Nigeria is not rich! Far from it.

Written by Gerd Meuer

(Let’s get serious!)

The other day I came across a graph in Germany’s biggest, best, because most serious daily newspaper, the ‚Süddeutsche Zeitung. The mere figures talk like a 24-volume encyclopedia. Take only the figures for OIL for Nigeria and Saudi Arabia- tonnage-wise. Those figures already prove that Nigeria is only a minor producer or owner of oil deposits. But those two comparative figures are rather un-important, when you add some other figures and facts.

1.Population:
Let’s assume that Nigeria has a population of 150 million – and WHO really knows the exact figure? and that population will double within the next 23 years, whereas Saudi Arabia had 27 mio in 2006. (meaning Nigeria has six times the population of Saudi Arabia, so the ‘cake’ has to be shared by so many more people…)

2. Known Deposits:
4.9 billion barrels for Nigeria; whereas Saudi Arabia has 36,3 billion, and all that on land, which means to get that oil is a much cheaper technique.

But what is much more important…

The Saudis like so many other oil-exporting countries on the Gulf have over the last 3 to 4 decades invested huge dollar sums in western PRODUCING companies: take for example KUWEIT which owns not only a large number of shares in Mercedes and other German, French, British and what-have-you companies.

Whereas Nigeria’s lootocrats, both in uniform and agbada have stored their money in Western bank, ‘invested’ their money in mostly dubious ventures or in outright luxury, like Abacha did in Indian whores…

Well, at one time when your very own Julius Berger Nigeria had some cash problems, several dozen Alhajis were flown to Germany, and bought Bilfinger and Berger shares… that at least!

Let me add just one more fact: many of the Gulf states have high-quality universities, for which they even recruit highly qualified Nigerian professors. (I do know some personally!) Their students are all on scholarship, be it for the local universities or the best schools abroad. (That some of those students then plan how to blow up the N.Y. World Trade Centre Centre, well… Nigeria has produced at least one such student, who tried his own ‘thing’, and fortunately did NOT make it…)

Meaning:


1.Those states have more oil,
2.They have much smaller populations, (Kuweit has virtually none…)
3.They have invested into the Future with a capital F, also for the days when there will be no more oil – just like the European oil giant Norway is doing. And they are investing in the future by investing massively in eduation.

Now compare this all with Nigeria’s case and you cannot but agree with me that Nigeria’s future in just one or two generations looks rather bleak.

This is the deciding reason why I – but does it really matter, the author being a ‘Caucasian foreigner’, as some ‘simple- thinkers’ like to state – as a journalist do NOT want to read EVER again on NVS about ‘Nigeria’s abundant, endless resources…’ because this is simply wishful thinking and a bloody lie. It is also highly irresponsible vis-avis already the very next generation . The one that will not see a single penny of those 400 billion dollars which the lootocrats have taken abroad.

PS 1: I tried to be brief and concise, but this could naturally be developed with more facts and figures to prove…

PS 2: As far as the education aspect is concerned, I can only advise you to read Moses Ochonu’s piece on Book People and …on NVS…

PS 3: Nigeria is not rich but has enriched numerous countries, by the lootocarts having ‘their’ (the Nigerian people’s money!) in foreign banks, and by exporting tens of thousands of highly trained people to Great, Britain, Germany, the Neutherlands and, above all, to the US of A.

I am NOT supposed to say so, but NVS editorial board members are just one but a very good example.

Na true talk