SEC S15W5: "My Country and Her Mineral Resources

Every country is unique in its own way. There is always something that are available or they have which others don't have.

It may be their food, mineral resources, human capital or other natural endowment unique to her only.

This week's contest in @steem4nigeria is about one of those things which makes your country unique. The topic is My Country and Her Mineral Resources."

The contest tips will provide a guide as we explore the topic more.

Give us a brief introduction about your country.

Who has never heard about Nigeria? I guess many all over the world must have heard about that country. In fact it is said that any country where no Nigerian is found, there is a problem with that place.

Nigeria is a lovely country with more than 300 million citizens. It came into being with the amalgamation of the Southern and Northern potectorates to form my country Nigeria. This was in 1914 by Lord Luggard.

Nigeria is blessed with so many human and mineral resources. It's citizens are hospitable and friendly. It has so many ethnic groups but having its major ethnic groups to be Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. And thankfully, I am from one of the major ethnic groups which is Igbo found in the South East region.

They are very enterprising and hardworking, always ready to adjust whenever there is need for it. Nigeria have over 360 different languages spoken within it and same with cultures.

What is/are the mineral resources your country is blessed with?

Like I mentioned earlier, Nigeria is blessed with so many mineral resources. Which makes her the envy of so many people and the toast of many nations.

Some of these mineral resources are

Gold, Crude Oil, Zinc, Lead, Casserite, Manganese, Limestone, Gypsum, Uranium, Coal, Iron ore, Clay, Asbestos, Ruby, Sapphire and many others.

Some of these are found in very large quantities and volume, while some are on scarce quantities.

Has these mineral resources been fully harnessed

Early in Nigeria history, one of the major mineral that attracted the Westerners to her was coal. Coal was abundant in the country, especially in the Eastern part of the country. It was used as a source of energy to power locomotive trains, used in major transportation back then.

However after the Civil war, crude oil was discovered in the South South and South East region of the country. Thus all attention was geared towards harnessing this mineral resource untill date.

The budget of the country is made based on expected revenue to be generated from the sales of crude oil.

Many other mineral resources are still being harnessed but on a lower scale compared to that of crude oil. So much attention have been given to crude that it seems that other mineral resources have been forgotten. Perhaps those other minerals will be remembered if crude is fully harnessed or there is any other discovery that will make use of that mineral and it is lucrative. We can only wait and see.

In some places, Gold is still being mined and sold by the government.

However, majority of them are still in limbo waiting for the country's attention to be turned towards them.

Has the proceeds from these resources been used properly by your government for the welfare of her citizens...support your answer (Yes/No) with good points.

Well, regarding this question, I would not give a definite answer to it. Reasons being that there is no equitable distribution of wealth in the world in general. So we don't expect equitable distribution of wealth elsewhere.

The government has done a lot in so many place with the proceeds that come from these resources. They have been able to construct roads, hospitals, granted free education to public schools, fed those in primary schools, sometimes gives access to free medicare.

However management of these proceeds calls for much more which we all know. So some areas have benefitted a lot from the proceeds while some have not enjoyed like others did. While in most places, the mismanagement of these resources may be from the government, in other places, it will be from those who were entrusted with these resources by the government to distribute and they choose to misappropriate them. They who who eat the yam hanged on their necks as it were and as a saying goes.

Well, I still believe that they will continue to do their best to use the proceeds from these resources to ameliorate the sufferings and give a better life to its citizens.

Conclusion

Nigeria is blessed with so much mineral resources, which if utilized properly will be able to position it as a first world country.

So our problem lies in utilization and the fault is partly from the government and partly from the citizens. We can only hope for the best.

I will like @kouba01 @hariadi @yancar @disconnect and @drhira to take part. here