From the ECA, the federal government withdrew $1bn in 2011 as seed capital to commence the nation’s SWF after the creation of the NSIA. These initiatives, in the argument of the 36 state governments, violate section 162 of the Constitution, hence their case in court.

Nigeria’s SWF as currently managed by the NSIA is made up of 3 components: Stabilization Fund (SF), Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF) and Future Generations Fund (FGF) with initial capital of $200m, $400m and $400m respectively. While the SF is to provide buffer for future budget deficits occasioned by oil price volatility, the NIF is to fund the nation’s wide infrastructure needs and FG a kind of insurance against possible gloom that may befall any future generations not lucky to have ‘petro-dollars’ dug from their soil. Oil is a non-renewable resource.

It is also worth noting that the global geography and politics of fossil fuel, as well as the discovery of large deposits of shale oil in previously high oil-importer-nations add to the volatility of international oil price, and the susceptibility of economies like Nigeria’s which is highly dependent on oil revenue.

It will amount to eating up the future and retarding efforts at creating steady development, if today’s excess income are spent and not invested; given the precariousness of our economic and demographic sustainability.

Our SWF has not done badly. In its first year of operation the NSIA declared a profit of N525m in its 2012/2013 Annual Report. Its strategic investments for development especially through the NIF are commendable. There is the N1.6bn investment in partnership with the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company to augment the primary mortgage market, and improve Nigerians’ chance of owing their own homes.

Other notable partnerships have been created by the NSIA with private and public sector giants like Guarantco, KfW, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, General Electric, Julius Berger and the International Finance Corporation; with commitments running into millions of dollar to develop, finance and implement infrastructure projects in areas of housing, healthcare, transport, power and gas. Little wonder Uche Orji, NSIA’s chief executive officer was considered by the Milken Institute to deliver a speech on “investing in national development through SWFs” at the 2014 Global Conference of the institute in Los Angeles last April.

NSIA also has a record of international approvals to its credit. The SWFI’s Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index Ratings for SWFs recently upgraded NSIA to a 9 from a score of 4 at its 2014 second quarter results. This was credence of some sort to earlier awards won by NSIA such as: CEO Magazine’s 2014 “Most Innovative Sovereign Wealth Fund in the World”; Africa Investor Magazine’s 2013 “African Sovereign Wealth Fund of the Year”; and its recent admission into the International Working Group of SWFs.