people and refugees in Nigeria, but there are inadequate services for them. Their accessibility to courts of law is poor, and refugee camps are overcrowded. Nigeria is urged to develop legal and policy frameworks to protect the rights of vulnerable groups. 3.11 Nigeria has made great strides towards building a democratic society since 1999. However, several initiatives are still required to consolidate what it has achieved so far. Reviewing the constitution to address the supremacy of the executive, addressing the Niger Delta crisis, confronting unequal distribution of resources, redefining the role of traditional leaders, combating corruption, depoliticising the civil service, and constitutionalising affirmative action for all vulnerable groups are areas that need urgent action. 3.2 Economic governance and management 3.12 Nigeria is a country of paradox. The country has the potential to build a prosperous economy, to reduce poverty significantly, and to provide the basic social and economic services its population needs. However, 29 years of military misrule, erratic and distorted policies, public-sector dominance in production and consumption, and unbridled corruption and rent-seeking have taken their toll on the development potential of the country. They have left the country with high incidences of poverty, high unemployment rates, poor infrastructure, low growth rates, and widespread insecurity and crime. 3.13 Nigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa and the seventh-largest in the world. Its oil reserves are estimated at 36.2 billion barrels. New oil wells are continually being discovered. Reserves are expected to increase to about 40 billion barrels. The country’s economic strength therefore derives largely from its oil and gas wealth. This sector contributed 95 per cent of export revenue, 78 per cent of government revenue, and 21.93 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006. Other sector contributions to GDP in 2006 were agriculture (32.5 per cent), wholesale and retail (13.5 per cent), industry (excluding petroleum) (2.9 per cent) and other sectors (1.5 per cent). 3.14 The growing importance of oil has brought with it many advantages. They include: substantial surpluses on the current account of the balance of payments, thereby enabling the country to increase its foreign reserves and reduce its foreign debt; increases in the tax revenue of government, which provides much-needed scope for managing the budget; and increased liquidity in the financial sector, thereby facilitating extensive reforms, consolidation and rationalisation. However, the overreliance on oil has also had a number of disadvantages. They include: neglecting other important sectors of the economy, such as agriculture and manufacturing; increasing the oil market’s vulnerability to external shocks; neglecting to collect and administer other forms of taxation; and negative environmental consequences. 3.15 As already indicated, the Obasanjo administration, which restored democratic rule in 1999, took bold steps towards economic rehabilitation 7