By CLIFFORD NDUJIHE
Continues from Wednesday
HOWEVER, Southern leaders have picked holes in the Northern leaders’ claim that the North built the country through agriculture.
Continues from Wednesday
HOWEVER, Southern leaders have picked holes in the Northern leaders’ claim that the North built the country through agriculture.
According to them, as early as 1910, the two southern regions – East and West had always generated more revenues than the North, a major reason they said influenced the British amalgamation of Southern and Northern protectorates.
In an article, Structural Constraints to Socio-economic Development in Nigeria, published on November 11, 2007, Kayode Oladele said the increasing pressure to amalgamate Northern and Southern Nigeria in 1914 appeared to have been motivated by two socio-economic factors – to relieve the British treasury of financial burden, and surpluses derived from Southern Nigeria could be used to subsidize the North.
Yams being arranged for sale at Muda Lawal Market in Bauchi. NAN Photo
In furtherance of these, he said Mr. L. Harcourt, the then Secretary of State for the colonies, while addressing the British Parliament in June 1910 said: “In Southern Nigeria, the revenue has increased by £867,000 and the expenditure by £661,000 and there is for the current year (1910) an estimated surplus of £120,000…
Northern Nigeria has up to now been and still is a subsidized protectorate, but whereas in 1906, the Grant-in-Aid…was £315,000, in this current year, after providing for such interest, the Grant-in-Aid asked for is only £156,000 or less than half, and with the amalgamation ……
Grants in aid
I hope that we may be able to set a short term to these Grants-in-Aid and at the same time relieve the Treasury from its liabilities and the protectorate from Treasury control (House of Commons Debates, 29 June, 1910, Vol. 18 Cols 1036-8).
In his book Nigeria: The Tribes, The Nation or the Race? F.A.O. Schwarz showed how much each of the then three regions (East, West and North) got from the federal distribution pool between 1959 and 1962.
According to the book, while the former Eastern Region generated more revenues, it received the less from the distribution pool compared to Western and Northern regions. Then, revenue allocation was based on 50 per cent derivation, per capita distribution, population and balanced development among the regions.
For instance, in 1959-60 fiscal year, the North generated 5,396 million Pounds and got 12,124 million Pounds (69.2 per cent) from the Distribution Pool; West generated 4,273 million Pounds and received 15,417 million Pounds (78.3 per cent) while the East generated 5,341 million Pounds and got 9, 413 million Pounds (63.8 per cent).
In 1960-61, the North’s IGR nose-dived to 3,885 million Pounds but it got an increased allocation -13,775 million Pounds (78 per cent). Within the year, the West generated 4,294 million Pounds and received 16,250 million Pounds (79.1 per cent) while the Eastern Region’s IGR was 6,189 million Pounds and it was allocated 10,629 million Pounds (63.2 per cent).
Also, in 1961-62, the IGR/Allocation in millions of Pounds were: North, 6,333/15,504 (71 per cent); West, 6,031/16,307 (63.2 per cent); and East 7,274/13,390 (64.8 per cent. The East started getting a raise following improved oil exploration.
By 1963 after the creation of Mid-Western Region and increased revenue from crude oil, Schwarz said the money distributed came from two sources: 30 per cent of all import duties (other than the few mentioned in the table, which are transferred in their entirety to the regions, and the duty on beer, spirits, and wine, which was kept by the Federal Government) goes into a Distributable Pool Account.
So did 30 per cent of the royalties and rents received from mining enterprises, including oil wells. Then the money in the Distributable Pool was transferred to the regions in the ratio of 40 to the North, 31 to the East, 18 to the West, and six to the Mid-West.
Contribution of crude-oil and gas to Nigeria’s total export
The North’s contribution to the Distributable Pool of the Federation paled into insignificance from 1970 when crude oil became the chief revenue earner of the country. Throughout the decade of the 1960, the contribution of proceeds from crude-oil to total Federal Government revenue was of limited importance.
However, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Statistical Bulletin, Golden Jubilee Edition, December 2008, Nigeria earned N166 million from crude-oil in 1970 representing 26.1 percent of the total revenue. This jumped to N12.353 billion (81.1 percent) out of annual total of N15.233 billion in 1980.
By 1990 the contribution of oil earnings to total Federal Government revenue stood at N71.887 billion (73.2 percent) of total revenue.
In 2000, proceeds from crude-oil and gas contributed N1.591 trillion out of a total of N1.906 trillion representing 83.5 percent.
And the contribution of crude-oil and gas earning to total federal government revenue in percentage continued to hovered around 80 per cent except in 2007 and 2009 when it fell to 78 percent as a result fall in production and export resulting from political tension in the oil producing areas. In 2008, the figure was N6.530 trillion (82.9 percent) out of a total federally collected revenue of N7.868 trillion.
Amounts received by the three Regions of Nigeria from the Federation (in Pounds)
S/N ITEM Region 1959-60 1960-61 1961-62
1 Import Duty (Tobacco)
North 516,347 515,731 479,600
West 1,142,413 1,068,845 1,002,010
East 1,564,862 1,429,868 1,243,070
2 Import Duty
(Gasoline)
(Gasoline)
N. 759,878 679,385 759,850
W. 1,350,459 1,179,871 1,988,350
E. 772,917 880,344 982,800
3 Import Duty
(Diesel Oil)
(Diesel Oil)
N. 496,659 655,597 858,600
W. 402,759 611,270 802,950
E. 410,562 525,785 667,800
4 Export Duties
(Produce, Hides, Skins)
(Produce, Hides, Skins)
N. 4,451,466 4,078,298 3,354,800
W. 8,447,011 7,488,591 5,658,710
E. 2,684,841 2,457,199 1,883,600
5 Excise Duty
(Tobacco)
(Tobacco)
N. 1,449,433 1,522,640 1,881,890
W. 1,619,285 1,708,743 2,116,470
E. 500,601 388,956 479,600
6 Mining Royalties
& Rents
N. 414,255 529,454 689,720
W. 79,247 114,919 1,326,200
E. 415,717 492,476 2,951,350
7 Distributable Pool
(Mining)
N. 282,983 982,960
W. 169,983 589,780
E. 219,180 761,790
8 Distributable Pool
(General Imports)
N. 3,654,671 4,993,662 5,431,580
W. 2,192,802 2,999,060 3,259,950
E. 2,183,370 3,868,119 4,209,470
9 Total Rounded off
N. 12,124,000 13,775,000 15,504,000
W. 15,417,000 16,250,000 16,307,000
E. 9,413,000 10,629,000 13,390,000
10 Sub-totals Regional Revenue (Federal + Internally Generated)
N. 17,520,000 17,660,000 21,837,000
W. 19,690,000 20,544,000 22,338,000
E. 14,754,000 16,818,000 20,664,000
Source: Adapted from Table 11.1 of Book by F.A.O. Schwarz (Nigeria: The Tribes, The Nation or the Race? MIT Press, 1965; page 206).
Distribution of solid minerals in Nigeria
State Mineral
Abuja (FCT) Marble and tantalite;
Abia Gold, salt, limestone, lead/zinc, oil and gas
Adamawa Kaolin, bentonite, gypsum magnesite, barites, bauxite
Akwa Ibom Clay, limestone, lead/zinc, uranimum (traces) salt, lignite (traces), oil and gas
Anambra Lead/zinc, clay, limestone, iron, lignite, salt glass-sand, phosphate, gypsum, oil and gas
Bauchi Amethyst (violet), gypsum, lead/zinc, uranium
Bayelsa Clay, gypsum, hignite and manganese, lead / zinc (traces), oil and gas
Benue Lead/zinc, limestone, iron-ore, coal, clay, marble, bauxite, salt, barites, gemstone, gypsum, oil, gas;
Borno Diatomite, clay, limestone, oil and gas (partially investigated) gypsium, Kaolin, bentonite;
Cross River Limestone, uranium, manganese, lignite, lead/ zinc, salt, oil and gas
Delta Marble, glass-sand, clay, gypsum, lignite, iron-ore kaolin, oil and gas
Ebonyi Lead/zinc, gold, salt
Edo Marble, clay, limestone, iron-ore, gypsum, glass- sand, gold, dolomite, phosphate, bitumen, oil,gas
Ekiti Kaoline, feldspar, taticum, granite, syenites
Enugu Coal, limestone, lead/zinc;
Gombe Gemstone, gypsum
Imo Lead/zinc, limestone, lignite, phosphate, marcasite, gypsum, salt, oil and gas
Jigawa Barities
Kaduna Sapphire, kaolin, gold, clay, serpentinite, asbestos, amethyst, kyanite, graphite and sillimanite, mica, aqua marine, ruby, rock crystal, topaz, flouspar, tourmaline,gemstone, tantalite
Kano Pyrochlore, cassiterites, copper, glass-sand, gemstone, lead/zinc, tantalite;
Katsina Kaolin, marble and salt
Kebbi Tantalite, limestone and bitumen
Kwara Gold marble, iron-ore, cassiterite, columbite feldspar and mica
Lagos Glass-sand, clay, bitumen, sand tar, oil and gas
Nasarawa Beryl (omerald), acquamarine and bellodor, dolomite/marble, sapphire, tourmaline, quartz, amethyst (garnet) topaz, zircon, tantalite, cassiterite, columbite, limonite, galena, iron- ore, baryles, feldspar, limestone, mica, cooking coal, tale, clay, salt and chalcopyrite
Niger Gold, talc, lead/Zinc and iron-ore
Ogun Phosphate and clay feldspar
Ondo Bitumen, kaolin, gemstone, gypsum, feldspar, granite, clay, glass-sand, dimension stones, coal, bauxite, oil and gas
Osun Gold, talc, tourmaline, columbite, granite
Oyo Kaolin, marble, clay, silimanite, talc, gold, cassiterite, aquamarine, dolomite, gemstone, tantalite
Plateau Emerald, tin, marble , granite, tantalite/columbite, lead/zinc, barites, iron-ore, kaoline, cassiterite, phrochlore, clay, coal, wolram, salt, bismuth, fluoride, molybdenite, gemstone and bauxite
Rivers Glass-sand, clay, marble, lignite, oil and gas
Sokoto Kaoline, gold, limestone, phosphate, gypsum, silica-sand , clay, laterite, potash, flaks, granite and salt
Taraba Kaoline, lead/zinc
Yobe Diatomite and soda ash
Zamfara Gold
Source: Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals. Abuja (cited in Tell, July 11, 2005) and Multi-disciplinary Journal of Research Development Volume 9 No. 2 December, 2007
