full benefits of its natural resources.

In our view, this entails that the government must tackle corruption head-on by strengthening anti-corruption agencies and enforcing laws that deter corrupt practices. It must also ensure that those found guilty of corrupt practices are prosecuted and punished accordingly to serve as a deterrent.

We are persuaded to argue that the Nigerian government should borrow a leaf from other oil-producing countries, especially in the Middle East, where oil money has turned deserts into thriving business environments attracting, with relative ease, investments from across the world.

Those examples imply that the welfare of the citizens has improved immeasurably. The same, in our opinion, can happen in Nigeria if the nation’s oil wealth is judiciously deployed to improve the welfare of the people. The government must prioritise critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and infrastructure to achieve this. The government must also create an enabling environment that will enable local businesses to thrive because that is one remarkable way to attract foreign investments into the country.

We believe that the time to act is now, and the government must take urgent steps to ensure that the people enjoy the full benefits of their natural endowment.