Abstract

Nigeria’s mono-economic dependence on oil has been a paradox of an albatross on socio-economic growth and development, as the country grapples to secure a cure for its Dutch disease since the oil boom era of the 1970s. In inverting the dependency theory, as a conspiracy of the rich to make the poor dependent, this paper contends that the reverse is the case as the wealth of rich socio-political elites within the Nigerian context is solely dependent on the exploitation of the less developed oil bearing communities within an impoverished population. These communities perpetually live under hazardous ecological conditions in spite of their resources upon which the Nigerian state is dependent. It posits that the Boko Haram insurgency is an offshoot of this paradox while exploring the emerging dynamics of the oil factor amidst the resurgence of attacks in the Northeast. It thus advocates the need to rehumanize the Nigerian populace through Amartya Sen’s human capabilities’ approach, whereby socio-economic conditions are addressed through structural and institutional changes amidst a socially and environmentally responsible population.