1. Nigerian Economic Development!!!
(Let’s face it,
we’re talking about oil.)

3. British Influence
Part of the problem (shockingly) goes back to colonialism
The British encouraged the Nigerians to focus on “commercial farming over subsistence farming.”
In other words, grow what you can sell and not what you need to survive.

4. Impact from the UK
In the South they grew cocoa, palm oil, timber, and rubber.
In the North they focused on cattle, cotton, and peanuts.
Environmental damage as “temperate farming techniques were applied to a tropical zone.”
Modern Nigeria still struggles with farming
trade partners still desire cash crops
more people are moving to the cities, leaving fewer to farm
Nigeria depends on oil exclusively.
global oil demand means the government can survive on exports versus tax revenue
Fewer taxes means diminished influence from the populace

5. Disease Malaria is prevalent in a majority of Nigerians
While not fatal, it’s extremely incapacitating, which hurts productivity
Western cultures have invested heavily in finding medicines to combat AIDS due to it’s impact on productivity
But, to truly help Africa, Westerners need to step up fighting malaria, too.

6. Oil fights 1967, Biafra declared independence.
This led to civil war (that’s where the oil is)
Recently, the development of protest organizations:
Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MOSSOB)
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)
The protests often turn violent.
MEND frequently attacks the pipeline and takes foreign workers hostage

8. Oil’s importance
Oil revenue is extremely importance (as seen by the number of coups undertaken to control it)
Military leaders have learned the populace does not need to be controlled to run the country
Once the workers’ unions and the homelands where the oil is located are managed, “everyone else can be ignored.”

9. Regional Influence It’s surrounded by former French colonies
Those colonies are suspicious of Nigeria, so it has difficulty assuming regional leadership
Despite this difficulty, Nigeria has succeeded in moving western Africa towards free trade with the creation of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS)
Nigeria has also taken part in several U.N. operations in Europe and Africa

10. The Bottom Line
Compared to other countries with “equivalent natural resources, skilled human resources, and size, Nigeria has not done well.”
Only the creation of a government which can overcome differences and maintain cooperation will pull Nigeria into economic and democratic stability.