Nigeria has revenues
of over $80 billion from oil reserves alone, yet wealth inequality in the
country is among one of the worst in the world.
Absolute poverty in Nigeria (earning less than a dollar a
day) has increased from 55% in 2004 to 61% in 2014 and in contrast; there are
almost 16,000 millionaires currently living in Nigeria, a 44% increase in the
last 6 years. This is expected to grow to 23,000 by 2017, which represents a
47% increase. In Lagos, which is Africa’s most populous city, wealth inequality
is most prominent and is home to 9,500 of these millionaires. These figures
represent a huge issue with wealth distribution and are attributed to a number
of factors embedded within the Nigerian culture, system and policies. Even with
its abundant oil resources amounting to $80+ billion in annual revenue for the
country, poverty is increasingly becoming a major issue for a vast amount of
the population. Under these conditions, many inhabitants are forced to live in
slums with limited access to food, education, electricity and clean water.
The main factors that contribute to wealth inequality in
Nigeria are corruption and high governance costs. Corruption is a major issue
that is contributing to the increasing wealth gap between the rich and poor in
Nigeria. Corruption has been ever present since the country’s independence in
the 1960’s and it now seems to be an issue that is embedded within the Nigerian
system and culture. There is a need for transparency and accountability in the
Nigerian system and until that is achieved, the wealth gap in the country will
continue to get worse.
A report by the Sahara Reporters in 2012 found that it costs
Nigerians $8.3 billion to pay the salaries of those in politics. In 2012, $7.4 was
to be spent on developing infrastructure, but only half of this was spent
towards its development. To put this into perspective, it meant that for every
dollar spent on infrastructure development in Nigeria, two dollars are spent on
salaries of those in politics.
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