Sanusi Links Boko Haram to Derivation

This Day

28 January 2012

Sanusi Links Boko Haram to Derivation

Attempts to redress historic grievances in Nigeria’s oil-rich south may inadvertently have helped create the conditions for the Islamic insurgency spreading from the impoverished north-east of the country, so says Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

A revenue sharing formula that gave 13 percent derivation to the oil-producing states was introduced after the military relinquished power in 1999 among a series of measures aimed at redressing historic grievances among those living closest to the oil and quelling a conflict that was jeopardising output.

But Sanusi who spoke in an interview with the Financial Times Friday said: "There is clearly a direct link between the very uneven nature of distribution of resources and the rising level of violence."

He said that it was now necessary to focus funds on regenerating other regions if Nigeria wants to secure long-term stability.

"When you look at the figures and look at the size of the population in the north, you can see that there is a structural imbalance of enormous proportions. Those states simply do not have enough money to meet basic needs while some states have too much money.

"The imbalance is so stark because the state still depends on oil for more than 80 per cent of its revenues," said Sanusi.