Implementing global norms in local contexts : evaluating the effectiveness of transparency and accountability in the Nigerian extractive sector

Many resource rich developing countries are confronted with a paradoxical situation in which their natural resource wealth coincides with low developmental growth, civil conflict and poor standard of living of citizens. Extractive transparency was conceived on the global scene to address the developmental problems associated with natural resource wealth, based on the assumption that public disclosures of extractive revenues would curtail corrupt practices in the extractive sector and promote the effective governance of natural resources. However, years into its implementation in local contexts, scholars and policymakers are recognizing that the governance structure and political dynamics of the implementing country largely determines its effectiveness. This raises concerns regarding the extent to which transparency as a global norm is transformed when confronted with local realities such as weak institutional quality, infirm regulatory framework, repressive governmental tendencies and institutionalized corruption and how this transformed transparency can be deployed to drive public demands for accountability and developmental gains. Against this backdrop, this thesis considers how extractive transparency – revenue transparency, beneficial ownership transparency and contract transparency is localized in Nigeria in the context of Nigerian’s peculiar socio-political realities. It also considers how citizen engagement and participation in resource governance in Nigeria can be bolstered to propel public demands for accountability based on extractive disclosures. This thesis argues that although extractive transparency in Nigeria is constrained when confronted with Nigeria’s peculiar socio-political circumstances, however, this constrained transparency offers opportunities for institutional reforms (such as enshrining auditing and reporting requirements in the extractive sector and empowerment of civil society organizations) and a springboard for public demands for accountability. Even as scholars and policymakers contend with the institutionalization of transparency and revenue disclosures in local contexts, novel methods of perpetuating corruption in the extractive sector continue to emerge, urging the global community to expand the scope of extractive transparency to accommodate beneficial ownership transparency and contract transparency. These areas of transparency are quite nascent and regulatory frameworks and institutions at local levels are struggling to deal with their complexities, thus, this thesis considers how best to implement them to achieve the desired outcomes within the Nigerian context