Nigeria: Huge Revenue, Poor People By Olanrewaju Ojuoluwa

Despite being one of the largest oil producing countries in the world, the Nigerian economy has remained very reliant on revenues from the oil sector, which has left its economy very volatile. In 2014, the collapse in oil prices led to global recession, with Nigeria feeling the impact through an abysmal fall in the value of the naira, increased inflation etc.

Poor financial management, bad leadership and a ‘spend-it-all’ culture has turned oil to a curse for Nigeria with more than 83 million Nigerians living below poverty line and an alarming rate of 6 persons getting poorer per minute. Nigeria has made over one trillion dollars ($1tr) in oil, a feat that has not translated into any reasonable development; no working health system, and, power supply is still epileptic as ever.

There is the need for a deliberate and purposeful advocacy campaign to trigger the kind of effective public dialogue that can build political buy-in for a ‘root and branch’ reform of public financial management at the minimum, or (if possible) a full scale constitutional dialogue that pioneers issues referendum in Nigeria.

I introduce to you *#TooRichToSuffer* an advocacy campaign. The very deliberate purpose of the #TooRichToSuffer campaign is to trigger the kind of effective public dialogue that could dominate election campaigns and politicians’ manifestos to reform public financial management at the minimum, or (if possible) a full scale constitutional dialogue that pioneers issues referendum in Nigeria where it gets passed to law.

And just as *#NotTooYoungToRun* bill got passed to law recently, Nigerians, young and old alike need to push for a *#TooRichToSuffer* policy that mandates:

i. that a higher percentage of the revenues generated from oil must be used for human capital development,

ii. cutting of government excesses and,

iii. implementing a savings and stabilization mechanism for Nigeria. Nigerians should make a collective decision to push *#TooRichToSuffer* until it makes the policy makers uncomfortable, thereby ‘forcing’ them to make people oriented policies.

Nigeria runs the most expensive government in the world; has the highest paid political office holders but, has the poorest people on earth. Let the monies generated from oil be used for real development of Nigerians and not solely on running A GOVERNMENT OF EXCESSES!

I’m Olanrewaju Ojuoluwa, Youth Advocate and Social Reformer

Convener, *#TooRichToSuffer*