Our work in Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with over 213 million people, accounting for half of West Africa’s population. With the largest oil and natural gas reserves on the continent, Nigeria has traditionally been the biggest oil exporter in Africa. Oil accounts for about 90 per cent of exports and close to 75 per cent of consolidated budgetary revenues. Despite these large reserves of human and natural resources, the country suffers from enormous corruption, poverty, inequalities and violence.

Over a third of the Nigerian people obtain a living from agricultural production. Most of them are small-scale subsistence farmers producing only a little surplus for sale. They derive additional income from one or more cash crops and selling local crafts. Despite this on farming, consecutive governments have increasingly introduced structural reforms and globalization measures that devalue agricultural production. As a result, Nigeria has to import even basic commodities such as rice and cassava for domestic consumption.

Due to colonial models of governance, political elitism and anti-democratic practices (such as intimidation and politically motivated killings), a small subset of Nigerians appropriates oil revenues while the vast majority of the population lives in poverty or extreme poverty.