Introduction
Nigeria is the most populated African nation with a population of about 160 million. The nation is made up of
people of diverse cultures and religions. She is endowed with many natural resources scattered in different parts
of the territory. At independence in 1960, the main source of the nation’s revenue was agriculture and extraction
of solid minerals. The discovery of petroleum in the country in the 1960s and the blooming of petroleum in the
global market led to her over dependence on petroleum and a gradual but consistent neglect of agriculture and
other sectors of the economy. Today petroleum accounts for over 90% of Nigeria’s export revenue and over
80% of the government’s budget (Jekwe, n.d.). Most of this petroleum revenue has been mismanaged through
corruption, and disoriented, myopic and short term economic programmes. It is unfortunate that the different
tiers of government in Nigeria cannot pay their workers talk less of embarking on any meaningful project without
reliance on petroleum revenue. The situation has left the economy of the country at the mercy of the vagaries
of petroleum market. Again, the neglect of other sectors of the economy has left majority of her work force unengaged
or under-engaged, creating a large pool of unemployed that becomes easy tools for destabilisation of
the country. The oil industry cannot engage significant number of the work force. There is an urgent need for
Nigeria to diversify her economy to curb unemployment and stabilise her economy for sustainable national development.