Contending Issues in the Niger Delta Crisis of Nigeria - Journal of ...

Olawale Olaopa, Ibikunle Ogundari, Mike Awoleye, and Willie Siyanbola
called into question the prevailing orthodoxy from international
financial institutions that economic reform and poverty-reduction go
hand-in-hand.
Oil, Politics and Fiscal Federalism in Nigeria
Nigerians like seeing themselves as the “greatest nation,” “hope of
Africa,” and “hope of the black race.” It is more a declaration of intent
or celebration of potential, than a statement of fact. It is a triumph of
hope that defies sad reality (Odiase, 2005). Somehow the country
never quite manages to live up to its own self-proclamations. But,
however, tired and tested “the sleeping giant” and her inexhaustibly
hopeful peoples continue to dream that one day, the country will, a la
Martin Luther King Jr.'s exasperated dream about America, “live up to
the true meaning of its creed!” (myhero.com). From all intent and
purposes, the country and the peoples' dreams remain an enduring
“great notion!”
Over the years it has been a compelling wonder to many pundits,
sympathetic and unsympathetic observers, why the country continues
to stand and weather all kinds of foretold collapse and imminent
catastrophe. It is neither at war nor is it at peace. And at the moment
it is not a military regime and it cannot be described as a democracy
without huge qualifications either.
It should not be difficult to understand what makes the country
tick. The political economy is built around “the Black Gold” - oil. For
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