Nigeria is a victim of a self
inflicted injury. And the implication is already telling on our financial
health. Besides, the socio-political dislocation which signposts the dire state
of affairs in the country. Nigeria is said to be the poverty headquarters of
the world and such other expletives are bandied around by experts to exemplify
the gross poverty index of our country. Unemployment is on the rise by the day,
inflation is soaring by the minute, the rate of brigandage and insecurity are
escalating beyond measure. All these challenges underscore the variables of
missed opportunities in our journey to nationhood. I will explain.
According to petroleum industry
watchdogs, Nigeria lost no less than 380 billion dollars to capital flight over
the years due in part to weak policy direction, absence of a legal regime, none
availability of infrastructure and of course because of paucity of ideas,
docility on the part of managers, ineptitude, corruption etc in the petroleum
industry.
Every year, it is estimated that
the country loses between 18 and 20 billion dollars to foreign outfits playing
complimentary roles in the oil and gas industry while Nigerian companies are
conscripted to play in the lower league where the income is meagre. These
monies are earmarked for contractual obligations in the oil and industry. More
often than not foreign companies adequately funded by offshore lending
institutions take advantage of this lacuna by freighting away these
petro-dollars on a platter of gold. Angola and Norway were more strategic in
their approach in developing local capacity and in dealing with IOCs. We were
more interested in rent seeking and taxation than harnessing the harvest of
opportunities therein.
What that meant was that there
were no regulatory frameworks to checkmate the activities of the international
oil companies. Bear in mind that the operations of these agencies are often
shrouded in opacity and secrecy. You may want to read Greg Palast's Vultures'
Picnic--in pursuit of petroleum pigs, power pirates, and high finance
carnivores. It will give you a glimpse into the sleaze and underhand deals in
the oil and gas industry. Or you may want watch a film titled, the seven
sisters. That's not our focus here though.
Our local content policy for the
most part was restricted to creating employment opportunities for Nigerians
within the alotted five per cent equity participation and nothing more. This
policy obviously undermined the nation's ability to grow its capacity in the
industry.
There is however, a general
consensus of opinion among key players and analysts that Nigeria's oil and gas
industry is on the verge of a revival. It has received the needed impetus to
chart a new course for itself. With the emergence of the local content policy
direction, the nation has put in place structures for a more robust, imperative
and determined role playing mechanism aimed at transforming the energy sector.
This development was a precursor to the enactment and the subsequent signing of
the Nigerian oil and gas industry content development Act 2010 by Dr. Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan (GCFR). Although the journey began in 1999 when Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo presented the bill to the senate but it was President Goodluck
Jonathan who gave vent to the policy.
The paradgm shift marked a
turning point in the exploration, exploitation and production of oil in
Nigeria. This renewed vigour and vitality is anchored on the establishment of
the Nigerian oil and gas Local Content Development and Monitoring Board which
is a product of the 2010 Act. The coming into existence of the organization auspicates
a new dawn in the petroleum sector.
An industry hitherto weighed
down by weak, mediocre and irresolute policy and legal regime suddenly woke up
to its responsibilities. The shift gave Nigeria a head start in the global
energy market. The country, no doubt lost great opportunities for developing
local capacity and expertise in an industry. Meanwhile, the global market has
become more competitive as a result of the discovery of crude oil in several
African countries such as Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe,
Sierra Leone. Tunisia, Algeria, Libya etc. Our case was made more precarious
because the global demand for oil has nosedived as the prices of crude crash
from time to time.
The NOGICDA 2010, has the three
material parts through which it intends to achieve its aim and objectives of an
all inclusive industry. These provisions are Nigerian content, NCDMB and
financial provision to starters to meet contractual needs where they lack the
necessary capital outlay to execute contracts awarded to them. One of the
cardinal objectives of the body is to ensure technology is transferred to
Nigeria through the different joint ventures involving Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation. The Ninians Content Development and Monitoring Board is
saddled with the responsibility of guiding, monitoring, coordinating and
implementing the provisions of the Act. It also grants permits, certifications
and approvals at virtually every phrase of contract executions, among other
strategic duties to enhance the operations of the iocs. It is important to note
that the citizens of Bayelsa State and indeed the Niger Delta region must take
advantage of this opportunity by honing their skills and developing their
intellectual capacities in various aspects of the oil and gas industry,
otherwise they may be sidelined in the scheme of things. Unfortunately, we
gathered that there is no Bayelsa student on admission list of the maritime
university, Okerenkoko, Delta State. That is a great deficit for the state. If
we are not training aeronautical engineers, marine engineers, captains and
pilots and experts in the maritime environment how do we compete effectively
for a place in the oil industry? Our youths must make themselves available for
training so as to fit into every available space.
Now lawyers, architects, doctors,
pharmacists and other professionals are equally in great demand to fulfill the
aspirations of the body. One would also expect service providers like those in
the hospitality industry in Yenagoa to improve on their services as a result of
influx of ioc employees on transit to the state with the purpose of interface
with NCDMB.
Dr. Pereowei Submission, one of
Nigeria's erudite legal scholars an expert in petroleum law stated at a lecture
recently that the Nigerian Local Content Act has become a model transplanted by
other African country because of its rich provisions. It is not enough to have
good laws to regulate the operations of industry; efforts must be made to
implement its provisions. The need for Nigeria to design measures aimed at
controlling the extractive industry cannot be over emphasized if we are to
harness all the benefits accruable to the nation. It is imperative we do this
now with all sincerity of purpose afterall the lifespan of our oil industry is
dated and short. It may come to an end sooner than we expect. But the negative
impact of oil exploration will be with us for a pretty long time. Let's make
hay while the sun shines.
This is my stand
Thomas Ebikabowei Peretu
A social commentator and political
analyst