The Nigerian oil paradox

The mystery of the Nigerian oil paradox is still a surprise to many in the international community. There is a recent saying that Nigeria is the only country in the world, which imports what she has and exports what she doesn’t have. Nigeria today is the world’s 6 th largest producer of crude oil and the 2nd largest supplier to the United States of America . Yet, the price of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products continue to rise. The wealth associated with oil export continues to elude majority of the citizens. While electricity supply is dwindling drastically, infrastructure is breaking down at a fast pace, even when they are been replaced. Yet, the country continues to reap more profit from the export of crude oil, which is getting more expensive increasingly in the international market because of enormous demands from expanding economies like China and India . As demand for oil grows in the West and reserves dwindle in Europe and the United States , energy companies have gone further afield, looking for oil in developing countries and increasingly under thousands of metres of ocean. They are often welcomed warmly as poor countries like Nigeria lack the capital and technology to develop their own resources. In Nigeria , the energy crisis continues to worsen despite government efforts at renovating the country’s power generating plants. Most of the power generating plants in the country are thermal gas stations which run on natural gas, a by-product of petroleum, which the country has in large quantities. Recently, Nigeria ’s elite gave excuse for not been able to meet up to the 6000 megawatts power generation earlier promised by the ailing president. These figures portend grievous implications to infrastructural development and social well being. Yet, Nigeria still supplies electricity to Togo , Benin republic, and Ghana . In Nigeria , per capita income of $270 a year is lower than when oil was found in the 1950s. Since 1999, Nigeria has been trying to recover up to $3 billion that disappeared during the four-and-a-half year rule of former president Sani Abacha. Bloody clashes erupt frequently near the oilfields in the Niger delta as tribes fight over scarce revenue and jobs. Of the three major refineries in the country, none can be said to be functioning at optimum capacity. This means that the major percentage of petroleum products, sold in Nigeria are refined outside the country.

Paying opportunities for writers

PAYING MARKETS

These are NOT recycled guidelines. WritersWeekly.com only features original market listings, received from and approved by the editors at each publication.

Apex Magazine, Apex Publications, PO Box 24323, Lexington KY 40524 P(859) 312-3974. Email: jason-at-apexbookcompany.com. Website: http://www.apexbookcompany.com. Jason Sizemore, Editor-in-Chief; Gill Ainsworth, Senior Editor; Deb Taber, submissions editor; Mari Adkins, submissions editor; Sarah Brandel, submissions editor; Maggie Jamison, submissions editor. 100% freelance. "*We publish dark SF short fiction." Welcomes new writers. Circulation: 10,000 views per month. Monthly. Pays on publication. Publishes ms 1-3 months after acceptance. Buys first rights and non-exclusive anthology rights. Responds 10-20 days. Guidelines online at http://www.apexbookcompany.com.
CURRENT NEEDS: See guidelines. Pays $0.05/word. Stories run 750-7500 words. Submit manuscript by email ONLY to submission-at-apexbookcompany.com. Apex Magazine is now a free digital zine located at http://www.apexbookcompany.com/apex-online

Cadet Quest, P.O. Box 7259, Grand Rapids, MI 49510. Website: http://www.calvinistcadets.org. Email: submissions-at-CalvinistCadets.org. G. Richard Broene, Editor. 40% freelance. "Cadet Quest is a 24-page magazine for boys ages 9 - 14. It is a Christian-oriented magazine for members of a Christian youth organization known as the Calvinist Cadet Corps. Boys from many Protestant denominations make up the Cadet Quest's audience. Our purpose is to show how God is at work in the lives of boys and in the world around them. We have worked with new writers in the past and would do so in the future if their work fits our themes." Circ: 8K. 7 issues/year. Pays on acceptance. Publishes ms within 1 year of acceptance. Buys first rights or reprints. Responds 6 to 8 weeks. Sample on request by mail with SASE. Subscription $14.35 US; $15.75 Canada. Guidelines online at http://www.calvinistcadets.org/cadetquestthemes.php
CURRENT NEEDS: Queries. Pays $0.05-0.08/word for 900-1300 words (fiction) and 700-1200 words (articles). Submit complete ms with cover letter by mail with SASE or by email (copy manuscript into body of email - attachments will not be opened). No queries.
PHOTOS/ART: N/A.
HINTS: "Active adventure combined with humor. Please don't send the same old, same old... river rescues, boys lost, boy saving his family during a crisis, etc. Have a Christian basis for what is being done, not just that the kid is being a good kid. Please make your stories fun to read, but not unrealistic. Fiction should fit our current themes. We are always looking for articles on Christians making a mark in this world -- sports, music, and volunteer work. Things that make a difference to people around them."

Diabetes Self-Management, 150 West 22nd Street, Suite 800, New York, NY 10011. P(212)989-0200. F(212)989-4786. Email: editor-at-rapaportpublishing.com. Website:
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com. Ingrid Strauch, Editor. 95% freelance. "Diabetes Self-Management is a consumer health publication that aims to help people with diabetes control their condition. We cover nutrition, exercise, pharmacology, medical and technological advances, and mental health issues." Occasionally works with new writers. Circ. 375K. Bimonthly. Pays on publication. Publishes ms 4-12 months after acceptance. Buys all rights. Occasionally accepts reprints. Responds 6 weeks. Sample on request. Subscription $18; $36 outside the U.S. Guidelines online athttp://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/about/contactus.cfm.
CURRENT NEEDS: "Accurate, up-to-date knowledge of diabetes and its treatment. We do not publish personal experiences, celebrity profiles, or research breakthroughs. Pays flat fee of $700 or less for 2000-2500 words. Submit query.
PHOTOS/ART: "We do not purchase art or photos."

Drum Business Magazine, 12 Old Bridge Road, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Email: kevk-at-moderndrummer.com. Website: http://moderndrummer.com/currentissue.php. Kevin Kearns, Editor. 35% freelance. "Trade magazine focusing on helping retailers of drum and percussion products with information on merchandising, management, product description and review, and sales techniques." Welcomes new writers. Circ. 7000. Bi-monthly. Pays on publication. Publishes ms 2-12 months after acceptance. Buys all rights. Accepts reprints not previously published in music retailing industry. Responds 1-4 weeks. Sample for email request. Subscription $24 US/Canada; $44 other. Guidelines for email request to sueh@moderndrummer.com.
CURRENT NEEDS: "Retail merchandising concepts." Pays flat fee of $200 for departments of 1000-1200 words and $350 for features of 2500-3000 words. Submit
query by email.
PHOTOS/ART: Payment depends on size.
HINTS: "Be practical with ideas."

Eldridge Christian Plays and Musicals, P.O. Box 14367, Tallahassee FL 32317. P((850)385-2463. Email: NewWorks-at-95church.com. Website: http://www.95church.com. Susan Shore, New Plays Editor. "Eldridge also publishes a non-denominational religious plays and musicals." Outright buys offered. 12-15 new plays and 1-2 musicals per year. Guidelines online athttp://www.histage.com/aids/churchguideline.pdf.
CURRENT NEEDS: "Eldridge Christian Plays sells to churches of all sizes and denominations and many of the titles are holiday-based. Our most popular holiday shows are Christmas and Easter, but Thanksgiving and Mother's Day also rate highly. Many times, our customers like to do quick skits, scenes, or sermon starters throughout the year. These kind of anytime-plays not specifically related to a special holiday are often used as outreach into the community. Characters are at the heart of the plays. It is important to remember that the play's characters should not have an immediate change of heart but, more realistically, grow throughout the play. Although the message in our plays tends to be timeless, we always look for fresh ways to see God's truths. Keep in mind that audiences can and want to relate to characters, either current-day or biblical. Audiences also value humor." Pays royalty, 50 percent; copy sales, 10 percent.
PHOTOS/ART: N/A

Encore Performance Publishing, P.O. Box 14367, Tallahassee FL 32317. P/F(850)385-2463. Email: info-at-encoreplay.com. Website: http://www.encoreplay.com. Meredith Edwards, Editor. "Estab. 1978. Publishes 20-30 children's plays/year; 2 to 3 children's musicals/year." Responds in 2 months. Terms Purchases all publication and amateur stage production rights. Author retains copyright. Guidelines available online at http://www.histage.com/aids/Encoreguideline.pdf.
CURRENT NEEDS: "Prefers flexible casts, if possible. Adaptations for K-12. 60% of plays written for adult roles; 40% for juvenile roles. Representative work: 'The Commedia Aladdin' by Lane Riosley. submit Script, synopsis, character breakdown, set description, production history, and song list if musical. Pays royalties (50% performance and 10% copy sales) twice a year. Submit play and cover letter to newworks-at-histage.com, newworks-at-95church.com, newworks-at-encoreplay.com, or by mail. Include SASE for return of submission.
PHOTOS/ART: N/A
HINTS: "Give us issue and substance, be controversial without offense. We do not publish individual scenes or plays that run under 30 minutes. We will consider short pieces if they are submitted as a collection of work."

My Motherland

My Motherland

The land of the blacks
The continent called dark
Thou art been truly battered
A land flowing with milk and honey
Yet a reference for folly
Oh, Motherland!
Dear to my very heart
It is very sad
That your children have become grains of sand
Non-cohesive but scattered
Oh, what a monumental disaster
That your children have departed from what matters
Blindly, they labour in vain
Groaning under the pain
Yet, putting themselves under more strain
So that they continue to faint
Oh my Motherland! Oh, my home!
I hurt deeply in my soul
When I think about your yoke
And how impossible to cope.

Alas! A new era has come
Rejoice Motherland
Your liberation is near
A new generation is here
A set of youths reformed
So as to put their Nation in form
A people on covenant
To rescue their Motherland
Men and women of valour
Commissioned to restore honour
And bring back dignity
Through their creativity
How long shall we continue to wait?
When we have what it takes
To change our Nation’s story
And free her from captivity
The time has arrived
For us to be fired from inside
Let us set our passion on course
And make use our force
Let us maximize our talents
To face up to this challenge
Let us take our rightful place
And clothe our Motherland with grace
Rejoice Motherland
Weep no more Africa
Very soon, your travails will be over
And our faces will be full of laughter.

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