FOR a country whose budget is funded largely by the proceeds from the sale of crude oil, it is more than likely that the media in such country would constantly demand transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector. This is not the case in Nigeria. The petroleum industry remains the most secretive business environment in the country.
In spite of these damning reports, the media coverage of the petroleum industry has done little to pressure the Nigerian government and industry players to demonstrate greater transparency and accountability. There are two key reasons to advance for the pedestrian and uncritical reporting of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria. The more observable one is the complicity of Nigerian journalists in the corruption that has become the signature of the sector.
Those who have perhaps do not see the importance of spending so much on training staff who may change employer as soon as better job opportunity appears. The good thing however is that more data are becoming available now than they were during the pre-Freedom of Information Act era. The civil society organizations in Nigeria are going the extra mile to produce and publish data about the economy on their websites.