Elections around the globe 2007: Nigeria (more of the same)

Nigeria will held elections next April. The leading candidates (NB: as in Latam, we can't talk about political parties) come from the north, with the majority of the population Muslim. On the contrary, the oil fields are located in the south, mainly catholic, but owned by the elites from the north... all analysts ask themselves whether this new elections can help to diminish the frequent ethnic tensions and avoid the resource curse.

The actual situation in Nigeria is far from what one would expect given the abundant presence of oil in the Niger delta region. It has a dual economy. The most important one is the one related to oil (approximately 75% of the public revenues and 95% of exports). Then we have the primary sector, which represents around the 40% of the national GDP and where the the majority of Nigerians find work. Despite the efforts, and according to Transparency International Nigeria is still one of the most corrupted countries in the world. Certainly, most of the weaknesses the country presents have to do with the resource curse.

Here you can find an interesting solution to these problems...

To keep an eye on the missing continent: http://allafrica.com/