ESCAPING THE OIL CURSE IN GHANA: LESSONS FROM NIGERIA

Abstract

The resource curse thesis has been a subject of debate for many decades particularly in low-income nations such as those of Africa, which are endowed with abundant resources but are poor by every indicator of human development. This study was designed to find out the perceptions of Nigerians living in Aberdeen, Scotland on how the oil industry in Nigeria has impacted on the lives of the citizenry and to examine how the Nigerian experience can offer useful lessons for Ghana’s budding oil sector. Both qualitative and quantitative techniques were employed to carry out the study. The study reveals that despite the oil wealth of Nigeria, it does not reflect in the standards of living of the people. The respondents attributed the unmatched aspirations of the Nigeriansto the low level of development directly spearheaded by the oil sector mostly due to bad leadership and corruption. From the key findings of the study, it is recommended that Ghana could be a shining example if it puts in place strong legislative measures to manage the contracting of oil concessions and the utilisation of the proceeds, diversify her economy into other non-oil sectors like agriculture, vigorously engender Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices, and be transparent and accountable to her people in order to escape an oil curse.