Nigerian Energy and the Commodities Markets
Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana all are having to defend their natural resources because the commodities markets are out of alignment and not enough money is being paid in exchange for energy or metals. Nigeria and Ghana have valuable energy reserves and Ghana additionally has metals. Togo and Benin are small countries in between them.
Nigerian petroleum refineries are not operating at peak efficiency and the Nigerian Government is sometimes confronted by a hostile private sector. All four countries have ports on the Atlantic Ocean. West African countries have capital cities that are also ports and some have capital cities that are inland.
Abuja is the capital of Nigeria and it is inland, Accra is the capital of Ghana and it is a port, Cotonou is the capital of Benin and it is a port, and Lome is the capital of Togo and it is a port. Nigeria has a GDP of $569b USD, Ghana has a GDP of $39b USD, Benin has a GDP of $10b USD, and Togo has a GDP of $5b USD.
Nigeria has a population of 177m people, Ghana has a population of 27m people, Benin has a population of 11m people, and Togo has a population of 7m people.
In terms of military personnel neither Benin nor Togo have armies larger than 10,000 soldiers. Ghana has an army of 16,000 soldiers and Nigeria has an army of 162,000 soldiers.
Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Ghana all are having to defend their natural resources because the commodities markets are out of alignment and not enough money is being paid in exchange for energy or metals. Nigeria and Ghana have valuable energy reserves and Ghana additionally has metals. Togo and Benin are small countries in between them.
Nigerian petroleum refineries are not operating at peak efficiency and the Nigerian Government is sometimes confronted by a hostile private sector. All four countries have ports on the Atlantic Ocean. West African countries have capital cities that are also ports and some have capital cities that are inland.
Abuja is the capital of Nigeria and it is inland, Accra is the capital of Ghana and it is a port, Cotonou is the capital of Benin and it is a port, and Lome is the capital of Togo and it is a port. Nigeria has a GDP of $569b USD, Ghana has a GDP of $39b USD, Benin has a GDP of $10b USD, and Togo has a GDP of $5b USD.
Nigeria has a population of 177m people, Ghana has a population of 27m people, Benin has a population of 11m people, and Togo has a population of 7m people.
In terms of military personnel neither Benin nor Togo have armies larger than 10,000 soldiers. Ghana has an army of 16,000 soldiers and Nigeria has an army of 162,000 soldiers.