I just saw this article on CNN about the hardship in Venezuela and it seems I am reading a replica of the sufferings faced by Nigerians today. Please take your time to read it.

What went wrong in Venezuela?

(CNN)From Caribbean beaches to snow-capped mountains, the country has it all. It has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Many in a thriving professional class left the country when Hugo Chavez took power in 1999, but the early years of his rule saw a massive reduction in poverty, more children in school, and greater access to clean drinking water.

That was very much "then." Now, Venezuela is in a food, health and energy crisis.

What happened?

Plummeting oil prices


Chavez's social programs were possible because of oil revenue. When oil was about $100 a barrel, the millions flowing in through the state-owned petroleum company could be spent on social programs and subsidizing food. But when oil prices fell to less than $30 a barrel (even now they are well under $50), that became unsustainable.

No dollars for imports

The falling oil prices also meant less foreign currency being available for Venezuela's government and that hit the ability to import items. There are now critical shortages of goods produced outside Venezuela, including medicine.


Price controls

Chavez ordered that prices of key items be slashed so that everyone could afford them. The official price now for a bag of corn flour used to make the everyday Venezuelan staple of arepas, for instance, is 190 bolivares ($19 at the official exchange rate; only a dime or two at the black market exchange rate). And while that is affordable for consumers, the price of flour and other key items is below the cost of production -- so domestic producers have stopped making it. That made imports more essential, exacerbating the lack of foreign currency.


World's highest inflation rate

Venezuela rarely publishes its own economic data, but the International Monetary Fund reports the country is being crippled by price increases in the real world, away from the government stores where prices are kept artificially low.


Political strife:

President Nicolás Maduro was hand-picked by Chavez as his successor, but he has neither the charisma nor the beneficial oil prices to keep the people happy. Last year, the opposition won a majority of seats in parliament and launched a campaign to get rid of Maduro. But the President simply declared that parliament had "lost political validity" and is vowing to stay on.


So what does it feel like?

The impact of the country's problems are all too obvious to most Venezuelans.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/02/americas/venezuela-what-went-wrong/index.html

Bringing irrelevant excuses to backup your points will never absolve buhari.His wrong economic policy is the cause of the present inflation and recession Nigeria is experiencing today.

Love Machine:
Bringing irrelevant excuses to backup your points will never absolve buhari.His wrong economic policy is the cause of the present inflation and recession Nigeria is experiencing today.

You maybe right as I am not seeing any works done by his ministers or economic team to ease the hardships but we all know that the Nigeria government depend lots on oil and now that it's fallen in price, the effect is still a score point for the recession, if not the major score point.

You can read in the article where the Venezuelan president did more to put the country on the success scale in the world economy when the oil price was within and above $100, but now that the oil has fallen, you can see the effect on the government.
NB: I am not excluding bad leadership but focusing on the effect of the oil price drop.

stop making excuses. we knew oil prices had crashed and we need diversification. wat action or policy has d dullard brought forward. none.

Dongreat:


You maybe right as I am not seeing any works done by his ministers or economic team to ease the hardships but we all know that the Nigeria government depend lots on oil and now that it's fallen in price, the effect is still a score point for the recession, if not the major score point.

You can read in the article where the Venezuelan president did more to put the country on the success scale in the world economy when the oil price was within and above $100, but now that the oil has fallen, you can see the effect on the government.
NB: I am not excluding bad leadership but focusing on the effect of the oil price drop.

I have addressed this comparison to Venezuela in previous posts. Venezuela was in recession long before the oil price crash:

If there were an award for the messiest year in Latin America, Venezuela would win it by a landslide. Currency problems, drastic shortages and political wars marked a 2013 that began with the death of Comandante Hugo Chávez in early March. Since then, successor and current President Nicolás Maduro has been trying to carry on his legacy at any cost -- and many fear that is bringing the country close to collapse.

Whether Maduro's failing policies or the so-called “economic war” Maduro is accusing his opposition of waging are to blame, Venezuela entered a recession in 2013. GDP suffered a 0.4 percent contraction this year, according to estimates by Trading Economics. This, in a year when Venezuela dealt with 42 percent inflation, and the Venezuelan bolívar dropped 32 percent against the U.S. dollar.

http://www.ibtimes.com/venezuelas-economy-will-continue-suffer-2014-analysts-predict-further-recession-1535334

4Play:


I have addressed this comparison to Venezuela in previous posts. Venezuela was in recession long before the oil price crash:



http://www.ibtimes.com/venezuelas-economy-will-continue-suffer-2014-analysts-predict-further-recession-1535334

It's Seems you are the only one who understood this post. Recession was bound to happen when a country depends on oil in this present day world after a fall in the price of oil. Even Russia economy is in shambles now. Though the present Nigeria Government may not be helping matters by not employing proactive economic team but the oil price drop has a larger amount of blame to our present day hardship.