Index

• Country Focus
– Geography
– Culture
– Economy
– Legal System
– Societal Issues
• Corruption
• Foreign Trade
• Future Prospects
 Country Focus
• Located in West Africa, Nigeria is a federal constitutional
republic comprising thirty-six states and its Federal Capital
Territory, Abuja.
• Nigeria is named after the Niger River – the principal river of
western Africa that runs through the country.
• Population - 158,259,000 (2009 estimates)
– The most populous country in Africa,
– the 8th most populous country in the world, and
– the most populous country in the world in which the
majority of the population is black
• Official language – English
• Currency - Naira (₦)
• National Sport - Soccer
Geography
Culture
 Culture
• Over 250 ethnic groups, with varying languages and customs,
making Nigeria a country of rich ethnic diversity
– The largest ethnic groups are the Fulani/Hausa, Yoruba,
Igbo, accounting for 68% of population
– The Edo, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio, Ebira Nupe and Tiv
comprise 27%
– Other minorities make up the remaining 7%
• Religion
– 50.4% Muslims
– 48.2% Christian
– other religions 1.4%
 Politics
• Federal Republic modelled after the United States, with executive
power exercised by the president and with overtones of the
Westminster System model in the composition and management of
the upper and lower houses of the bicameral legislature.
• The president's power is checked by a Senate and a House of
Representatives, which are combined in a bicameral body called the
National Assembly
• President - Goodluck Jonathan. The president presides as both Head
of State and Head of the national executive and is elected by popular
vote to a maximum of two four-year terms.
• The major political parties
– People's Democratic Party of Nigeria - 223 seats in the House
and 76 in the Senate (61.9% and 69.7% respectively);
– the opposition All Nigeria People's Party - 96 House seats and
27 in the Senate (26.6% and 24.7%).
– About 20 other minor opposition parties registered
 Economy
• Listed among the "Next Eleven" economies
• One of the fastest growing economies in the world
• 3rd largest economy in Africa
• Largest exporter of oil in Africa
• Mixed economy emerging market
• Ranked 37th in the world in terms of GDP (PPP) as of 2007 (Nigerian
GDP at purchasing power parity has nearly doubled from $170.7
billion in 2005 to 292.6 billion in 2007)
• United States' largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa
• GCI Ranking 2010-11 127/139
Key Sectors:
• Nigeria is the 12th largest producer of petroleum in the world and the
8th largest exporter, and has the 10th largest proven reserves
• One of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world
• Highly developed financial services sector
 Legal System
• There are four distinct systems of law in Nigeria:
– English law - derived from its colonial past with Britain
– Common law - a development of its post colonial
independence
– Customary law - derived from indigenous traditional norms
and practice, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-
colonial Yorubaland secret societies
– Sharia law - used only in the predominantly Muslim north of
the country. It is an Islamic legal system which had been used
long before the colonial administration in Nigeria but recently
politicised and spearheaded in Zamfara in late 1999 and
eleven other states followed suit.
• The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is
the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
 Societal issues
• Nigeria's human rights record remains poor and government
officials at all levels continue to commit serious abuses.
• The Nigerian health care system is continuously faced with a
shortage of doctors known as 'brain drain' due to the fact that
many highly skilled Nigerian doctors emigrate to North
America and Europe.
• Nigerian National Planning Commission described the
country’s education system as “dysfunctional.” Reasons for
this characterization included decaying institutions and ill-
prepared graduates.
• Nigeria is home to a substantial network of organized crime,
active especially in drug trafficking.
 History of Corruption
• As early as 1955, just seventeen months after the inception of
Igbo-Etiti District Council in May 1954, the colonial
government held an inquiry into the affairs of the Council.
The report on Igbo-Etiti District Council revealed that there
was ‘systematic corruption” in the appointment and promotion
of staff and in the awarding of contracts.
• Contractors routinely paid ten percent of the value of the
contract as bribe. The contracts were not awarded to the
lowest bidder or to the most experienced or competent
persons. At the end of its first seventeen months of existence,
the Igbo-Etiti District Council was L6000 in debt.
• In 1956, the Foster-Sutton Tribunal investigated the Premier
of the Eastern region, Nnamdi Azikiwe for his involvement in
the affairs of African Continental Bank (ACB).
 History of Corruption
• The colonial government didn’t prosecute Zik for his failure to
observe the code of conduct for government officers. Zik was
the undisputed leader of NCNC and NCNC was the only party
to embrace national unity. The national interest of the country
demanded that Zik continue as leader of the party.
• Obafemi Awolowo, the first premier of the Western Region,
was found guilty of corruption by the Coker Commission in
1962. The Western Region Finance Corporation and the West
Nigeria Development Corporation also received loans of
millions of pounds, which were never re-paid.
• The First Republic, with Zik as the President, was marked by
widespread corruption. Government officials looted public
funds with impunity.
 History of Corruption
• The Gowon government in 1980 had imported sixteen million
metric tons of cement at a cost of N557 million. The inquiry
noted that the Ministry of Defence needed only 2.9 million
tons of cement at a cost of N52million. The orders were
inflated for private profit at great cost to the government.
• On the corruption perception index released by Transperency
International, a watchdog on coruption has ranked Nigeria at
the bottom for year 1996, 1997,2000 and at the bottom five 4
times in 1999,2001,2003.
 Foreign Trade
• During the colonial era, Britain was Nigeria's dominant
trading partner. As late as 1955, 70 percent of Nigeria's
exports were to Britain and 47 percent of its imports were
from Britain.
• In 1988 the United States was Nigeria's best customer, buying
more than 36 percent of its exports (primarily petroleum
products).
• Minerals (largely petroleum) accounted for an increasing
proportion of exports and was 96 percent in 1985. The
dependence on oil and a few other export commodities made
Nigeria particularly vulnerable to world price fluctuations.
 Foreign Trade
• Nigeria's trade relations revolve around the oil and natural gas
sectors. After the economic reforms of 2005, the government
is making efforts to diversify its export profile beyond the oil
sector, such as minerals and agricultural products.
• Prior to oil production, which surged after the 1970s,
agricultural production was the largest export sector for
Nigeria.
• In terms of total oil exports, Nigeria ranks 8th in the world.
• According to the 2009 figures, the country’s total export
volumes stand at US$45.43 billion. Major items of export are
oil products, cocoa and timber.
 Foreign Trade
• Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the
economy. The economy has overdependence on the capital-
intensive oil sector, which provides less than 25% of GDP,
despite providing 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and
about 65% of government revenues. The largely subsistence
agricultural sector has not kept up with rapid population
growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now
imports some of its food products.
• The World Bank has estimated that as a result of corruption 80
percent of energy revenues benefit only 1 percent of the
population.
• Economists refer to the coexistence of vast wealth in natural
resources and extreme personal poverty in developing
countries like Nigeria as the “resource curse”.
 Future Prospects
• Nigeria's prospects for sustainable economic growth are
mixed. Despite current hardships, Nigeria represents an
important market in Africa with its vast human and natural
resources. Its revenues from both the recent and ongoing
recovery in oil prices and the export of liquefied natural gas
should help to rebuild the nation's shattered socio-economic
infrastructure. The anti-corruption legislation, rigorously
enforced, should help to restore transparency and
accountability into economic decisions, which would boost
national and international investor confidence in the nation.
The liberalized rules for foreign investment and initiatives by
the Obasanjo government to privatize some state-owned
enterprises and promote tourism should help the nation move
steadily towards targeted growth.
 Future Prospects
• Nigeria has many impediments on its road to sustainable
development. Earnings from non-oil exports are unlikely to
improve significantly because of the high cost of production.
Acrimony between the executive and legislative arms of the
government continue relentlessly to the detriment of collective
and decisive action. Painful and costly fuel shortages, caused
by the inability of Nigeria's dilapidated refineries to produce
anywhere near capacity, immobilize the nation. Inter-ethnic
and religious conflicts continue to take their tolls in human
lives and physical assets of the nation. Unemployment,
especially among college graduates, has reached intolerable
levels. Armed robbery and crime constitute a present danger to
the economy. These impediments must be more determinedly
addressed to enhance Nigeria's chances for growth and
development.
Thank You!!