Transparency and Accountability in the Management of Natural-Resource Revenues in Nigeria: The Panacea for Mitigating Resource Curse

Abstract

One key challenge the Nigerian government faces with the discovery and subsequent exploration of oil since 1956 is how to manage the sudden increase in the hopes and aspirations of its citizenry. One way to manage these expectations appropriately is to improve governance and promote the use of credible and independent transparency and accountability initiatives (TAIs) in the management of natural-resources revenues. The urgent need for a credible and independent TAI to guide the management of Nigeria’s oil revenue is critical given that the combination of weak accountability and lack of transparency is widely acknowledged as the root cause of the resource curse in the development literature. Credible and independent TAIsseek to tackle development problems associated with the resource curse, government corruption, institutional erosion, civil conflict and economic crowding-out effects. Thus, transparency and accountability in the management of natural-resource revenues are vital in mitigating the resource curse. It is in this context that this paper underscores the indispensability of transparency and accountability in the management of natural resource revenues in Nigeria as the panacea for mitigating the resource curse.