Nigeria, Sept. 28 -- When he announced the military coup in Nigeria on 15 January 1966, Chukwuma Kaduna Nzeogwu denounced a confederacy of "political profiteers, the swindlers, the men in high and low places that seek bribes and demand 10 per cent." At the time, Nigeria was mostly funded by agriculture and solid minerals.

Seven years later, that changed. Following the onset of the Arab-Israeli War in October 1973, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) weaponised the price of oil. In the year that followed, oil prices rose over ten times. For oil producing countries, it was a windfall.

Nigeria was one of the beneficiaries of what became known as the "oil boom." In the words of then military ruler, Yakubu Gowon, our pro...