This paper examines the impact of natural resources, particularly oil and minerals, on economic growth and institutional quality, using Nigeria as a case study. The authors find that natural resources, especially oil, have a negative and nonlinear impact on growth by impairing institutional quality. They argue that Nigeria's poor economic performance is largely due to the waste and corruption resulting from oil revenues rather than the Dutch disease. To address this "resource curse," the authors propose distributing the bulk of oil revenues directly to the public, which could improve institutional quality and transform the country's economics and politics. The paper also discusses the robustness of their findings and the potential challenges in implementing the proposal, emphasizing the need for a national conference to debate and implement the idea.This paper examines the impact of natural resources, particularly oil and minerals, on economic growth and institutional quality, using Nigeria as a case study. The authors find that natural resources, especially oil, have a negative and nonlinear impact on growth by impairing institutional quality. They argue that Nigeria's poor economic performance is largely due to the waste and corruption resulting from oil revenues rather than the Dutch disease. To address this "resource curse," the authors propose distributing the bulk of oil revenues directly to the public, which could improve institutional quality and transform the country's economics and politics. The paper also discusses the robustness of their findings and the potential challenges in implementing the proposal, emphasizing the need for a national conference to debate and implement the idea.