It is from one of the numerous jingles of Federal Military Government of Nigeria in the mid 80's and the current trend of Energy situation in the World that i draw inspiration for this writing. Hovering just about a decade of existence; i remember the interludes within favourite evening programmes belting "Oil go finish one day...no let water pass garri ooo" serving as a kind of warning of the dire consequences of not having Oil wealth in Nigeria. As a ruby eyed young lad on the streets of Lagos, I never got to know the implications of the message that was being relayed on TV back then...nor still has millions even up to the echelon of Government today. That Oil could dry up in Nigeria does not only mean the virtual drying up of the Oil wells that was first discovered in Oloibiri Community but also that the Oil could still be there in abundance but of little economical value to anybody.The activities around it would resemble such before its discovery i.e none. To millions out there this may sound impossible after all Oil is still the major driver of the World energy but the question we should all pose is that for how long more?

 It does not take long for things and tides to change as long the clock keeps ticking. What is relevant and what is not relevant is directly proportional to time according to its economics. When the last US president invaded Iraq for its Oil wealth and to unseat a despot it had seemed the World super power would never do away with Oil as their main stay source of energy but the seating President has retort to find an alternative source to Oil especially in financing the technologies for new sources.This was confirmed by the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resouces Dr. Rilwanu Luqman in the Guardian Newspapers of 24th of July 2009 under the heading " South South govs battle FG, threatens to dump amnesty deal" with two riders... "Query Petroleum Bill, relocation of petroleum varsity and( Nigeria may cut oil production)". The bracketed rider is of main concern although the other stories are hassles borne of Oil crisis in Nigeria. In the story, Rilwanu Lukman was quoted as follows: "... the United States of America (USA) which is one of Nigeria's largest oil markets had expressed intention to go for alternative to oil and that would further affect the market, therefore, it was time for the country to diversify into agriculture and other sources of income. He appealed to the National Assembly to consider some legislation in this regard". Now for a minister that has had his name almost synonymous with Oil and Petroleum resources in Nigeria( considering how many times he had been that minister for numerous Government), this might have been coming late had it not been that Oil has still got about 20 years of relevance. For all the time Dr. Lukman ha(d)s been Minister for several Government of Nigeria especially between 1992-2009, he must not have missed out on one OPEC meeting mentioning Sustainable Development. A development borne out of the fact that fossil fuel is harming the Earth therefore a less harmful means of going about our daily need is required. Even if any of the Government he had served as typical did not heed his advice; it would have been recorded that he admonished them of the need for diversification of the economy.

Nigeria is in trouble with Oil wealth... as it it seems, we are in a bigger trouble without it. The first decade of independence saw the establishment invest in people who later became the drivers and managers of the economy. That might have been the point where it all went wrong. The people who were trained on Government Resources decided it better; to plough or hinge their energy and commitments into/unto individualism and not back into the sectors that they were trained for as due. It became a Rat-Race of materialism and corruption. Where Nationalism was/is required, selfish Terms and Conditions were/is applied. That is why political positions are more lucrative and fulfiling than being a teacher even though they are of equal value... i.e for servitude(service to the people). The Arab Oil Countries have been thinking of life without the "Black Gold" therefore there had been projects to develop and regenerate other sectors for almost a decade now. That is the reason why Dubai is one big destination to go and spend your money. They could afford £35 billion of Tourism related projects while the GDP of that sector is 14% for the last fiscal year. That Ghana said they will use Nigeria as an example of how not to manage Oil reources ; is sure a guarantee of them attaining all what Nigeria had in 49 years in just 5-6 years! Meanwhile, the new technologies and the new sources of energy could just be what Nigeria require to break the daily hoodoo of Power outages. For if Solar becomes an affordable source in future, Nigerians would not require the National Grid or any power holding company to light up their World...Thank God the Sun can not be claimed as a regional property!

Robot  # 1 | 30.07.2009 09:29

It is from one of the numerous jingles of Federal Military Government of Nigeria in the mid 80's and the current trend of Energy situation in the World that i draw inspiration for this writing. Hovering just about a decade of existence; i remember the interludes within favourite evening programmes belting "Oil go finish one day...no let water pass garri ooo" serving as a kind of warning of the dire consequences of not having Oil wealth in Nigeria. As a ruby eyed young lad on the streets of Lagos, I never got to know the implications of the message that was being relayed on TV back then......Read the full article.