Degenerative Policy Making System and Exploitation: A Case Study of Politics of Oil Exploration in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper is an examination of the fact that persons in the oil rich region of Nigeria take unfair advantage of their default prior appropriation of land due to degenerative policy making systems inherent in our crude oil management. The study argue that as a result of these degenerative policy making principles Nigeria’s revenue allocation remains unfair, because it breeds inequalities and injustices by default through these degenerative policy-making principles, and the co relational interplay between territoriality and appropriation of natural resources ought to be philosophically reviewed to ensure equity and justice in wealth distribution in a multinational polity such as Nigeria. Using the reconstructive method, the paper examines John Lock’s principle of self-ownership, as been efficient but defective since it allows for an a priori procedural determination of distributive justice. And Rawlsian difference principle, this exposes its negative characterization of risk minimization. Using the same method it examines the policy making system of Nigeria. This showed strong indications towards degenerating the political economy of Nigeria to an exploitative proportion. The study concludes that the Dworkin’s equality of resources theory will serve as the propensity of generating a platform of equality of opportunity for all and at the same time ensures a personal sense of responsibility serve as panacea to the Nigerian political economy.