Mr. Speaker, last month, or two months ago, I think, Nigeria became the biggest economy in Africa, essentially because of its natural resources. The population is in fact 135 million inhabitants, maybe more. It is therefore a large country.
On the first question I was asked, that is right, I was there three years ago and I went back to Abuja, the capital, where things are fine. Once you leave the capital, however, you see the reality, probably not just in Nigeria but in a number of countries in Africa. There is absolutely unbelievable inequality. There are houses that are virtual castles, and if you go barely a half hour down the road, maybe 10 minutes, you find yourself in the middle of a slum, in unsanitary villages.
The distribution of wealth we see in Nigeria is totally unfair and unequal. This is unfortunately one of the realities of Africa. African governments will have to learn to distribute that wealth better; otherwise, the end result will be tension and it may go beyond that to armed conflicts, as we can see in some countries.
When the Canadian delegation goes there, we try to encourage a better distribution of wealth and a degree of transparency. We are not opposed to the use of those resources, but we hope they will be used well and the revenue they generate will also be used well.