Impact Of The Nigerian Presidential Amnesty Program

In order for Chad’s economy to succeed in the future, major reforms on oil revenue transparency are necessary. As a result of social and political conflicts, Chad has historically been characterized by division and warfare. Since the discovery of oil during the 1960s, these conflicts have only been exacerbated. The oil pipeline that began construction in 1999 as a result of this discovery inadvertently fueled the tension that had been created. The revenues that were generated from the pipeline were not allocated with transparency, which caused dissent on a global scale. This project was supposed to be an example for all oil-dependent developing countries that agreement and control of revenues could help grow a country’s economy. Ultimately, the methods used to control the revenues in Chad have been inefficient, and are in need of further reforms such as improved national dialogue and access to information.

Situated along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea is a region about the size of South Carolina that offers a land full of sweet, light crude oil, known as the Niger Delta (Delta). The Delta sits within the country of Nigeria in West Africa and is in a constant state of crisis, underpinned by a multitude of key issues. Those issues include severe poverty, soil and water contamination, high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, depletion of natural resources, corruption, and armed militia groups. These issues have one thing in common: oil.

Niger Delta region, placing the Nigerian oil output down to a third of its capacity” (Klare 3).

By the same token, the movie “Big Men” reveals the deprave business practices in Nigeria and Ghana, labeling Nigeria one of the most corrupt governments in the world. Between 1960 and 1999, the Nigerian government wasted over 440 billion dollars of Nigerian profit, mainly from oil wealth. Despite the majority of the oil being drawn from the Niger Delta, a very impoverished region, the natives of that region have no access to this abundant, valuable resource (00:25). Militant groups began to form in opposition to the oil corporations, intentionally cutting and sabotaging pipelines to get a part of the wealth. In addition to being selfish in their profits, businesses promoted the devastation and intentional deterioration of resident towns to distract from their unjust oil bunkering endeavors (01:05). Natives, specifically those who participate in oil pipe sabotaging, describe their situations as the equivalent of “shooting themselves in the foot”, as they hate that they are destroying their towns and worsening their circumstances, but see no other option for retribution. Fires

The creation of new states that was connected to the Niger Delta Region in 1967 gave a resurrection of hope to the many minorities in the region, yet sadly, even though the new state governments did its utmost best to grow and develop however was insufficient, particularly the complex of many ethnics groups to count on and in view of natural resources in some communities. In any case, a second endeavor at developing the region, which at this point has ended up synonymous with oil exploration and depletion was, nevertheless, made by the military President Ibrahim Babangida in 1992 when the Panel of the Oil Mineral Producing Area Development Commission (OMPADEC) was initiated.

The Nigerian economy has quite the surplus of natural resources they offer the potential for economic growth. “Crude oil accounted for over 95% of exports and over 65% of government revenue in 2004;” Nigeria is number eight in the world's exporter for oil. But agriculture still is a big part in the basic economic activity for the Nigerians.

In 1994, Equatorial Guinea was one of the most impoverished countries in Africa. During that time, the country had an incredibly low life expectancy of just 46 years, and the inhabitants were forced to survive on only $1 a day. Then, in 1995, they discovered a natural resource that would have the potential to change their economic well-being and quality of life forever. In this year, Equatorial Guinea discovered an immense amount of oil right off the coast of the country. Just nine years after this finding, all major US oil companies, notably Exxon-Mobile, Marathon Oil, and Amerada Hess, were drilling for oil in this once poverty-stricken country. After this notable discovery, Equatorial Guinea was generating $4 billion in revenue per year solely from the oil drilling industry. However, the inexperienced leaders that governed the country entered into a contract where they agreed to give 80%

The oil-rich Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, located on the northern coast of South America, was for many decades considered among the wealthiest nations in the entire continent. While having the largest proven oil reserves in the world has often proved a tremendous boon for Venezuela, the very black gold that has been the cause of its success has also proven to repeatedly be its kryptonite. Over half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product stems from petroleum exports – which equates to approximately 95% of total exports. It is really not too hard to imagine what drastic consequences shifts in global oil prices could have on the economy.

The Niger Delta is a region of Nigeria that is very rich in crude oil and gas. Crude oil and gas make up 70% of the country 's revenue and 95% of it 's export earnings (Ezekoli, 5608). Those percentages are incredibly high and represents large amounts of money that can be found in the region. However, the people of the Niger Delta never see the wealth that comes from their natural resources. The wealth instead goes to the oil companies set up in the area as well as the pockets of a few elite government officials. The disconnect between the people of Nigeria and the oil companies and governments is incredible (Ezekoli, 5609). The effects are slum turned neighborhoods, increased poverty, and job loss. In order to improve the conflict in the Niger Delta, the government and oil companies need to allow more involvement of women and people as voters and elected officials, and create or adhere a sustainable environmental regulations plan.

Oil is a huge part of everyone’s everyday life. From transportation to heating homes and businesses, oil prices are always dramatically changing due to the constant change of supply and demand. The economic impact that the price of oil has on the U.S economy continues to rise and fall due to political instability. Americans especially have a heavy reliance on oil, especially on foreign origins. The increasing price of oil has spiked large concerns and has become a major global debate. Many sources of oil are in economically and politically unstable regions and countries like former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Africa. Not only is oil affected by this instability, prices are also determined by natural disasters and political issues. Due to an increase in demand, oil prices in 2011 increase instability due to more instability in oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia because of conflicts and uncertainty. The oil industry is one of the Commanding Heights of the global economy and therefore should not be regulated. It is a global commodity and is the most efficient method of allocation through the free market.

In cases like Nigeria, where a vast amount of petroleum was discovered, there is an export of about 12 million barrels of oil a day from Nigeria. The effects have

This paper will discuss the Oil conflict that is occurring in Nigeria. Discussed will be the types of power that the two feuding parties are using and whether their strategies have been effective as well as the influence they have had on the conflict. The contrasting cultural differences and similarities will be discussed as well. The conflict in Nigeria has turned deadly and a successful communication environment must be developed in order to restore peace to the region.

While the region is the nerve center for the oil industry, approximately 69 percent of the residents lives in an abject poverty and squalor. How can logic explain a highly productive region becoming a theater to acute economic deprivation? To answer the question, there is a need to understand how oil corporations conduct business in the area. One must appreciate the intricate relationship among the federal government, the oil corporations and the Niger Deltans.

An archetypal example of an oil state and primary exporting country, Nigeria is the largest oil exporter in Africa and the world’s tenth largest oil producer (Pyagbara 2007: 1). As of 2010, crude oil and petroleum gas accounted for approximately 80% of the country’s overall exports, totaling over $50.3 billion in revenues the next year (Pyagbara 2007: 2). Despite maintaining a lucrative resource that could arguably catalyze momentum towards economic development, poverty plagues Nigeria and continues to rise despite efforts to forge positive, developmental changes. In fact, areas showing the largest amounts of oil like the Niger Delta happen to be the country’s most economically marginalized region. A significant impetus of these tumultuous changes has been multinational oil corporations like Shell that have been extracting oil in Nigeria since 1956. This paper seeks to examine Nigerian development in the face of oil extraction and how MNCs such as Shell have played a role in the country’s development. I will argue that MNCs, specifically Shell, have had an adverse effect on development within Nigeria as a result of oil extraction and the establishment of dependency on oil, both of which are amplified by the deep-rooted intrastate issues present despite MNC intervention.

Oil is an important component in many industries and the majority of global energy needs are generated by oil. Hence, it is unsurprising that the annual global consumption of oil is around 30 billion barrels and it accounts for around one-third of all energy consumed . According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA),Venezuela and Saudi Arabia are the top 2 countries with the most proven crude oil reserves and over 90% of their export revenues come from oil . In addition, since 1980, OPEC’s share of oil revenue in total exports has been consistently over 60%, with the net export revenue at US$730 billion . Hence any disturbance in the oil sector will cause a drastic impact on these economies. This can be illustrated in research where it has provided evidence for a negative relationship between resource abundance and growth. For instance, since the 1970s, Nigeria has been exporting around $10billion worth of oil annually but during same period the proportion of its population living on less than $1 per day has doubled from 36% to 70% (Sala-I-Martin and Subramanian, 2003). Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that there can also be a positive relationship. Countries rich in oil, such as Malaysia and Norway have managed to achieve sustained economic growth.