A recent annual report from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has disclosed that Nigeria earned $997.1 billion from its sale of crude oil between 1990 and 2017, a period of 27 years.
Founded in 1960, OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-exporting countries. It coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of these member countries, in addition to protecting their interests in the global oil market. Nigeria is an active member of the oil market cartel.
Prorated over the 27-year period, which included the later years of military governments in Nigeria, the report indicated that the country earned an average of about $37 billion yearly from its oil sales.
According to it, the military government of General Ibrahim Babangida, earned $50 billion from oil sales between 1990 and 1993 when before it left the stage. Between 1993 and 1998, General Sani Abacha’s government which succeeded Babangida’s government, earned $64 billion, while General Abdulsalami Abubakar who succeeded Abacha, earned $5.8 billion from oil sales within the one-year period that he was in charge of the country’s affairs.
Collectively, the military governments of Babangida, Abacha and Abubakar earned $119.8 billion from oil sales between 1990 and 1999.
At the turn of democracy in 1999, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became president and governed until 2007, a period of eight years, and within which he received $261.8 billion as oil revenue. Obasanjo’s successor, Mr Umaru Yar’Adua’s government earned $139.6 billion from oil sales within the three-year period he served.
Between 2010 and 2015, when Dr Goodluck Jonathan was president of the country, his government raked in $381.9 billion in oil revenue; his successor, President Muhammadu Buhari earned $94 billion from oil sales between 2015 and 2017.
Records for oil revenue in the last three years of 2018, 2019 and 2020 were not factored in the OPEC analysis.
SOURCE: dailydispatchnewspaper.com