As the global oil price keeps declining, countries with oil-dependent economy
have started to worry. This decline in the oil
price is not just the harbinger of upcoming economic troubles for these
countries, but also the oil corporations and investors. All this speculation
and worry on the part of major oil players is understandable, and steps are
being taken by them to get a control of the situation.
Between 2014 and now, the oil price of U.S. crude CLc1 has
already decreased by about price saw a decline from $1.32 per barrel, while the
price of Brent crude LCOc1 oil has gone down by about $1.2 per barrel. This
decline has created trouble for not just oil employers but their employees as
well, around a quarter million of whom have been laid off globally in the last
2 years. As the industry sentiments grow weary due to the falling oil price, efforts are been
made by the various leading global oil companies along with other stakeholders
to curb this issue. In a meeting organized last April, a lot of ideas were
discussed regarding this matter, one of which included freezing of the oil
production.
Nigeria is one of the countries affected quite
a bit due to this situation. The country’s current President, Mr.Muhammadu Buhari,
believes the previous government has a big role in the country’s flailing
economy. According to him, since the previous governments focused solely on oil
for growing the country’s economy and did not support other avenues such as
agriculture, Nigeria is currently reeling under the oil price issue. A part of this claim, if not all, does make sense
because during just the last year, Nigeria has seen a slowdown in economic growth
by around 4% which is a worrying number. Also, the previous government did not
leverage the period when the country was earning over $100 per barrel in
exports, and did not save enough during that booming period.
President Buhari has many words of caution for its neighbour South Sudan for
avoiding the same fate as Nigeria. In a recent farewell ceremony organized for
the outgoing South Sudanese ambassador in Abuja, President Buhari brought up this topic in his speech and shared a few words
of wisdom. He suggested that South Sudan should learn from Nigeria’s current
economic trouble and try to avoid it by concentrating on economic avenues other
that oil, such as agriculture. The ex-ambassador agreed with these sentiments
saying that his country is indeed blessed with good land.
Nigeria’s troubles don’t end here. It is
also facing terrorist insurgency by Boko Haram, which has
heavily affected the country’s socio-political scenario in addition to economy.
Despite the help received from countries like the United States, the Buhari government has a lot of efforts
to make before the problem of Boko Haram
is eradicated.