ual growth in per capita GNP was 25.4 percent. During the worldwide economic recession of the early 1980s, the Nigerian economy declined, as the world crude oil market shrunk, and as development capital essential for expansion of domestic activities failed to be generated.
Thus, while Nigeria still had critical developmental capital needs, the country was often perceived by others as neither needing nor deserving economic assistance, because of its petrochemical resources. Therefore, the country was confronted with the problem of both providing for and financing its own economic development with little outside assistance and with significantly reduced crude oil export earnings.
These problems were exacerbated by the country's rapid population growth Nigeria has the largest and the fastest
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