Ownership And Control Of Mineral Resources Under The Shariah And Nigerian Statute. A Comparative Analysis

Most countries have conferred the power/ownership of their resources on their government, not allowing individuals to lay claim to them. This has been beneficial for international business purposes, especially in the petroleum sector and has ensured stable revenue which is then distributed amongst the individual states in the country; while some countries like the USA recognize both state and individual ownership. Associated with exploration and exploitation activities of most natural resources is environmental degradation, which puts the environment in a non-usable position. There is therefore a need to reduce the effect of these activities. With increasing Environmental damage from the international oil companies, which has not been properly addressed by the government in countries like Nigeria, individuals have began to opt for control of their resources rather than leaving them in the control of the government. This paper aims at analyzing the effect of resource ownership by the government of a state, using Nigeria as a case study and whether the Shairah rules as established in the four juristic schools of Islamic taught can avail Nigeria from the problem of resource control agitation by the people.