Question 6 was:
Since independence, the distribution of oil revenues has been one of the most contentious issues in Nigerian politics. Identify two factors that make the issue contentious and explain why those factors impede resolution of the conflicts.
Anonymous 2's answer is:
"6. The distribution of oil revenues in Nigeria has been a particularly contentious issue because oil is Nigeria’s largest source of revenue. It has also been a source of foreign investment and multinational corporate presence which has integrated Nicaragua into the world market as a marginalized and vulnerable power. Both these factors have contributed to Nigeria’s dependence on the volatile oil market for income.
"The oil revenues themselves are distributed very unevenly, often falling into the pockets of politicians instead of being spent on the public welfare.
"Prebendalist values have only been further entrenched and practiced in Nigerian society due to loose or nonexistent oil revenue distribution policy. Corporations have been accused of disproportionately low wages for workers, and the abuse of human rights. Nigeria’s dependence on oil and the foreign presence that it has brought to the country makes the distribution of these lucrative and essential profits a largely controversial topic. The well-established prebendalist values and the lack of coherent or stable policies regarding the official distribution of these finances only impedes the path to resolving this conflict."
This is a four point question. One point for each of two factors causing contention over the distribution of oil revenues and one point for each of two reasons those factors impede the resolution of the contentious issues.
Causes of contention include
- geographic location of oil and gas fields
- income and wealth disparities between regions of the country
- governments' reliance on oil revenues for more than 75% of of their revenues
- competition among states for revenue
- large-scale coincidence of ethnic group (nations) boundaries with state boundaries
- prebendalism
- corruption and lack of transparency in distribution of revenues
The reasons must logically and accurately explain why each cause makes resolution difficult (coincidence of ethnic and state boundaries) or impossible (geographic distribution of oil fields).
Anonymous 2's answer earns a point for the statement that "oil is Nigeria’s largest source of revenue..." The rest of the paragraph is not relevant to the question.
The answer earns a second point for the statement in the second paragraph that revenues regularly end up in "the pockets of politicians..."
Next, the rubric requires that the answer explain why those causes of contention impede resolution of the conflicts.
What reasoning does Anonymous 2 offer for why the reliance on oil revenues and corruption make conflict resolution difficult or impossible?
The third paragraph mentions prebendalism, the lack of revenue distribution policies, and the policies of corporations, but neither of the causes identified in the first two paragraphs.
NOTE: This is one of those times when paraphrasing the question as an introduction to an answer might have helped. What if the first paragraph began with the sentence, "Two factors that make the issue of distributing oil revenues contentious are..." and the last paragraph began, "Those factors impede resolution of the conflicts because..."? Starting the paragraphs that way reminds you of exactly what you're supposed to write about and keeps you focused on responding to the question and not getting lost in other ideas that come to mind.
This answer earns two of four possible points. Anonymous 2 does, however, win a pair of WYNTK pencils.
BTW, the answer was numbered. It's always a good idea to number your answers.
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