Quite often crude oil is blamed for all the ills and misfortune that had bedevilled Nigeria since 1970. Whereas oil was discovered at Oloibiri in 1958 and Nigeria had a robust economy up until the unfortunate Civil War and beyond, political commentators and sundry economists have continued to make oil the scapegoat for the rudderless leadership and self centred political/military rulers Nigeria had been plagued with.
Unfortunately, Oil has never had any lawyer to defend her in the court of public opinion or in both the traditional and social media.
Newspapers, magazines, radio and television outlets all conspired to heap blames on Oil as if there has never been any other player in the country’s political economy.
Saudi Arabia has remained the world’s largest producer of oil as well as the largest net exporter. Yet oil, huge global investments and religious tourism had remained the main stay of that blessed country’s economy, and her citizens have enjoyed the best care any government can provide over the years.
Iraq has oil. And until the frivolous blood thirsty US went to destabilise that historic country, Iraq had the 4th largest and strongest Military in the world. Social amenities were second to none, and all the citizens of Iraq enjoyed one of the best health care delivery provisions in the world. Education at home and abroad was virtually free up to university level, and the country was never broke.
Libya, our own Libya was the best example of the miracle a country could perform with oil until; again, the war mongering United States of America went there to put the very stable country in ruins. Citizens of Gaddafi’s Libya did not know what is called Taxes! Education was free up to university level.
Health facilities were free. There was abundant food supply as guaranteed by heavy investments in food security. Housing was in abundance and the government invested huge subsidies for young adults and families to live in decent accommodation.
The point being made is that all countries that the Almighty Olodumare blessed with oil automatically transferred the blessings to their citizens and their country men and women enjoyed Biblical and Quranic Paradise on earth. Oil has always been a huge blessing. If for whatever reason Oil did not confer blessings on Nigeria , the cause for the anomaly must be located somewhere else.
An automobile designed to aid and ease transportation cannot be blamed for the recklessness of drunken driver or the carelessness of an owner who does not service his vehicle as and when due.
When Oil got into the hands of Nigerian leaders they treated her the way they treated every other aspect of the national life—SHABBILY and THOUGHTLESSLY! For starters, as soon as oil was discovered in commercial quantity, the crooked leaders of the country jettisoned the time tested Derivation Formula which allowed regions to control their resources and instead chose to impose a wicked system which in truth robbed oil producers of their God-given mineral. That singular political miscalculation dealt a fatal blow to the mutual trust and healthy relationship that hitherto existed among the federating units of the country.
That was not all. Because humongous amount of money now found its way to the unmerited purse of the Country’s capital, the political players at the centre did not know what to do with the excess funds and thus resorted to simply sharing the money like drunken billionaires.
Nigeria did not know what to do with the unearned huge income. The country refused to invest or diversify its economic base or prepare for the rainy day. It was ‘spend, spend, and spend’ and all sorts of jamborees and white elephant projects were embarked upon.
The greatest culprit of course was the twin-devil of Unitary form of the country’s weird Federal system and military-type money guzzling anti-democracy Presidential system of government oddly borrowed from the US and crudely executed. The bane of Nigeria today is its wobbled structure.
There is no way the country will ever get out of the woods if it continued with this ugly lopsided Unitary form of government with its attendant over centralisation and in-built corruption.
The so-called federal government stole the money that Oil brought into the country, misappropriated it, and made all other members of the federating units hapless beggars that must crawl to the country’s capital to take crumbs off the table of his majesty the supreme ruler of the country. That has been the disturbing trend since 1970!!!
And because Oil continued to pour money into the federation account, all other aspects of revenue generating sectors of the country’s economy were neglected or completely abandoned. Agriculture, the once vibrant stay of the country’s economy was relegated to the background while manufacturing was sent to the gallows.
Free money encouraged senseless importation of junks from all over the world and Nigeria became a notorious dumping ground, the world’s largest dump!
Oil is therefore not the Culprit for Nigeria ’s woes but the Mismanagement and Thoughtlessness of the successive rulers who captured power at the centre and abused the trust of the people using a bogus Military imposed Constitution as excuse.
Nobody should ever blame our darling Oil. Unfortunately for Ms Oil, her days as important player in the world economy are coming to an end.

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