The community’s good, and exploitation of human and natural resources in Nigeria
Abstract:The title of this paper is drawn from Section 17 (2d) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended in 2023. Both human and natural resources are essential for the development of any nation. It is human resources that carry out development projects for the good of the people. It is also human beings who exploit natural resources for the development of any nation. A look through the history of Nigeria shows that human resources have not been well managed for the communitarian good. This is why there is so much underemployment, unemployment, and other factors that threaten the full exploitation of Nigeria’s human potential. The rate at which brain drain is taking place, the Japa syndrome indicates poor exploitation of human resources. There is also the additional problem that the benefits that come from natural resource exploitation in the country rarely get to the masses of the Nigerian people. The benefits often are siphoned away through corruption, bad leadership, etc. The paper argues that there is a vital need to attend to what section 17(2d) of the constitution states. The paper examines what is the common good of the community and extends the good of the community to include the entire ecological good and not just human good. Arguing from an African-based understanding of community and Ecocentric ethics, the community includes both present and future generations and ecosystems. Critical analytic and hermeneutic methods are adopted to unravel and examine the issues in the paper. The paper concludes that a positive and healthy exploitation of both human and natural resources is necessary for promoting the good of the community and authentic development in Nigeria.
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