Professor Yinka Omorogbe presented a paper titled, “Sharing the Wealth: Strategies for Distribution of Wealth from Petroleum and Other Extractive Industries” in the CPEEL Special Seminar Series which held on the 28th of August, 2014. Professor Omorogbe is a renowned scholar and Professor of Energy Law, and was once the Company Secretary and Legal Adviser of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The topic bothers mainly on the method of sharing the money from the extractive industries for the good of the citizens. The concentration is on how the money that comes in from the sale of oil in the international market which almost all Nigerians depend on for survival should be distributed for the benefit of every Nigerian.
Professor Omorogbe contends that Nigeria provides a striking example of the Resource Curse. The nation has become the poster child for mismanagement and unrealized potential in the extractive industries. Despite the undeniable economic growth and the abundant wealth at the country’s disposal, majority of Nigeria’s populace still languishes in poverty and the present growth is unaccompanied by development. There is thus a need for a rethinking of the strategies for sharing wealth accruing from natural resources for the benefit of the entire citizenry. Evidence from Norway, Iran, Mongolia and Alaska is instructive in this regard. Alaska sets aside about 15% of the revenue which is paid to citizens for their own development.
She argues that a prudent management system which includes a fair sharing of the proceeds from the resources takes care of resource curse as observed in some other countries. Sharing could be done in horizontal, vertical, direct payment to citizens, or tax base assignments, albeit a proper structure for revenue sharing is still lacking in Nigeria and this needed to be put in place. Money for royalty does not have to be paid to the Federal government as the essence of it is to take care of the depletion of the land which is situated in the states and local governments where the resources are exploited.
She concludes that the existing system failure in Nigeria can only be remedied by functioning laws which are obeyed by all citizens. There are many financial leakages from national oil companies and other agencies which are not accounted for. Direct payments can be properly managed through an efficient electronic system as what electronics could achieve in this era cannot be understated. Careful strategic planning is therefore required if Nigerians intend to benefit from natural resources utilization.