[VolandoVengoVolandoVoy]

(12-31-2014 03:48 PM)brick tamland Wrote:  

Well Nigeria could easily be one of the world's most prosperous nations if it wasn't, for all intents and purposes, owned by multi-national oil companies.
These sorts of reports create the impression that Nigerians generally do benefit from the oil wealth. I'm skeptical about the motives for these reports.

I enjoy a good story of of western exploitation as much as anyone else, but, in this case...
While the MNCs are certainly rapacious and self interested, the Nigerian elites are equally so. Whatever the MNCs don't take, the Nigerian elites steal. Corruption is universal and state sponsored.
You could ban all MNCs and nationalize the Nigerian oil industry 100%, and here is what would happen - production would fall somewhat due to incompetence, and although state revenue would likely be much higher overall despite the falling production, the amount of oil wealth used for the benefit of the average Nigerian citizen would remain relatively constant at approximately zero percent.
Kicking out the MNCs would mean fatter bank accounts in Dubai/Carrib/Switzerland for about .001% of the Nigerian population.
To have Nigeria be truly prosperous, you would have to kick out the MNCs, and imprison/execute/confiscate the stolen wealth of a few thousand of the countries corrupt business and political elites.