Nigeria faces a very bleak future without her
oil revenue that comes in on the daily basis and into the federal government
coffers. Today in 2013, about 90% of the Nigeria's foreign exchange earning
comes directly from this oil alone. The nation's entire financial life or
security and her whole future are all solidly built on the daily oil export
since the 1960s when this oil was first discovered in the commercial quantity
in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
For the last 45 years, Nigeria has made hundreds of billions of American dollar from her oil sales as state revenue according to the data from the many western financial institutions. The same western monetary agencies also claimed that more than $300-$400 billion from this oil revenue have either been siphoned away by the past and the present Nigeria's leaders as well as her top government officials or were mismanaged on wrong national programs and on those white elephant projects that are totally irrelevant to the true national development of Nigeria as a nation over the last few decades. Today in 2013 in Nigeria, there is nothing physically tangible that is present on the ground in the 36 states of this country to truly justify these enormous oil wealth and the huge yearly revenues from this oil in all reality, truth and honesty.
Today in Nigeria and in the midst of this oil wealth, about 80% of all Nigerians are living in abject poverty and survive on $1-$2 a day living budget or expenses. The unemployment rate has also reached over 23% amongst the youths, a terrible situation that has left behind millions of young college-educated Nigerians without any possibility or any hope for future employment opportunities and a better life. This oil wealth in Nigeria has also created one of the world’s most pronounced income inequalities, wealth gaps and poverty rates. The minimum wage of $110 a month that is paid to a Nigerian worker in 2013 is one of the lowest minimum wages anywhere in the 21st century human universe.
Furthermore, the tens of millions of the ordinary Nigerian workers in both the private and the government sectors of the Nigeria's workforce earn poverty wages that practically and financially deny them any access to their basic human necessities in this life, such as decent housing, nutritional meals, transportation, health care, emergency funds and decent future retirement. The Nigeria's successive government and her leaders have never used this huge oil revenue to modernize the nation’s old, over-used, outdated, collapsing and inadequate national infrastructures, education systems, health care facilities and social services.
The second biggest human issue that confronts Nigeria’s future is her national population that stands at around 160 million citizens and residents based on the available 2012 population estimates. This population is rapidly growing at an annual rate of 3.2% or 5 million new Nigerians every year. Nigeria’s population according to the United Nations demographers is expected to hit about 400 million persons by the year 2050, at the same time that the global oil experts expected the Nigeria's present oil reserves (onshore and offshore combined) that currently stand at about 38 billion barrels of oil to be completely depleted at her current rate of exploration of about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day or 1 billion barrels of oil a year or 38 billion barrels of oil by the year 2050.
The oil in Nigeria today has never benefited the ordinary Nigerians, but only the nation's top elites and the western oil corporations. As the Nigeria’s population continues to grow exponentially without any attempt by the government to control this huge population growth, at the same time the Nigeria’s oil reserves continue to deplete rapidly. The biggest question in Nigeria today is simply this: how will Nigeria as a country survive in this 21st century human universe without her daily oil revenue and in the midst of this uncontrollable national population growth or explosion?
For the last 45 years, Nigeria has made hundreds of billions of American dollar from her oil sales as state revenue according to the data from the many western financial institutions. The same western monetary agencies also claimed that more than $300-$400 billion from this oil revenue have either been siphoned away by the past and the present Nigeria's leaders as well as her top government officials or were mismanaged on wrong national programs and on those white elephant projects that are totally irrelevant to the true national development of Nigeria as a nation over the last few decades. Today in 2013 in Nigeria, there is nothing physically tangible that is present on the ground in the 36 states of this country to truly justify these enormous oil wealth and the huge yearly revenues from this oil in all reality, truth and honesty.
Today in Nigeria and in the midst of this oil wealth, about 80% of all Nigerians are living in abject poverty and survive on $1-$2 a day living budget or expenses. The unemployment rate has also reached over 23% amongst the youths, a terrible situation that has left behind millions of young college-educated Nigerians without any possibility or any hope for future employment opportunities and a better life. This oil wealth in Nigeria has also created one of the world’s most pronounced income inequalities, wealth gaps and poverty rates. The minimum wage of $110 a month that is paid to a Nigerian worker in 2013 is one of the lowest minimum wages anywhere in the 21st century human universe.
Furthermore, the tens of millions of the ordinary Nigerian workers in both the private and the government sectors of the Nigeria's workforce earn poverty wages that practically and financially deny them any access to their basic human necessities in this life, such as decent housing, nutritional meals, transportation, health care, emergency funds and decent future retirement. The Nigeria's successive government and her leaders have never used this huge oil revenue to modernize the nation’s old, over-used, outdated, collapsing and inadequate national infrastructures, education systems, health care facilities and social services.
The second biggest human issue that confronts Nigeria’s future is her national population that stands at around 160 million citizens and residents based on the available 2012 population estimates. This population is rapidly growing at an annual rate of 3.2% or 5 million new Nigerians every year. Nigeria’s population according to the United Nations demographers is expected to hit about 400 million persons by the year 2050, at the same time that the global oil experts expected the Nigeria's present oil reserves (onshore and offshore combined) that currently stand at about 38 billion barrels of oil to be completely depleted at her current rate of exploration of about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day or 1 billion barrels of oil a year or 38 billion barrels of oil by the year 2050.
The oil in Nigeria today has never benefited the ordinary Nigerians, but only the nation's top elites and the western oil corporations. As the Nigeria’s population continues to grow exponentially without any attempt by the government to control this huge population growth, at the same time the Nigeria’s oil reserves continue to deplete rapidly. The biggest question in Nigeria today is simply this: how will Nigeria as a country survive in this 21st century human universe without her daily oil revenue and in the midst of this uncontrollable national population growth or explosion?
Why did Nigeria not use her
hundreds of billions of the American dollar that she has made from her oil
revenue in the last 40 years to develop her local agriculture, tourism,
manufacturing, export, solid mineral mining, alternative energy sources and
effective national tax system that will bring in more money for her than the
oil and will also provide the much needed millions of those reliable and good
paying jobs for her jobless youths?
In conclusion, Nigeria as a nation is presently seating on two major time bombs that may likely shape her entire future or destiny in this 21st century world. Time which remains one of the most important controllers of all human events under the sun is quickly running out against the Nigerian nation that has refused to date through her corrupt and mediocre leadership for the last 40 years to manage properly and to invest this oil wealth wisely for the betterment of all Nigerians and for the future of the Nigerians that are yet unborn. Are the Nigeria's present leaders not aware of these two unavoidable major events of the future? I do not believe they know the existence and the implications of these two major realities that confront Nigeria and her future in this century. At the present moment, the Nigeria’s 17,500 elected and appointed public officials at all levels of government are presently too busy stealing and mismanaging the leftovers from this oil revenue and are also pretending or indifferent to Nigeria’s unchecked population growth. Once beaten, twice shy. Time will surely tell.
No comments:
Post a Comment