Nigeria's Development: How unavailability of abundant resources is hindering the development of Nigeria

 By Azeez Sulaiman.

 

 From the onset of Nigeria's emancipation from the hands of her colonial master till now, Nigeria as a blessed country with myriad of resources has adopted many different forms of government–from civilian to military, from parliamentary to presidential–principally to move and create a paradigm shift for the nation from the environment of less developed country to a prosperous one.

It is however quite appalling that despite the efforts put in ensuring changes in the form of government, coupled with the resources the country claimed to have, the nation is still swimming in the pool of sloppiness and impotency.

As a result of this, this article has come to fore to make a vivid clarification on how the country's development solely relies on her lacking abundant resources and subsequently establish the fact that the country will attain development status if she can have access to abundant resources it can leverage on regardless of the ideology of her governance.

 For the purpose of understanding, Dictionary of Contemporary English–1985, describes resources as the possessions of a country in the form of wealth and goods that help a nation to achieve greatness in the comity of nations. In other words, it could be any form of human and natural appraisal that leaves over time and space.

On the other hand, abundance which is synonymous with enormous means something surplus. So abundant resources automatically mean resources that are plenty or that exist in great amounts.

 Now! Having known the exact image of abundant resources, it is necessary we direct this pertinent question to ourselves: does Nigeria really have enough resources that could sustain her, talk less of abundant?

The problem with Nigeria is that almost everyone claims to know that the country has many resources. In fact, many would like to be termed as an analyst when it comes to that but most of these people nearly have shortcomings in one of these two ways: either in their inability to equate the many resources, they claim they know with the country with existing population of the country or fail to see the word "resources" beyond the territory of mineral resources. Thus, this failure left many to be oblivious that the country doesn't have abundant resources but just resources. 

Firstly, on the issue of lacuna between the country's population and resources, statistic from OPEC has shown that crude oil that served as the major source of revenue of the country is produced between the range of 1.18 million barrels per day in July, while in June, 1.16 million. Similarly, another statistic also showed that the oil served as 95 percent of foreign exchange earnings and 70 percent of project revenue.

One would easily think the resources is abundant when seeing this big figures without equating it with the over 200 million population the country has. 

In a correct instance, abundant resources is supposed to be attributed to country like Saudi Arabia that has a population of not more than 40 million people and get the record of 10,714.000 barrel per day in their crude oil in the month of July 2022 and 10,556.000 in June.

You can see the wide margin? 

Assuming we even delusionally admit it that we have abundant mineral resources that could okay us, the fact that resources are not limited to minerals alone rather extended to human resources would also hold us down and open our eyes to the reality that we don't have abundant resources. 

The second misconception about Nigeria resources is the issue of human part as resources. Resources could be categorized into two: human and natural.

Nigeria is short of that human resources in both her individual haven and institution to the extent that it does reflect in her policies and productivities. And this is as a result of the country lackadaisical action toward what can be used to develop human.

How should we even describe it? Should we talk about the country education which strike is hindering its progressivity? Should we discuss business whose management and public administration skills are inadequate and precipitate poor management? Should we talk about her politics which leadership choice solely hinged on ethnic and religious sentiment?

Honestly, the country lacks that Human resources and it is only a country that is very rich in human resources that can manage its other resources properly.  

In light of what have been said pertaining to the absence of enormous resources, it is very certain that the country is going to develop if she has abundant resources in both human and natural.

 

Looking at human resources, instrument like education alone which serves as hallmark of what can be used to polish human mind to be valuable and invaluable can change the perspective of things. Japan has no many natural resources like Nigeria has but, with the country healthy investment in education, the country is able to attain development status.

That being said, education can improve our level of productivity and instruct us on how to manage our natural resources. In fact, if the government can restore the status of education of our nation which incessant strike, poor infrastructure , unconducive learning environment, and old study pattern are fighting rigorously with, there is no way our country won't prosper.

 On the mineral resources side, the government can incorporate the policy of diversification of her resources and give other resources apart from oil the huge attention and priority just like exactly the attention being given to oil.

Take a look at Osun state; Gold, Granite, Feldspar, Kaolin, Columbite and Clay are mineral resources that can be gotten in only that state. Moreso, look at Oyo state! The Media Nigeria on May 26 2018, published that the state is blessed with Kaolin, Marble, Clay, Sillimanite, Gold, Cassiterite, Aquamarine, Dolomite, Gemstone and Tantalite.

These aforementioned resources are only in the states but not in large quantity. So if the government can find a way for their enlargement, they will surely outgrow and become abundant and they too will contribute immensely to the development of the state as well as the country.

Similarly, let's look at agriculture, we don't only have land but a healthy, structured and fertile land that can produce in any quantity and quality. Its vegetation and atmosphere is invariably good enough to raise every kind of animal life including wildlife. Agriculture contribution to the country GDP in 1960–1970 was around 58 percent. In 1971–1980, it went to 28.4 percent because of the country concentration on oil and fortunately, it rose back to 32.3 percent in the year 1981–1990. Meanwhile, Nairametrics.com has it published that the sector contributed 21.09 percent to the GDP of Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022.

This made me remember the book I read about the governance of the defunct south western government, most of their free education policy and other matchless policies were financed by the agricultural resources.

But what do we have today? The west is blessed with fertile land. And both the middle and far North are more blessed but because of the paradigm shift from agriculture to oil from the era of military till now which degrade the attention of government towards it and subsequently decrease the productivity of the agriculture in the country, make it suffer of low productivity and consequently led it to a state of coma.

So the government should solidify its concentration on this sector and others too in order to create abundant resources for the country.

 In the course of looking for how it will be abundant, the government should make appointment of those who will be managing its affairs on the basis of meritocracy and those with formidable human resources. This is what causes mismanagement of funds in our institution and even corruption—when a work is being given to who lacks the prerequisite knowledge of the work.

 In the same vein, the country should also adopt the same diversification approach towards those she is partnering with in selling its resources to. Most of the countries the nation is engaging with in business are mostly developed country. She should also try developing one especially those who their business influence is within the range of Nigeria sphere. More so, she should reduce her dependency on the so called FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) –which is very exploitative and even only contribute little to the economic development of the nation.

 Back to human resources, the notorious factors eating the little the country has are: corruption and mismanagement of funds.

Credit must be given to the late General Murtala Muhammad administration and General Muhammad Buhari first administration as Head of State in waging war against corruption.

These two administrations worked tirelessly on that but it is very appalling that other administrations that emerged after them till now just have the eradication of corruption in their agenda before taking the mantle of leadership and after having the mantle they become very weak in fighting corruption.

The logic for their failure in corruption fighting is very easy to understand—it is because of absence of abundant human resources.

So, if the government can also harness that by leading as a good example, creating awareness about its evil, making suitable job for every citizens, enhancing transparency in the forms of governance and implementing policies that will make citizens proud of being a citizens of a country, our human resources would triumph and when that triumph, the other resources would be used properly and adequately to move the country.

 To this end, the country has resources but not abundant. So the country needs abundant resources especially the human part to leverage on in order to join her sister countries that have developed in the room of development.