Nigeria. The chaotic shaping of a power without people?

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Abstract

In April 2007, Nigeria has undergone a particularly troubled election period, whose consequences may unfortunately enhance the weak spots of this demographic giant in Sub-Sahara Africa. This political situation has shed light on the constant corruption of institutions by interest groups fighting for control of gas revenue, the base of the country’s economy, who let two thirds of the population survive under the poverty threshold. The centrifugal tensions that shake this nation may be managed by oligarchy, yet the perspective of the post-gas era that is foreseen for 2020-2030 bears its own interrogations. Some economic analysts nevertheless think that Nigeria possesses assets that may allow it to progress to the status of emerging power. Yet, modernizing socio-political relationships seems to be a necessary preliminary condition to this advancement, which could also contribute to erase the systematically crisis-inducing impact resulting from each election cycle until now.

AFRI 2008 Summary