Podcasts · Elephant Memories History Podcast

Nigeria's 1970s Oil Boom: How Nigeria Got Rich Quick

1 Nov 2026 · 22 min · Episode 16

Champagne bottles are popping, workers salaries have doubled, people are buying brand new luxury cars, flying in private jets, and throwing money around as if it grew on trees. That was life in 1970s Nigeria shortly after its civil war. Between 1970 and 1980, Nigeria’s earnings from crude oil increased by over 5000%! Crude oil earnings skyrocketed from $500 million to $40 billion per year. The 1970s “Oil Boom” made Nigeria rich beyond its wildest dreams. Nigeria was like a lottery winner. A British TV documentary announced that “Beverly Hills had arrived in Nigeria”.

How did a country emerge from its darkest period, and enter the brightest and richest era in its history so quickly? This episode examines how Nigeria dealt with extravagant but unplanned wealth, and how oil money transformed Nigerian society for better and for worse. It created a national addiction for ostentatious living, increased corruption, politicised its military, and made its politics cut-throat. Nigeria learned that governing a rich country was harder than governing a poor one.

The episode on the publisher’s site ↗ (opens in a new tab)