Problem No Dey Finish: A Tale of Two Oil Nations

Welcome to the month of November! We’re already a week in - I hope it’s going well for you and that you’re starting to catch the Christmas excitement.

I’ve been meaning to write this reflection since September (accountability really is a thing - if I hadn’t mentioned it in my last post, I might have pushed it back again; this one needed a bit more research than usual).

Anyway, back to it. One Monday morning in September, while skimming through the Financial Times in the office, I came across an article about Norway’s upcoming elections. The piece focused on how political parties were debating economic policies - taxes, spending, and social welfare - but what really caught my attention was the recurring mention of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. Some commentators even suggested the country might be “too rich for its own good.”

That line stuck with me.

Here was Norway, a nation of just over five million people - wrestling with how to manage abundance. The argument was that the cushion of oil wealth and a trillion-dollar sovereign fund have, in some ways, made the country too comfortable, dulling productivity and innovation. Despite its $1.9 trillion sovereign wealth fund (the largest in the world), Norway is facing rising living costs, widening inequality, and growing debate about how much of its oil-fueled fortune should be taxed, saved, or spent. Its 1% wealth tax has even pushed hundreds of wealthy citizens to relocate to havens like Switzerland, sparking a fierce conversation about fairness and sustainability.

And that’s when it hit me - problem really no dey finish!

It made me think about how two nations can start with the same resources yet end up in completely different realities. Both Norway and Nigeria struck oil in the mid-20th century. But while Norway built strong institutions, fiscal discipline, and a culture of saving for the future, Nigeria has struggled with policy inconsistency and short-term priorities.

Today, Norway’s sovereign fund holds roughly $290,000 per citizen, while Nigeria’s sits around $2.5 billion in total - less than $10 per citizen. Of course, the population gap is significant, about 6 million versus 200 million, but that’s also part of the challenge. What policies are in place in Nigeria to manage population growth relative to available resources?

Both countries have oil. Both have faced opportunities and trade-offs. But only one built a system that outlasted its challenges. Norway’s problems are about managing excess and ensuring intergenerational equity; Nigeria’s are about scarcity and governance. Everybody get im own problem. But in both cases, the lesson is clear: resources don’t guarantee results - discipline and direction do.

As we head into the final stretch of the year, this reflection feels timely. Whether as individuals or nations, how we manage what we have - no matter how much or how little ultimately determines our trajectory.

Food for thought: How are you managing your resources today?