Most Nigerians think they would be living like people in Germany, USA, Dubai, UK etc... IF ONLY our leaders did not steal and 'loot' so much of the oil and gas revenues the country earns.

THAT IS THE BIGGEST DECEIT IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.

Nigeria does NOT make a lot of money from oil and gas commensurate to its huge population of 200 million.

The money is actually a pittance.

Nigeria's annual budget is 35 billion dollars.

Contrast that with South Africa's annual budget of 125 billion dollars.

Or the UK, 1.2 trillion dollars.

Or France, 1.7 trillion dollars.

Or Germany, 2.2 trillion dollars.

Or the USA, 7.6 trillion dollars.

NIGERIA NEEDS TO DIVERSIFY FROM OIL AND GAS TO EARN MORE AS A COUNTRY.

THAT is our Number 1 issue as a country.

Not corruption.

Not mismanagement.

Not tribalism or nepotism.

Not Boko Haram.

Not Fulani herdsmen.

Not IPOB.

But ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION.

Even with ZERO corruption, the money we earn today is grossly insufficient to develop the whole country and get everything working to perfection.

If you ask me, we're even doing quite well considering how little we actually earn.

Thank goodness the govt recognises the situation, and is doing well in diversification efforts through supporting manufacturing and agriculture especially.

Nigerian youths: Word of advice: Put your talents to use, and help in the nation's DIVERSIFICATION EFFORTS.

Start a business. Learn a skill. Go into manufacturing. Or agric processing. Or the services. You can start small scale and grow.

ADD YOUR QUOTA TO OUR DIVERSIFICATION DRIVE.

That is the ONLY way forward.

Alternatively, you can sit around perennially disgruntled and angry that the ''massive oil revenues'' of your IMAGINATION have not materialized before you, or led to a 1st world existence.

I SALUTE.

It's this oil that's not really profitable that has led to abandoning of our agriculture

DMerciful:
It's this oil that's not really profitable that has led to abandoning of our agriculture

The thing is there was a time when the oil revenue seemed huge, which was in the 1970s, when our population was 50 to 70 million etc. Even then, the money was too small, but for an African nation in the 1970s, it was still a lot of money, which was why we switched off agriculture and other pursuits.

But fast forward to 2020, and the oil money is just a mere pittance for the country, with its 200 million people.

Even out of that measly 35 billion dollar annual budget, I doubt oil and gas revenues make up more than 20 billion.

Oyo state is bigger than The Netherlands yet they generate $20 billion from agriculture alone. 4 litres of groundnut oil is more expensive than 8 litres of petrol yet you do not need massive investment and environmental degradation to get groundnut oil.
We need to go back to our cash and food crops like in the 50-60s

Rossinky:


The thing is there was a time when the oil revenue seemed huge, which was in the 1970s, when our population was 50 to 70 million etc. Even then, the money was too small, but for an African nation in the 1970s, it was still a lot of money, which was why we switched off agriculture and other pursuits.

But fast forward to 2020, and the oil money is just a mere pittance for the country, with its 200 million people.

Even out of that measly 35 billion dollar annual budget, I doubt oil and gas revenues make up more than 20 billion.

DMerciful:
Oyo state is bigger than The Netherlands yet they generate $20 billion from agriculture alone. 4 litres of groundnut oil is more expensive than 8 litres of petrol yet you do not need massive investment and environmental degradation to get groundnut oil.
We need to go back to our cash and food crops like in the 50-60s

Absolutely, but also move into big time manufacturing, the services, and tourism. This is what South Africa has done. There was a time when all they produced was gold, but they moved on from that and now their manufacturing and services sector are something else.

If as a nation today, we put aside our differences and quarrels, and simply focus on one thing, and one thing alone - ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION - 4 things will happen.

1) National income will increase

2) Development will accelerate

3) Personal incomes will rise

4) Agitation, insurgency, discontent, ethnic rivalries, crime, herdsmen wahala, IPOB wahala, etc etc, will gradually cease to the point they become HISTORY.

Let us face the future with wisdom.

The great thing about this renewed, zealous national focus on one thing called Economic Diversification, is that all of a sudden, the ethnicity of the next president doesn't matter anymore.

We simply elect the person we all know will be excellent in diversifying the economy, based on his or her past credentials and antecedents.

If it's igbo, fine. If it's Yoruba, fine, If he's Urhobo or Fulani, fine.

Can you DIVERSIFY THIS ECONOMY, and HOW?

That is the main question you must answer before you lead Nigeria.

Every day, ''corruption'' this ''corruption'' that.

If we had an annual budget of 300 billion dollars, do you know you won't even notice if there is corruption or not?

People who moan about corruption are people whose countries don't earn enough money.

If your country is making money, you won't even notice if someone steals 20 billion dollars.

Everything will still be working.

Also, abundance tends to discourage corruption and minimize it.

If, as a public servant, you are very well paid and are assured of a comfortable, wealthy existence after retirement, with a hefty pension, you will be less inclined to be corrupt. It's human nature. Corruption is largely a function of fear, financial uncertainty and insecurity. Remove those elements and corruption declines, however slowly.

@OP. It shows you don’t understand economics.
Corruption is the root cause in the case of Nigeria. If there is stable electricity, the GDP of Nigeria will increase astronomically. Corruption
undermines that. In fact, if the money budgeted on infrastructure are actually spent on them, GDP will increase massively through spillover effects. Corruption again and again is the problem.

You sound like a kid that just wrote his Honours thesis on economic diversification.
I did that in my PhD thesis.

Thanks

If you like switch to industrialization of your entire government, so long as we run an "Abuja is is the father of the house" economy, there will still be little progress.

Abuja is a cover up for the elites to loot the country dry. Everybody wants to be a politician and earn billions in the political chamber without lifting a finger.

Until we halt the over centralisation of our socio economy, there will be little or no progress.

and you think your leaders don't know this ? they are corrupt but they are not fools
obasanjo went on bbc hardtalk and said something similar to this and that was years ago.

Sultannayef:
@OP. It shows you don’t understand economics.
Corruption is the root cause in the case of Nigeria. If there is stable electricity, the GDP of Nigeria will increase astronomically.

Loud-mouthed 'Prof', you clearly haven't studied Development Economics, or you would know that ''stable electricity'' is a LUXURY that only VERY FEW nations on earth, maybe less than 30% of nations, actually enjoy. And even a lower percentage of nations enjoy full access to electricity by their populations, with millions still off the grid in many countries

YET, many of those nations are diversifying their economies and developing steadily. Some rapidly.

SOUTH AFRICA today, suffers power cuts. But the nation is still powering on.

INDIA suffers daily power cuts, but is still among the fastest growing economies in the world. Corruption is also a HUGE problem there, but that still has not stopped them. WHY? Economic Diversification.

The more they diversify, the more money they make, and the more they are able to tackle their economic and social problems.

They have lifted 400 million people out of poverty even with massive corruption, inequality, and power shortages. Because of Diversification and not relying on just one or two income sources.

So learn to think outside the box of finger pointing and blaming, which is the garbage that intellectual inquiry has turned to among our 'learned' class.

In fact, if the money budgeted on infrastructure are actually spent on them, GDP will increase massively through spillover effects. Corruption again and again is the problem.

Absolute garbage.

What money is budgeted for infrastructure? Is our national budget not all about recurrent expenditure, salaries, pensions, debt-servicing, etc etc, with capital expenditure something like 30%?

How does 10 billion dollars a year bridge the infrastructure gap in a country as huge as Nigeria even with zero corruption?

That amount is what the USA is using to renovate La Guardia airport in New York city!

https://mycomply.net/info/blog/top-5-united-states-construction-projects-in-2019/

So we have no money for infrastructure. In fact sometimes when I look around I wonder where we get the money to build what we DO have on ground.

Much of our infrastructure spending is being financed via loans from places like China and the World Bank. In recent years, mostly China, and those loans ARE being used judiciously as we can see from various projects. We do NOT make enough money to finance infrastructural development, even if there was zero corruption.

Go back and READ the national budget amount of Nigeria vis a vis the countries you love to compare her to. Where is the money?

You sound like a kid that just wrote his Honours thesis on economic diversification.
I did that in my PhD thesis.

Thanks

Your type are repulsive. If PhD was the barometer of knowledge, Nigeria would be more advanced than Japan, because we have many empty headed PhD holders who cannot see beyond conventional layman explanations for complex phenomena. Keep banging on about 'corruption' like the average man on the street, you hear? Don't use your brain. Sit there expecting to be ruled by saints before you can develop. You'll wait a million years because there are no saints in this world.

Good luck, you need to grow up.

You are making alot of sense.

If only our leaders can think out of the box.

I learnt that the UAE has a population of about 9.6 million and an annual budget of 50bllion dollars while Nigeria, with a population of about 200 million people Haas an annual budget of about 35billikn dollars.

And some people expect Nigeria be like Dubai

Sultannayef:
Good luck, you need to grow up.

Thanks. You need to use your brain.

Professor with nothing to profess.

Godfullsam:
You are making alot of sense.

If only our leaders can think out of the box.

I learnt that the UAE has a population of about 9.6 million and an annual budget of 50bllion dollars while Nigeria, with a population of about 200 million people Haas an annual budget of about 35 billikn dollars.

And some people expect Nigeria be like Dubai

Exactly. The whole UAE, Dubai story of shiny cities and great wealth has only encouraged Nigerians to be more finger pointing in their ''blame corruption'' mentality.

Many think Nigeria should be just like UAE and Dubai because we both export oil. If only it were that simple....

Of course the simple mathematics you outlined totally eludes them.

Finally before I leave you. No country in the world has even attempted to diversify without having low corruption index. And I mean mineral-dependent countries.

Rossinky:


Thanks. You need to use your brain.

Professor with nothing to profess.

You're just a little boy struggling in Nigeria. And can't match me in any facet of life, you can never get an interview where I work. Keep deceiving people here.

Sultannayef:
Finally before I leave you. No country in the world has even attempted to diversify without having low corruption index. And I mean mineral-dependent countries.

I disagree.

South Africa was HUGELY CORRUPT when gold and diamonds were their primary export commodities.

Most the wealth earned was embezzled and banked in Europe.

They spent a bit on infrastructure, but the majority black population lived in penury.

The apartheid regime was unaccountable and highly corrupt. BUT at some point they realised the mineral wealth was insufficient for their growing nation, and they focused on diversification, with manufacturing, mechanized agriculture, and the services being major investment areas.

That is why they are where they are today, with an annual national budget of 125 billion dollars.

Rossinky:


Absolutely, but also move into big time manufacturing, the services, and tourism. This is what South Africa has done. There was a time when all they produced was gold, but they moved on from that and now their manufacturing and services sector are something else.

how can diversification work when we don't have infrastructure to support it and how will the country succeed in diversification where there is poor management

I ask you to go into one small scale business and for some time and see for yourself.... you will not support govt again and how SME suffer in the country without no help

and also remember the countries you mentioned were all monoeconomy before and they are doing great because of good management which we lack as a country

Sultannayef:



You're just a little boy struggling in Nigeria. And can't match me in any facet of life, you can never get an interview where I work. Keep deceiving people here.

Can someone tell this P.O.S. that I ain't ''a little boy''?

I've been on this forum since before you learned to pee straight, and I'm probably old enough to be your daddy.

So kindly STFU and learn some respect. And I am self-employed, not an employee like you who attends ''interviews'' to help somebody else get rich.

Rossinky:


Loud-mouthed 'Prof', you clearly haven't studied Development Economics, or you would know that ''stable electricity'' is a LUXURY that only VERY FEW nations on earth, maybe less than 30% of nations, actually enjoy. And even a lower percentage of nations enjoy full access to electricity by their populations, with millions still off the grid in many countries

YET, many of those nations are diversifying their economies and developing steadily. Some rapidly.

SOUTH AFRICA today, suffers power cuts. But the nation is still powering on.

INDIA suffers daily power cuts, but is still among the fastest growing economies in the world. Corruption is also a HUGE problem there, but that still has not stopped them. WHY? Economic Diversification.

The more they diversify, the more money they make, and the more they are able to tackle their economic and social problems.

They have lifted 400 million people out of poverty even with massive corruption, inequality, and power shortages. Because of Diversification and not relying on just one or two income sources.

So learn to think outside the box of finger pointing and blaming, which is the garbage that intellectual inquiry has turned to among our 'learned' class.




Absolute garbage.

What money is budgeted for infrastructure? Is our national budget not all about recurrent expenditure, salaries, pensions, debt-servicing, etc etc, with capital expenditure something like 30%?

How does 10 billion dollars a year bridge the infrastructure gap in a country as huge as Nigeria even with zero corruption?

That amount is what the USA is using to renovate La Guardia airport in New York city!

https://mycomply.net/info/blog/top-5-united-states-construction-projects-in-2019/

So we have no money for infrastructure. In fact sometimes when I look around I wonder where we get the money to build what we DO have on ground.

Much of our infrastructure spending is being financed via loans from places like China and the World Bank. In recent years, mostly China, and those loans ARE being used judiciously as we can see from various projects. We do NOT make enough money to finance infrastructural development, even if there was zero corruption.

Go back and READ the national budget amount of Nigeria vis a vis the countries you love to compare her to. Where is the money?



Your type are repulsive. If PhD was the barometer of knowledge, Nigeria would be more advanced than Japan, because we have many empty headed PhD holders who cannot see beyond conventional layman explanations for complex phenomena. Keep banging on about 'corruption' like the average man on the street, you hear? Don't use your brain. Sit there expecting to be ruled by saints before you can develop. You'll wait a million years because there are no saints in this world.

I think you should learn about how to win a argument next time when you are in one... you just can't keep disrespecting people because they have different opinions with you

remember calling someone BRAINLESS bcuz he argued with you.... always lower your temper in argument and stop acting like a kid

hargbolahan01:
how can diversification work when we don't have infrastructure to support it and how will the country succeed in diversification where there is poor management

How was Innoson able to build the first and largest black-owned vehicle manufacturing plant on earth, starting with nothing but a spare parts business?

Is he operating in a different Nigeria from you and me?

Why are the Indians, Lebanese, and Chinese rushing in here to start manufacturing businesses if the infrastructure is as terrible as you say?

STOP WAITING FOR NIGERIA TO BE LIKE FRANCE before you can have hope in the country.

We will NEVER get that ''full infrastructural availability' until we diversify sufficiently to be able to AFFORD it.

Even our current budget of 35 billion dollars is our highest ever budget.

It is that 'high' because of diversification. Oil used to account for 95% of govt revenues, remember?

Today it accounts for just 65^%.

So we are on the right track as a nation, in terms of diversification. We just need to accelerate it.

If we can just get to 100 billion dollars a year, it will solve a lot of issues in this country.

hargbolahan01:
I think you should learn about how to win a argument next time when you are in one... you just can't keep disrespecting people because they have different opinions with you

remember calling someone BRAINLESS bcuz he argued with you.... always lower your temper in argument and stop acting like a kid

YOU are acting like a partial, biased FOOL.

The guy introduced himself by saying I was a little kid who knew nothing about Economics and other insults and snide remarks, which you have completely ignored, only to face me because I defended myself? GTFOH.

I do not tolerate insults for expressing my views here, and if you insult me, expect the exact same back from me.

THANKS.

People are still giving birth like pigs

Rossinky:


Exactly. The whole UAE, Dubai story of shiny cities and great wealth has only encouraged Nigerians to be more finger pointing in their ''blame corruption'' mentality.

Many think Nigeria should be just like UAE and Dubai because we both export oil. If only it were that simple....

Of course the simple mathematics you outlined totally eludes them.

The UAE has a smaller population too.

I suspect that many Nigerians hate to hear this 'alternative' explanation for the nation's state of development, because it implies that THEY bear some personal responsibility - however small - for the nation's development.

Far easier to throw your hands up and blame 'corruption', as that absolves you of all responsibility to the nation, and provides the masturbatory pleasure derived from laying all the blame for its woes on someone else's shoulders.

But every time I see a Chinese, Indian, or Lebanese fly into this country, with one business idea or the other, it chips away at the ''corruption'' excuse, as I realise that the nation has huge potentials to develop itself, with or without ''corruption'', if only her people could see it.

Sultannayef:
@OP. It shows you don’t understand economics.
Corruption is the root cause in the case of Nigeria. If there is stable electricity, the GDP of Nigeria will increase astronomically. Corruption
undermines that. In fact, if the money budgeted on infrastructure are actually spent on them, GDP will increase massively through spillover effects. Corruption again and again is the problem.

You sound like a kid that just wrote his Honours thesis on economic diversification.
I did that in my PhD thesis.

Thanks

Well we don't have stable electricity because our power sector is not run as a profit making venture

Before privatisation, NEPA was a typical government run body with lots of corruption and mismanagement.

Add the fact that power services were expanded over the years without increasing generation

Then there is the price control aspect. Even now, after privatisation, prices are kept low for the masses. That means that discos cannot make much of a profit, and are making losses annually. This affects gencos and transmission too.

Finally, many people don't pay their power bills..many government agencies don't pay their bills. And as for meters, there are.people.who bypass their meters well well.

We have to treat power as a profit making business, not as something that we must get free of charge

kikero:


The UAE has a smaller population too.

Look, if Nigeria had a population of 9 million like UAE, we would not be having this discussion.

I don't even think we would need more than one power plant to guarantee 24 hr electricity for everyone. The govt would literally be able to buy everyone a brand new Mercedes every year without it registering on the budget. Population is everything.

Rossinky:
I suspect that many Nigerians hate to hear this 'alternative' explanation for the nation's state of development, because it implies that THEY bear some personal responsibility - however small - for the nation's development.

Far easer to throw your hands up and blame 'corruption', as that absolves you of all responsibility to the nation, and provides the masturbatory pleasure derived from laying all the blame for its woes on someone else's shoulders.

But every time I see a Chinese, Indian, or Lebanese fly into this country, with one business idea or the other, it chips away at the ''corruption'' excuse, as I realise that the nation has huge potentials to develop itself, with or without ''corruption'', if only her people could see it.

It's true.

Though many Nigerians are poor and don't like to think that they are to be blamed....

Also, I blame our leaders . For generations they have told us that we are a rich and great nation with abundant resources. Naturally people believed....(it is true, but prosperous nations are not prosperous because they have lots of resources)

kikero:


It's true.

Though many Nigerians are poor and don't like to think that they are to be blamed....

Also, I blame our leaders . For generations they have told us that we are a rich and great nation with abundant resources. Naturally people believed....(it is true, but prosperous nations are not prosperous because they have lots of resources)

Intriguing. But wait a minute.

WHEN did our leaders tell you this?

I don't particularly recall ANY of our leaders saying this.

Sure, they've said we are a great nation, but not much more than that...

The closest thing to it, I think, was when Gowon said in the 1970s that we had a lot of money, and the problem was how to spend it.

Don't really recall anyone else in power saying similar things after that!

I think the leaders know we don't make a lot of money. It's just politically unwise to tell that to the people!

Even from the reaction on this thread you can see that many Nigerians don't wanna hear it.

Their own is that we are an 'oil rich country', and the money we make from oil and gas is enough to make us a 'first world country' like the USA or Germany, or 'Dubai', if only the money was not 'looted by our terrible leaders'. That's it.

Anything else you tell them, they'll say you're one of the looters, trying to deceive them.

NL moniker is now a pad that some people change regularly...