Crude oil,a curse in disguise or a blessing to Nigeria

[Cyber_warrior]

Nigerians are still farming however they are not doing it like before, and the government is not even supporting the farmers this is because crude oil has been discovered in Nigeria, and the government is now focusing all their attention into crude oil because there is much money in that area than agriculture.

The reason why Nigeria’s are now more focused on Crude oil than agriculture is because of foolishness of our Nigerian leaders, we don’t have good leaders in Nigeria if we had good leaders in Nigeria, we would focus on crude oil and also focus on agriculture equally and things would have been better for Nigeria.

We have corrupt leaders and as long as they continue existing Nigeria we keep having issues.
Right now, farmers are not even going to farm because of bandit and the government is doing nothing about it.

Crude oil will always be one of the biggest natural resources, we have see other nations that have crude oil and have used it to build a good nation and economy. In Nigeria case I think the leaders are the problem and not crude oil, the level of corruption have put the nation so behind and make it look like crude oil is the problem.

Having crude oil and Agriculture is suppose to shoot Nigeria economy to a big level, we have see nations that rely on just crude oil or just agriculture and still doing well. So if Nigeria is having both it surpose to put them far ahead of where they are today but bad leaders are denying them that.

[SOKO-DEKE]

The problem of Nigeria is the leadership. Nigerians don’t have problem of going back to Agriculture, but the government of country don’t prioritize agriculture. The moment Nigerians elect a president that knows how to generate wealth through farming, the country will prioritize agriculture again. The leaders the country has been having since independence haven’t really prioritized the development of the country. They prefer looting the country dry. There is every need for the country to get back to agriculture.

The point is that Nigeria did not fully abandon the agricultural sector,it is just that they are not paying as much attention to the agricultural sector as they are paying to the oil sector. There is no way we can expect Nigeria to pay the same attention to the agricultural sector as they are paying to the oil sector because the oil sector generates more revenue than agriculture.If agriculture were generating more revenue than oil, there is no way the Nigerian government would pay more attention to crude oil than agriculture. For a better economy, any country will give more attention to the sector that generates more revenue for them.The only problem Nigeria is having is bad leadership. If we had good leaders, the money generated from the oil sector would more likely be channelled into agriculture, and that would boost the country economy more. But instead of doing that, they rather loot the money.So, it is not about going fully back to agriculture, it is about having good leaders.

[Ayers]

Does anyone still believe in the fairy tale about the "resource curse"? This is when a country has so much natural wealth that this wealth hinders the population from working and living a rich life. Recently, Trump freed Venezuela from the resource curse by placing the oil industry under American control. Now all the residents are happy - they’ve gotten rid of the income from the cursed oil. At the beginning of this century, the Rothschilds wanted to free Russia from the resource curse by taking control of all oil production. But Putin thwarted them and sent their representative in Russia (Khodorkovsky) to prison.

In my opinion, Trump didn't free Venezuela. He just replaced one bad leader with another. This is like slave masters swapping. Nothing has changed. The proceeds from the oil are still not going to the people on aking theor economy better. It's the same old, same old.
This is why I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic.

Trump didn't liberate Venezuela. he just liberated their oil and called it bringing democracy and freedom.

US now controls of 65 billion barrels, around 1/5 of Venezuela's reserves. at current prices, that's worth about $7t. in return, Venezuela gets around $100b in investment and $209b in tax revenue over the next 25 year.
that's a pretty big change, and Trump sure had to work hard to make this deal happen. the only thing is, those changes seem to be more about making America great again than improving Venezuela's economy, which is what people there once hoped he would do.

and yeah, pretty clear he was being sarcastic.

[viljy]

Does anyone still believe in the fairy tale about the "resource curse"? This is when a country has so much natural wealth that this wealth hinders the population from working and living a rich life. Recently, Trump freed Venezuela from the resource curse by placing the oil industry under American control. Now all the residents are happy - they’ve gotten rid of the income from the cursed oil. At the beginning of this century, the Rothschilds wanted to free Russia from the resource curse by taking control of all oil production. But Putin thwarted them and sent their representative in Russia (Khodorkovsky) to prison.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or you're serious.
The only reason the "resource curse" works is because of poor management and corruption, and not because the people in the country get lazy or don't want to work. Politicians refused to make good use of the money gotten from the resources, which is oil in this case. The money could have been used to develop better infrastructure, invest in the economy, create jobs and make the lives of the people easier, instead, the money is shared among the politicians and their friends and family.

In my opinion, Trump didn't free Venezuela. He just replaced one bad leader with another. This is like slave masters swapping. Nothing has changed. The proceeds from the oil are still not going to the people on aking theor economy better. It's the same old, same old.
This is why I couldn't tell if you were being sarcastic.

Of course, sarcastically. And no matter how corrupt their previous government was, the new government will turn out to be even worse in this regard. After all, they even sold their president to the Americans (no matter how bad he was). Anyone who says that wealth is a curse simply wants to take that wealth for themselves. And that’s exactly what happened: oil production in some of the explored fields has already been transferred under US control.

[Jubilee58]

I understand that Nigeria as a country is an oil rich nation, and the fact that the huge amount of money made from oil is not properly utilized does not make crude oil a course to Nigeria, and in a way even though their is no even development from the huge amount of money made from oil, the people who they discover this crude oil in there land are actually benefiting from it in one way or the other. More also, I equally believe that system of leadership can change someday, if the people in position of leadership in Nigeria are not making good use of the money made from crude oil, there will be a time when people we gain governance, and they will see the need to develop the country with the money made from crude oil.
It is true that more attention has been shifted to crude oil in the country Nigeria, but that doesn't stop them from investing in agriculture because it will aid in revenue generation, and as well as economic growth of the country Nigeria.
There is money in agriculture, and like you said Nigeria was making good money from agriculture before the discovery of crude oil due to their rich ground or soil fertility, so combining agriculture, and crude oil exploration can make Nigeria super rich as a country.

[knowngunman]

Oh god, why do people always poeple compare it things just on the surface and not dig into the math for it!

So let's break this down without colonialism, tinfoils and stuff like that:
Assuming $100 per barrel.

Nigeria 1,675,090 barrels a day, $ 61 billions a year, 243 million population, a flat $250 per year per capita!
Saudi Arabia, 11,213,958 barrels a day, $409 billions a year, 35 million population, $11 650 per year per capita!
Norway, 2,051,848 barrels a day, $74 billions a year, 5 million population, $15 000 per year per capita!

So Saudi Arabia produces and earns 46 times more from oil per capita than Nigeria, Norway earns 60 times more from oil per capita than Nigeria!
For Nigeria to earn the same as Saudi Arabia, it would need to produce 77 million barrels a day, roughly 3/4 of the world's production to compete with Norway it would need to produce more oil than the entire world's consumption!

I know about our population and the population of the other countries you mentioned but I don't think it makes much difference. There is difference between how many barrels we produce and what we do with the revenue we generate from what we produce. Other countries you mentioned have a system that work well couple with their visible investments that benefit their citizens.

The question is what has Nigeria been doing with the revenue so far? They can not even revive the collapsing refineries. They're not diversifying but overreliance on oil. Aside funding government activities and paying salaries, nothing more to show for it. Even the salaries are not regular as it used to be. Doctors, lecturers go on strike every now and then. It's not because we don't produce enough like other countries with less populations, it's because we are mismanaging our own.

If we can not do better with what we are producing now, there’s no guarantee we can change if our production increases.

[Ashawowo(OS)]

Crude oil is a blessing from nature to the country, but the way it's being handled has made it very much counterproductive and those who it's supposed to help are left in abject poverty, the country it's supposed to elevate it's economic status it's left unattended. It has become the private remuneration of greedy politicians and their Western allies. A lot of theft is happening in the oil&gas sector, there's no hope for this crude oil to benefit the common man.

I might be seen as harsh, but I pray everyday for Nigerian crude oil to finish totally. Only then would the country wake up and all abandoned parastatals would become very productive and we stop this unnecessary dependence on crude oil, focus on other resources we've and rebuild the country.

[Zlantann]

The point is that Nigeria did not fully abandon the agricultural sector,it is just that they are not paying as much attention to the agricultural sector as they are paying to the oil sector. There is no way we can expect Nigeria to pay the same attention to the agricultural sector as they are paying to the oil sector because the oil sector generates more revenue than agriculture.If agriculture were generating more revenue than oil, there is no way the Nigerian government would pay more attention to crude oil than agriculture. For a better economy, any country will give more attention to the sector that generates more revenue for them.The only problem Nigeria is having is bad leadership. If we had good leaders, the money generated from the oil sector would more likely be channelled into agriculture, and that would boost the country economy more. But instead of doing that, they rather loot the money.So, it is not about going fully back to agriculture, it is about having good leaders.

You shouldn't say that there is no way Nigeria should have focused on more than one resource. Many developed nations have diversified their economy that they gain substantial revenue from different sources. Australia, Brazil, Canada, the U.S., and China are examples of countries that have maximized most of the resources in their location.

The problem is that Nigeria has always lacked good leadership that would have pushed for economic diversification. The goverment prefers to make quick money from crude oil and gas instead of focusing on other sectors that would have brought revenue.

[EarnOnVictor]

No two-way thing here; the discovery of oil in Nigeria is both a Blessing and a Curse.

A blessing, in the sense that crude oil itself is inherently not a curse, but a good thing that has helped the economy, and obviously would have been a seed and added advantage for us (I Am A Nigeria), if utilised well.

A Curse, because it blinded us and made us forget our prosperity foundation - the very main things. But instead of facing what matters in life, we were busy chasing crude oil as the mainstay of the economy.

[stompix]

~

I know about our population and the population of the other countries you mentioned but I don't think it makes much difference.

It makes a tremendous difference
Do you think that the children in two families that earn the same amount will get the same opportunities if one family has one kid and one 10?
If one family with one kid gets $2000 a month and one with 10 gets also $2000 a month?
10 million dollars could fix all the roads in a small city, good luck doing that in a city the size of Paris or London.

Money gets diluted very fast and that was for $100 per barrel; oil has been way lower for ages, then you have extraction costs and so on, the numbers are ridiculous.
Also fun fact, Nigeria produces way oil per capita than Angola, Guinea, Gabon and Congo! 
So those people should ask questions first!

[bangjoe]

Before crude oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, Nigeria's economy was built on agriculture and a few minerals. Basically Nigeria fed the world and built from the ground (soil). What happened, what changed now? Corruption before the discovery of crude oil was minimal but became a national anthem the moment crude oil was discovered. Suddenly everyone is a politician and that made Nigerians to abandon agriculture because there is free money from the dubious politicians to throw around. My question is should Nigeria go back to agriculture to compliment the crude oil? What is your take on this.

All that is in nigeria both from the Earth and the sea then it can be used for the good of the people of nigeria itself, do not just want to be taken and given to other countries, it should indeed be the government of any country that has natural resources in the country should be prioritized for their own nation not sold to foreigners and only to be exchanged for worthless paper.
If agriculture saves more people and people in your country will be guaranteed food then that will not be a problem, but it will be useless if the leaders in your country continue to act corruptly for the benefit of a group of people, it will not make the economy run and basic commodities will only be their game, you should take the hard way to eliminate corrupt culture.

[Umulala-alala]

Farmers are poor, the vast majority of Nigerians are willing to go into farming, but no aid, bad roads, poor structures, and high cost of transportation, the economy is totally unsettled for farmers, no farmer will succeed under such conditions.

Farmers are still making sales and succeeding but not actually all farmers, the insecurities in the country has reduced the rate of farm products, not all farmers are going to the farm again due to the killing and kidnapping happening all over the country, many Nigerians has been killed in their farm. Some also due to the harsh economy of the country couldn't afford some farm tools and chemicals to use in their farms, unlike before farmers use to be one of the richest people in the country but things has changed now.

[Ishicryptic]

Before crude oil was discovered in Nigeria in 1956, Nigeria's economy was built on agriculture and a few minerals. Basically Nigeria fed the world and built from the ground (soil). What happened, what changed now? Corruption before the discovery of crude oil was minimal but became a national anthem the moment crude oil was discovered. Suddenly everyone is a politician and that made Nigerians to abandon agriculture because there is free money from the dubious politicians to throw around. My question is should Nigeria go back to agriculture to compliment the crude oil? What is your take on this.

A natural resources cannot be a curse to the people who are privileged by nature to be the owners so Nigerian crude oil is a blessing to the country, but corruption and mismanagement is the country's biggest problem and curse because we have very bad leaders who don't have any business being in government. These corrupt leaders refuse to develop agricultural, technological and industrial sectors in the economy, their main focus is to be selling crude oil and be mismanaging the funds. Imagine a country as big as Nigeria, doesn't have it's own functional refineries, they keep sabotaging them and importing petroleum finished products from counties that they sell crude oil to because they are part of the petroleum marketers. What Nigeria, needs is good leaders who will develop and export other products aside from crude oil.

[Halifat]

Farmers are poor, the vast majority of Nigerians are willing to go into farming, but no aid, bad roads, poor structures, and high cost of transportation, the economy is totally unsettled for farmers, no farmer will succeed under such conditions.

Farmers are still making sales and succeeding but not actually all farmers, the insecurities in the country has reduced the rate of farm products, not all farmers are going to the farm again due to the killing and kidnapping happening all over the country, many Nigerians has been killed in their farm. Some also due to the harsh economy of the country couldn't afford some farm tools and chemicals to use in their farms, unlike before farmers use to be one of the richest people in the country but things has changed now.

Is the challenge of insecurity that they are facing now is the reason why farmers are struggling, because as we all know Nigeria depends on agriculture before they discovery of crude oil, due to bad leaders that are just after their personal interest, that is why the abandon agriculture because they believe is take processes before it brings money, while  crude oil bring it faster than agriculture and since they are there to build themselves and their family, that is why they decided to leave agriculture and grab the crude oil. I always pray that one day we should be able to get back our country from this bad people.

[Marykeller]

My question is should Nigeria go back to agriculture to compliment the crude oil? What is your take on this.

Nigeria, as a country, has long depended on crude oil for anyone telling the country's government to go back to agriculture they have long abandoned, as what country will rely on it to boost and sustain the economy.

However, what Nigerians are verging for, is a good elected leader who knows how to manage the resources of the country and put it in good uses than for the crude oil to refine elsewhere(country), to be sell at high side for the country citizens, whereas the country can have their own refinery and the cost price of the petroleum products will be cheap than for it to be costly as today's price.

[uchegod-21]

Every natural resources Nigeria has are all blessings that are meant to elevate the country in terms of development, security and everything that works in the progress of the country. But what the country is not blessed with is good leaders that are committed to seeing the country grow beyond its current status.

All those resources, minerals, precious metals etc need to be managed well. All of these resources should be given equal priority instead of the overdependence on crude oil. I don't believe that the Nigerian leaders do not know what to do to boost the country's economy. They know it, but doing the right things may affect their own selfish agenda.

The problem is not only limited to Nigerian, the whole African countries seem to be battling with same issue of underutilisation of resources which is caused by poor governance. With the right leaders, these African countries will experience great changes.

[Gozie51]

Suddenly everyone is a politician and that made Nigerians to abandon agriculture because there is free money from the dubious politicians to throw around. My question is should Nigeria go back to agriculture to compliment the crude oil? What is your take on this.

The Nigerian economic situation is a unique and pathetic one. It is unique in the sense that it has everything to make the situation to turn around for better but that doesn't look like happening. The problem is with the politicians and the unfortunate thing is that politics is now a profession that almost everyone want to partake in it because that is where the money come from.

Your suggestion about going back to agriculture is part of the solution but unfortunately, it is not going to happen anytime soon because of the insecurities.

However, I have had an opinion in different places where I have argued that demonizing the political space in Nigeria will begin a new socio-engineering in the economy. That is, if political offices are made less attractive, like the president, governor, parliament etc then mediocres will give way to genuine selfless people who have built honest careers of themselves and want to impact on the country positively. So if you have people in the affairs of governance who believe that change begins with them and their families you won't see people of questionable characters parading in corridors of power and many of the challenges will be a thing of the past.

[Cookdata]

You shouldn't say that there is no way Nigeria should have focused on more than one resource. Many developed nations have diversified their economy that they gain substantial revenue from different sources. Australia, Brazil, Canada, the U.S., and China are examples of countries that have maximized most of the resources in their location.

The problem is that Nigeria has always lacked good leadership that would have pushed for economic diversification. The goverment prefers to make quick money from crude oil and gas instead of focusing on other sectors that would have brought revenue.

The way leadership has failed the Nigerian country, I wish the one natural resources that is making politicians be so interested in leadership will just vanish one day, I will like to see how the country will be going henceforth. Nigeria isn't the only country that is course with oil and gas, there are many develop countries that are bless with oil as well and you don't see them make noise, in fact they deployed resources to other place to boost revenue instead of relying on one place.

The scientist has warn about depletion of oil reserve, I have seen many articles about how oil and gas one day will reduce in volume, I don't know how true this is but let's assume this is theoretical, it's still need some investigation just to be curious but government doesn't care about all that. I don't even think if there is any team anywhere that is even doing further investigation on the reserve yet they are exporting barrels of volume everyday.

[Oyoyoma_yu]

I won't say the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria is a course rather I would say it is a blessing from the most high, but then because of the greedy nature of Nigeria leaders, the quest for leadership has become very high, crude oil is really giving Nigeria government good money, and every leader are more interested in that money rather than ruling the country well. There are other nations if the world that are also rich in oil production, but I want to say they are doing better because they have really Planned our how the money they make from crude will be spent to make their country a better place. It is also obvious that Nigeria is also good in anything agriculture, and depending on only one source of income is bad , and therefore if they can be active in agriculture, Nigeria can still make good money from agriculture.

[Smartvirus]

The Nigerian local board would have being a much better place to have this discussion, as you would be discussing with those that are directly affected by these switches and might have lived through both eras.

What I’ll say here is this;
In as much as Nigeria continues to have a leadership problem, oil has got nothing to do with the current state of the nation or its political affairs. People would always be people and the would always look for places to place blame’s or faults for their short comings.

Agriculture did benefit us at the time but, there was a shift in the world as per industrialization and what is required for energy which ought to have aided the development of Nigeria but, the need to build generational wealth by few individuals puts a heel on systems that might have worked for the good of the country and that’s just awful.