Nigeria is Africa's
most populous country and the continent's leading oil producer. A former British colony,
the country gained its independence in 1960. The Nigerian society is characterised by
rivalry and tension between regions and ethno-religious groups. Despite the institution of
a federal regime since independence, Nigerians have been under military rule longer
than any other country. Following its announcement in October 1995, the military
goverment, which ruled since 1983, handed over its power to a democratically elected
government in 1999.
Nigeria's economy is
highly dependent on capital-intensive oil industry which contributes around 95% of export
earnings and about 75% of government revenue. The Nigerian military rulers' resistance to
initiating greater transparency and accountability in managing the country's multibillion
dollar oil earnings continues to limit economic growth and to prevent an agreement with
the IMF and bilateral creditors on debt relief. The mining sector, which apart from oils,
extracts minerals such as coal, natural gas and tin, accounts for nearly half of GDP. The
bulk of the population is engaged in agriculture which contributes about 30% of GDP.
However, the largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid
population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food.
Nigeria launched an ambitious development programme to create a large industrial sector
and lessen its dependence on oil and agriculture. Nevertheless, massive external debts
combined with political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management
hampered implementation.
Nigeria's telephone
network has a capacity of over 700,000 lines. In 1999, the total number of connected lines
was 410,000 giving a telephone density of 0.38 line per hundred population.The Government
of Nigeria adopted a National Policy on Telecommunications as a gradual and guided
approach to deregulate the telecommunications sector, and to modernize and expand the
telecommunications networks in the country.
Back to Top
