You haven’t done well with oil money, Clinton tells Nigeria

It was a stark reminder of the wastefulness of the nation’s leaders as former United States (U.S.) President Bill Clinton declared that Nigeria had failed to properly use her rich natural resources.

Clinton did not mince words as he told Nigeria: “You haven’t done well with your oil money.”

According to Clinton, Nigeria cannot afford to fail because if she does, the consequences for Africa would be disastrous. He challenged Nigerian leaders to create economic opportunities for the majority of the citizens.

The former U.S. president spoke while answering stakeholders’ questions at the 18th This Day Awards organised by the This Day Newspaper management to honour 18 teachers for their commitment to duty. The well-attended event was held at the June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta.

Clinton urged Nigeria to find a way of bringing home her intellectuals, who he said, were scattered all over the world, to assist in developing the country instead of using their talents to develop other nations.

Answering a question, the former American President said: “When I became President, my Secretary for Commerce did a lot of work in Africa before he was tragically killed in a plane crash in 1995. I told him to make the list of the 10 most important countries in the world for the 21st century and Nigeria was in the list. Imagine the future of the entire continent if Nigeria fails or South Africa fails. So, you are a country of great potential.”

He added: “I would say you have about three big challenges. First of all, like 90 per cent of the countries which have one big resource, you haven’t done well with your oil money.” He said that he expected Nigeria to reinvest it in different ways.

Noting the disparity in the ownership of wealth in Nigeria, Clinton said: “You have to somehow bring economic opportunities to the people who don’t have. This is not a problem specific to Nigeria. Almost every place in the world, prosperity is heavily concentrated in and around urban areas. So, you have all these political problems and now violence problems, religious differences, and all the rhetoric of Boko Haram, but the truth is that the poverty rate in the North is three times greater than what it is in the Lagos area and to deal with that, you have to have both powerful stake in the local councils and a national policy that work together.”

Culled from The Guardian Newspaper