part 2 soc300

Nigeria and Foreign Aid

Keyona Dennis-Wooden

Strayer University

Professor Micheal Palmer

SOC300

4/27/18

Introduction

Civil wars that take place in developing countries are one of the major reasons for the slow development process in developing countries. Nigeria is one of the developing nations whose development progress has been hindered by wars that have continued to be experienced in history. Some of the common historical conflicts that have been experienced in Nigeria include the Congo crisis, Nigerian Civil War, and the Sierra Leone Civil War. Regardless of the historical experiences that have been witnessed in the country, the Nigeria government is still presently battling civil wars that are still taking place. The insurgency in the Maghreb and the Boko Haram Insurgency are the current wars that are being witnessed in Nigeria, which have continued to hinder the eradication of poverty by both the government and global foreign aid institutions. Peace and good governance are vital to any nation that wants to effectively reduce poverty through the use of foreign aid.

Negative Impacts of War

The ongoing wars in Nigeria between the government and the insurgent groups have continued to discourage foreign donors from providing aid to the country. The increased terrorist attacks on religious and political grounds from such groups as Boko Haram has led to the death of many civilians and property destruction. This has discouraged the distribution of resources by donors to Nigeria negatively impacting the development of the country. Additionally, the recent attack reports on the discovered oil fields, mines, and workers in areas such as Magumeri of Borno state further threatens the development of sectors that could have assisted in the development of the country. It was estimated that 50 people of the oil exploration team working on the oil fields of Magumeri were killed from the attack (France-Press, 2017). Such attacks discourage the distribution of foreign aid to such sectors due to fear of losing capital such as money, equipment, human resource, and time. To effectively allow foreign aid to help in the eradication of poverty, there is a need for these resources to be channelled to sectors that can help in the development of the country.

Positive Impacts of Peace

The argument posed behind aid donation is to improve the economic conditions of a country. Various cities in Nigeria have continued to experience growth and development due to peace in the regions. Lagos, Abuja, and Calabar are some of the most developed and safest cities to live in Nigeria due to the high-security levels that have contributed to peace in the regions. Urbanization in these regions due to access to foreign aid has continued to be experienced in the areas above (Steven, O'Brien, & Jones, 2014). Peace in various states of Nigeria has enabled the population in the area to easily access foreign aids such as humanitarian aids and technologies that are vital for the development of the cities. Peace can, therefore, act as a tool through which foreign aids can be accessed and equally distributed in a country.

Leadership and Foreign Aid Use

The government of Nigeria uses the humanitarian aids to supply the affected population with medicine and food. One of the challenges that the government of Nigeria is facing is dealing with the wounded that are displaced from their homes. Food and medicine are some of the necessities needed by the group. Providing shelter for the affected is one way that the government uses the foreign aid provided to it. The displaced people as a result of war need places where they can stay as a result of being driven away from their homes. Military assistance is another type of foreign aid that Nigeria receives. The government uses this aid to train its soldiers in some of the advanced military techniques to help them in protecting its citizens especially in the affected regions (Ukpong, 2017). The government of Nigeria, therefore, makes use of the foreign aids to strengthen its military by equipping them with the necessary skills and tactics that can help in winning the war against the rebels. Additionally, technology aid has significantly helped the government of Nigeria to identify the hiding places for the rebels, which puts them at an advantage in the war against the Boko Haram.

Impact of Foreign Aid

Regardless of the numerous foreign aids that the Nigeria government receives from the donors, there has been little impact in reducing poverty and war incidences in the country. This has been primarily attributed to the level of corruption in the country. Recent research has revealed that corruption in the country has continued to worsen despite the measures put in place by the government to counter-attack the problem, which now seems to be setting its roots even in the tertiary institutions (Robert & Dibie, 2017). Most of the foreign aid that comes into the country is, therefore, lost in the hands of corrupt officials, which could have, otherwise been used in reducing poverty and war incidents, thereby, facilitating development. Lack of transparency in the government is the primary reason why corruption in Nigeria is still persistent. Inequality levels in Nigeria are still low in the country, which has contributed significantly to the unequal development in the country. Most of the financial aids are allocated to specific regions that seem to favour developments while other regions are ignored. Additionally, the access of foreign aids by women in Nigeria is still low indicating a low level of inequality in the region.

Conclusion

Foreign aid is a vital tool that can be used to reduce poverty and curb war challenges especially in developing countries. However, corruption engaged by government officials can hinder the development progress of the country through the foreign aids. Government officials who use these foreign aids for their benefits retard the development of projects and various sectors of the economy that would have facilitated the development of the country.

Reference

France-Presse, A. (2017, July 28). The Telegraph. Retrieved April 22, 2018, from Boko Haram attack on Nigeria oil team 'killed more than 50': https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/28/boko-haram-attack-nigeria-oil-team- killed-50/

Robert, O., & Dibie, G. A. (2017). The High Level of Corr4uption in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions. The Rising Degenerating Corruption in Nigeria Schools. GRIN Verlag Publishers.

Steven, D., O'Brien, E., & Jones, B. D. (2014). The New Politics of Strategic Resources: Energy and Food Security Challenges in the 21st Century. Brooklyn: Brookings Institution Press.

Ukpong, U. A. (2017). Foreign Aid and Africa Development: Lessons from Nigeria. Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs , 197-215.