Currently viewing the tag: "Nigeria"

From the Nigerian people to scholars, and even Nigerian government officials, the Nigerian government is often described as an elite cartel focused on dividing up the immense oil spoils. Oil has historically accounted for 65 – 85 percent of government revenues, but what happens when the oil money dries up?

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Two days from now, as many as 93 million people will head to the polls in what is shaping up to be the most competitive presidential election since Nigeria’s transition to democracy in 1999. It is likely to be a record-setting election in many ways. There are a record number of registered voters, more than […]

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by Jared Miller

A manmade humanitarian crisis is a tragedy, but for some, it is also a lucrative opportunity. As the crisis deepens prompting massive security and humanitarian spending, along with the increasing cost of rebuilding, for certain individuals, the ensuing crisis economy becomes more lucrative than the peacetime economy. While some benefit, millions suffer. […]

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For their history of abuses, continued abuses, and the system of unaccountable violence they represent, the December “Employee of the Month” award goes to the Nigerian Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

A fixture of life in Nigeria since the 1990s, SARS gained international notoriety in October 2020 after a video documenting a SARS officer

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Alex de Waal has a new essay in the London Review of Books (39:12, 15 June 2017, pp. 9 – 12), which they titled, “The Nazis Used It, We Use it.” Below is an excerpt, the full essay is available with a subscription to the LRB.

In its primary use, the verb ‘to starve’ is […]

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The ‘conventional’ understanding of corruption in arms procurement is that it takes the form of bribes or kickbacks. In return for being awarded an arms contract, often as a result of having selection criteria manipulated in its favour, the supplier company pays bribes to officials involved in the decision-making process. Payments typically are channeled through […]

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