Chapter 1 of our text casts the Spotlight on Nigeria, with a population of 186 million and counting. Africa’s most populous country faces the curious challenge the comparative literature calls the “resource curse--” one that other resource-rich countries such as Iran, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan also grapple. The “curse” points to a situation in which an abundance of oil resources, instead of delivering higher living standards, a better quality of life, and economic prosperity for the population, instead perpetuates underdevelopment.

The paradox is particular pronounced for Nigeria, one of the world’s biggest oil-producers. Despite earning hundreds of billions from its petroleum exports, accounting for a whopping 90 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Nigeria scores only 0.532 on the UNDP’s 2017 HDI index, up a mere 0.061 from 2012, or 157 out of 189 countries. (UNDP. International Human Development Indicators. Its poor showing on critical QLI indicators--health, life expectancy, education, poverty, gender equality, sustainability, and so on--is illustrative of the classic challenge to many resource-rich countries in the Global South: abundant natural resources that, instead of bringing economic prosperity has done the opposite. It begs the question, would Nigeria be better off without oil?

It may strike us as odd that a country so richly-endowed with natural resources has not been able to show more for it. Instead, what we have had are several military coups, rampant corruption, political fragmentation, poor living standards, and fitful democratic progress. On the corruption side of the ledger, Nigeria ranks 148/180 on Transparency International’s 2017 Corruption Index, scoring a mere 27 out of 100, slightly above Afghanistan, Burundi, Haiti, North Korea, Somalia, and Tajikistan. Corruption has enabled the political elite to “buy off” mass publics and, until recently, underwrite repressive rule. “Black gold” has served to distort normal economic development in Nigeria by robbing other sectors of needed resources. (Similar situations obtain in other oil-producing economies such as Algeria (now experiencing great political upheaval) and Iran in the Middle East/North Africa and Mexico and Venezuela in our own Hemisphere.)

Nigeria’s (post-independence) economic plan sought to encourage domestic growth through tariffs and subsidies, a strategy that should have produced good results, given its high oil revenues. It failed, being driven more by political expediency than by economic logic. So, for example, a US$ 8 billion investment in steel production failed to get off the ground. (Nmehelle, Vincent O. “Sharia Law in the Northern States of Nigeria: To implement, or not to implement, the Constitutionality is the Question,” Human Rights Quarterly 26, no. 3 (2004), pp. 730-59.).

Oil price declines beginning in the 1980s, amidst economic uncertainty and changing energy habits in the industrialized North and a chronic foreign-debt burden, forced Nigeria’s leaders to reverse course on its economic development strategy. This resulted in huge job losses, run-away inflation, and much public discontent. To win support, the military government of Ibrahim Babangida (1985-93) diverted the country’s oil wealth to coopt opponents and the civil society, even while it kept up the pressure on its critics. Political support was purchased through an elaborate system of patrimony using petro dollars.

Another military coup in 1993 brought Sani Abacha to power. Corruption (the misuse of political office for personal or political gain) became endemic (Johnston, Michael. Syndromes of Corruption: Wealth, Power, and Democracy. Cambridge & New York: Cambridge University Press (2005)--as was narco- and human trafficking, money laundering, and so-called 419 scams--an internet swindle involving unknown Nigerian civil servants.

The fourth republic under the popularly-elected government of Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007) faced the daunting task of reining in the economy while breaking with the past. The approach produced only limited results. Yar’Adua (2007-2010) and his Democratic Party (PDP) successors (2010-15) launched what became known as the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). NEEDS was an ambitious plan to stimulate domestic enterprise through foreign direct investment (FDI). It was also meant to bring more transparency in government spending, foster the rule of law, reduce corruption, improve transportation and telecom, and deliver the people’s health. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Nigeria sounds a cautious note of optimism, i.e. if the economic reforms and diversification plans, and the efforts to control inflation (the money supply), stabilise the country’s finances, and “move beyond oil,” remain on track.

In theory, then all is not lost for Nigeria to overcome its resource curse. For all that, it continues to depend heavily on one source of income--petroleum; and not much has changed in terms of improvements in living standards for the majority of Nigerians. Indeed, inequality has reached alarming levels. To be fair, Nigeria’s civilian leaders have boldly gone where none of its military rulers have gone, starting the “rainy-day” fund and tackling corruption, especially in the all-important oil sector.

Still, huge challenges remain, reflecting the ambiguous role of petroleum in the country’s life. So, although there are hopeful signs, Nigeria’s prospects, like that of Brazil and others, remain uncertain. The rise of the Boko Haram terrorist group and the failure of the current President Muhammadu Buhari to bring it to book has not helped. (For background on the group, founded in 2002, see the BBC here.) Buhari has come in for “widespread criticism over his government’s inability to defeat the renewed …insurgency in the northeast.” The New York Times, 9 April 2018 (here). This explains in part why Nigeria scores only modestly on civil liberties (freedom of expression, association, the rule of law, personal and individual rights) on the Freedom House Index; and also on the EIU Index.

Here are some pathways into this first discussion: What do you make of Nigeria’s resource-curse challenge? Can the country get out from under this curse and how? Why does Nigeria seem to hold so much promise, yet continually fails to deliver? Comparatively speaking, how do we account for the fact that Canada, also an energy-rich country, has not fallen prey to this curse?

Why did Reconstruction come to an end?

Add commas after the dependent clauses in the following sentences:

1. “By the time Ma met Daddy coke had become a popular seventies trend, alongside hip-huggers, muttonchops, and disco music” (6).

2. “While Lisa watched TV Ma and Daddy busied themselves in their bedroom” (23).

3. “When she was pregnant with me Ma had what she called a nervous breakdown” (25).

4. “With Daddy in prison Ma had trouble managing her mental health while caring for Lisa and me at the same time, and Lisa was placed with a foster family for nearly eight months” (25).

5. “Before [Grandma’s] visits Ma sped across the apartment tucking sheets into the corners of beds and gathering plates into the sink and running hot water over them” (26).

Add commas to following sentences:

1. “Abruptly, Lisa clanked her plate into mine which tipped scooting my eggs into a pile” (26).

2. “Their toddler chubby and wailing was waiting for me to serve him along with the couple whose faces were blank blurs” (28).

3. “I had to stay perfectly still with my chin held in place by Ma’s fingertips while she made each cut or I would interfere with her concentration” (40).

4. “’Their loss, our gain,’ he would say when we delighted over our second-hand toys hardly used or when he presented Ma with a blouse with a loose stitch simply in need of sewing” (20).

• A. What is the relationship between something being good for you and your being motivated to pursue that thing? How does the desire satisfaction theorist's view of this relationship differ from the objective theorist's view? Which do you think is preferable, and why?
• B. Do we always have a reason to do whatever would benefit ourselves? How does the desire satisfaction theorist explain the connection between reason and self-interest? Is the desire theorist's account better than the objective theorist's? Why or why not?
• C. Describe a case in which a desire is satisfied, but this desire is based on a false belief. Does the satisfaction of such a desire make one better off? What implications does such a case have for the desire satisfaction theory?

In 3-4 paragraphs (or more if needed) define personality. Explain what developmental factors contribute to personality formation. In what ways does personality remain stable in adulthood, and in what ways might it change. Give an example from your own personality development.

Find a short op-ed piece - 4-5 paragraphs - from the past week’s newspaper. Rewrite the story to be read aloud to a live audience. Then make a list of all of the changes you made.

Select a career path (NURSING) Analyze the impact that gender in: The career choice itself, including gender stereotyping within that career Other factors that might influence career choice, obstacles to entering the career, and factors that impact career success The work setting within that career, including factors that might lead to discrimination, communication differences that impact workplace success, issues related to power, and rates of sexual harassment

There are two types of conformity, informational and normative. Describe and give examples of each of these. Which of these is more significant in your social interactions with others? Why?

2. Match the Attribution to the example: Dispositional, Situational

3. Sean calls his girlfriend clumsy when she drops things. By overemphasizing the personal disposition, Sean is making the: Dispositional

4. Individualistic cultures will tend to make explain a person’s behavior using a person’s .

5. Gary says people who take government support and benefits are lazy. However, recently he applied for social support. Gary says “that’s different, the economy now is really bad.” This illustrates what bias?  

6. When Nilo won the soccer game he claimed it was due to practice and game strategy. When Nilo lost he whined about the poor refereeing and the condition of the field. This illustrates the:

7. Often privileged people in power take the position of blaming the victim (ie, sexual violence, poverty), known as the:

8. The Stanford Prison Experiment, the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison, and current migrant detention camps show how easily someone assigned as “guard” can do cruel things because of:

How effective are the Family Advocacy Program and the Rape Victim Advocacy Program?

Success is an important component in career building and part of your success revolves around the creation of personal goals as the discussion note suggests. Has anyone heard of the DUMB goal concept? Generally, these are goals that focus on your passions and might even seem impossible. So, thinking in this way, if you could do absolutely anything in the world, what would it be? How might this become a goal?

Write three to five responses to this post in your words .

RE: Sect. 1 Week 14 DQ 12: Justice and access to health care

Does society have a responsibility to provide access to health care to those who lack it?

I feel my position lies somewhere between Utilitarian and Communitarian. The purpose of medicine is to bring the greatest good for the greatest number of people. And if we highlight the community and not any one individual, it sounds more fair, "the city of Anchorage has a right to accessible health care." Morally, no one should agree with statements like "the city of Anchorage, minus the Jews, has a right to accessible health care," so I feel singling out a particular group (homeless, unemployed, drunkards, etc.) is used to highlight dissatisfaction with a particular group and distract from the fact that our current system fails even those who can afford to pay.

Taking a communitarian/utilitarian view seems to be the most beneficial. If everyone has access to preventative health care, then the overall cost on society will be lessened, see the article on super-users. Our system is set up in a way that the most expensive care is the only one available. A $200 office visit and $10 prescription for blood thinners is way more cost effective than a $10,000 ER and hospital stay for a stroke. Proactive treatment should be preferred to reactive treatment. Justice in this case can be done for both the individual needing the treatment, and to taxpayers, in the form of optimizing the money they put into the system.