Reversing the 'Resource Curse' Phenomenon in Nigeria: An Assessment of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act After a Decade

Abstract Natural resources endowment is a blessing to the endowed states due to their catalytic development-driving potential. The exploitation of the endowment should result in rapid socio-economic development. However, for most developing states, the blessing of these natural resources strangely tends to turn disadvantageous; a phenomenon that has been distinctly identified in the literature as 'the resource curse'. This paper examines that phenomenon, using Nigeria as a case study given the serious environmental, political and socio-economic challenges occasioned by the country's exploitation of its oil and gas endowment. The paper particularly considers the impact of the statutory intervention in Nigeria to reverse the trend through the instrumentality of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act (NEITI Act) 2007. The paper further explores what could be the most effective means of containing the said problems in light of their implications for the future of the country and its people.