Why is Nigeria a Petro State? What is going on there, with their oil?

Answer 1

Nigeria has a massive oil industry that accounts for some 40% of the GDP.. however, as a result of petro-dollars - there is a also huge amount of corruption. Nigeria has a notoriously poor history of human rights.

From the 50's through to 1999 oil companies (notably Shell) financed a series of brutal dictators. In their haste to rape the land of the resources and the blind eye of corrupt local officials - the environment, and especially the wetlands of the Niger Delta are on the verge of collapse.

In part due to Islamic/Christian friction, ethnic diversity and the wholesale environmental degredation - militants have begun to target oil facilities.

Nigeria produced 800,000 barrels a day of light sweet crude for the world economy. The Vanity Fair article below dicusses the CIA hypothsis regarding losing that capacity due to rebelion and the importance of stabilizing the region.

Answer 2

Because the populous African nation depends on oil to finance almost every inch of their economy which is dismal anyway; besides that, the bulk of the petro dollars are stashed in Zurich bank vaults and some in other foreign secret bank accounts.

Answer 3

They drive cars in Africa too. That's where it ends up.