Nigeria, Oct. 19 -- In a world where nations build wealth by refining their raw gifts, Nigeria remains the country that sends its fortune away and buys it back at a premium.



We sold one product crude oil. A barrel drawn from the creeks of the Niger Delta, thick, black, and glistening under the tropical sun.



Inside that single barrel lived the promise of a nation. It carried the weight of our dreams, our economy, and our place in the world. Yet, instead of turning that promise into power, we sent it away, raw and helpless, like a child banished from the very home that bore him.



Across the seas, others welcomed it with gratitude. They saw what we failed to see. In their refineries, our crude was not mud or mess it was treasure. ...