Oil can bring out the best and worst in man. In Nigeria, it also alters human values. The Niger Delta where the biggest oil and gas industry in Africa is found is a hotbed of criminality, especially destruction of oil facilities and kidnap for ransom. Nigerian oil has made some people extremely wealthy, and more people greedy and corrupt. Some have claimed that oil has actually ruined Nigeria.

In the last 50 years, oil has given Nigeria hundreds of billions of pounds in income. The Nigerian government earns £30bn ($42bn) a year from the country’s oil. Absurdly, Nigeria also has some of the poorest people in West Africa. Oil has been synonymous with power. Elections are fueled on oil money that can also purchase guns. The old saying of ‘guns, goons, and gold’ can now be revised to ‘guns, goons, and (black) gold.’  These petro-dollars have been siphoned off to fat Swiss bank accounts.

Nigeria, the world’s sixth leading oil producer and the most populous country in Africa, is an anachronism. It earns in billions and yet it is deep in debt to the tune of billions of dollars. The country also languishes in abject poverty. The Niger Delta where 100 percent of Nigeria’s oil comes from has villages without basic services, as well as victimized by constant oil spills and environmental degradation. Health problems also plague the people of this region. Towering gas flares have caused burns on many citizens’ bodies. Some of these gas flares are 200 feet high columns of roaring flames. Sometimes, these gas flares spew flaming liquids to far distances.

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Via BBC