Going along with previous articles about African countries and inequality we now look to Nigeria where poverty is continuing to rise despite economic growth due to the oil industry. Over six years from 2004 to 2010 the percentage of individuals in poverty (living on less than 1 dollar a day) has risen from 54.7% to 60.9%. Even with the oil industry being very successful many individuals reap little reward from its successes. In fact little revenue is used to benefit the people of Nigeria which in turn has sparked rebel groups forming and becoming popular among poverty stricken individuals. Furthermore, many Nigerians see themselves as being poor and this trend is rising. This eventually could lead to severe unrest in the country and create problems like riots and disputes unless the problem of poverty is addressed. It is an especially volatile and unstable climate when 93.9% of the population find themselves to be poor.
As we have seen in previous articles global inequality severely affects African countries more so than most. These countries suffer from extremely high poverty rates and massive corruption within their governments. The people are fed up and becoming impatient with their situations and are beginning to demand that something be done. However, little is being done to help these individuals improve their situations. If this trend continues as eluded to earlier, then conflicts will arise and there will be violence and chaos in these countries. It truly is a testament to how bad inequality can get when such a large amount of the population is poor and feels poor even though their country is prosperous due to the oil industry.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-17015873
Eric Spriegel 11/18/2012 3:20
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