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The poverty in Nigeria is devastating, "75% of Nigerian's live below the poverty line."(thetidenews.com) The situation has slowly improved since the democratic election of Olusegon Obasanjo in 1999. The improvements in the conditions of Nigeria are threatened again by the current fuel scarcity. The fuel shortage has indirectly resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, causing mass destitution. Nigeria is the 5th largest oil producer in the world but has woefully inadequate resources in terms of refineries. The military governments that ruled between 1966 and 1999 failed to develop other areas of the economy. This means that with the only well developed resource the country has in a dangerous position the entire economy is in a free fall starting with layoffs and job losses.

Another serious factor effecting Nigeria's economy is the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. Nigeria has the third largest infected population in the world behind only India and South Africa. 2,900,000 are already infected with HIV or AIDS and due to lack of education, the spread continues. The percentage of infected individuals is starting to drop but due to lack of education it is still a pressing situation. Limited education and poor health are only helping to perpetuate the poverty cycle.
Religious and ethnic tensions continue to brew in different parts of Nigeria, erupting into outbreaks of violence and continually leading to a situation of escalating poverty and malnutrition. The ethnic and religious tensions are what has led to the current fuel scarcity. The effects are widespread as the fuel scarcity is shutting down most of the textiles industry. When the shortages are added to the power outages in the private sector, it is killing the businesses that the administration was calling the engine of growth.
This unfortunate situation cannot be resolved until control is regained over the fuel situation. This means that the government needs to put money into building refineries to build the countries supply of useable fuel. This will allow the government to move its attention to developing the underdeveloped sides of the economy. Building on the underdeveloped economic sections will have a trickle down affect on the standard of living, level of education, and incidence of infectious disease and STD's. Improvement in all of these areas will cause a gradual improvement in the countries economy. Constructing a strong foundation for their economy after they straighten out the current fuel scarcity will be the key to continued successful economic development.

Sources consulted:
www.avert.org/aids-n igeria.htm
www.ruralpovertyport al.org/regions/africa/nga/inde x.htm
www.thetidenews.com
www.Al lafrica.com

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