Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Nigeria: western mimicry ...

13Thisisonlyanapproximation.Thereisanongoingpopulationcensusatthetimeofwritingthispaper.Page13of44Nigeria has abundant natural and human resources, with a populationof about 140 million 13 . The Nigerian economy is largely dependent onits oil sector which supplies 95 percent of its foreign exchangeearnings. Nigeria is very rich in natural resources and earns significantrevenue from her oil reserves. However, the presence of oil in Nigeriahas remained more of a curse than a blessing in many ways. First, itdestabilised the then emergent strong economic base of the country.The primary sources of growth of the Nigerian economy prior to the1960s have traditionally been agriculture, industry and services.During that era, cash crops were introduced, infrastructure wasdeveloped, and a market for consumer goods began to emerge. Atindependence in 1960, agriculture was the dominant sector,accounting for well over 50 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)and was the main source of export earnings and public revenue, withthe agricultural marketing boards playing a leading role. By the early1970s, oil emerged as the leading variable in the national economicscene. Since then, its dominance and overwhelming importance hasleft Nigeria operating an almost mono-culture economy with oilaccounting for 78 percent of federal government revenue, more than95 percent of export earnings and about 11 percent of GDP in 2000.Second, it has continued to unleash untold devastations on the locales