For Africa's poor, oil is no gift

In 2008, the U.S. imported 1.05 million barrels of oil a day from Nigeria — almost as much as it bought from Saudi Arabia, making the West African country its fifth biggest oil source. Angola to the south, was sixth at 468,000 barrels. Overall, Angola this year edged out Nigeria to become Africa’s biggest producer.

Big oil revenues are a curse instead of a blessing to ordinary Nigerians and Angolans. Analysts note that petrodollars allow their leaders to ignore foreign critics, unlike other states on Clinton’s itinerary that rely on foreign tourism, aid or peacekeepers.
The two nations are nominally democratic, but politicians feel little need to court voters.

Nigeria has a history of coups and the last elections here were marred by voting irregularities and police firing tear gas at lines of voters. In Angola’s last parliamentary election, money, alcohol and even cars were dished out and many polling stations didn’t open for lack of materials, international observers found. Angola was in civil war from the 1970s to 2002. It has not held presidential elections since the war ended.

Just last week, Global Witness, a London-based watchdog group, reported that several shareholders of a private firm authorized by Angola’s state oil company to bid for lucrative contracts have the same names as top current and former Angolan officials, including the state oil company chairman. The officials have not responded to repeated requests from Global Witness and reporters for a response.

AP