Politics and economy in contemporary Nigeria Failed attempts to overcome politicization of ethnicity through institutional design Overwhelming dependence on oil

Nigeria

Overwhelming dependence on oil Loss of export diversity Loss of revenue diversity

Composition of Nigerian Exports

Destination of Nigerian Oil Exports

Oil Taxes and Royalties as % of Federal Government Total Revenue

Overwhelming dependence on oil Increased vulnerability to changes in global market  Debt crisis (like Mexico)  IMF “structural adjustment program” Reduce role of state Liberalize trade  NOT followed (less like Mexico)

Ongoing Challenges to Democratic Rule Conflict in Niger River Delta over Oil Wealth  Protests by Local communities  Ogoni  Ijaw  Others Oil union workers

Overwhelming dependence on oil Reduced bargaining power vis-à-vis multinational corporations  Nigeria needs MNCs Technology to extract, refine oil Oil = ~ 90% of export earnings Oil = ~ 80% of state revenue Ex: 1990s Shell produced 50% of all Nigeria’s oil <10% of Shell profits from Nigeria

Overwhelming dependence on oil Environmental degradation  Effluents from drilling leak into soil, water  Oil flares cause air pollution, acid rain  Agriculture, fishing, drinking water contaminated  Shell acknowledged lower environmental standards

Overwhelming dependence on oil Reduced bargaining power vis-à-vis multinational corporations  Shell operations concentrated in Ogoniland in SE Nigeria, Niger River Delta  1990, Ogoni people began to organize in protest Violent protest and political repression  Violent attacks on Shell facilities  Shell calls on Nigerian government to maintain order  Hanging of Ogoni leader under Abacha regime Unequal distribution of profits  Oil controlled at national level—little to Ogoni  Lack electricity, piped water

Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP)

Video clip A2Y&feature=related 6:13 A2Y&feature=related

Review of theories As applied to Nigeria

15 Neo-colonialism by core countries The exercise of economic and cultural domination over a nominally sovereign state by a core power, often through the presence of multinational corporations based in the core and through the extension of bilateral military aid, without establishment of a formal colonial administration.

Statist Theory Characteristics of predatory state bureaucracy  Recruitment based on patron-client ties  Policy based on personal benefit not mission  Not insulated from societal pressures  Lacking in ability to formulate good policy  Lacking in authority/power to implement policy

Neo-liberal Theory Deepak Lal, UCLA State intervention is the problem, not the solution  “From the experience of a large number of developing countries in the postwar period, it would be a fair professional judgment that most serious distortions are due not to imperfections of the market mechanism but to irrational governmental interventions.”

Dichotomy between modern & traditional (version 1) Modern valuesTraditional values achievement-orientedascriptive rule/merit-basedreliance on personal ties activepassive rationalnon-rational, superstitious 18

Dichotomy between modern & traditional (version 2) Civic culture attitudes Traditional attitudes trust distrust satisfaction low satisfaction competence low competence 20