Sonatrach is the Algerian version of the Nigerian NNPC. There was a time in Algerian Hydrocarbon history when Sonatrach was the most powerful institution in Algeria, more powerful than the government and more powerful than the entire nation-state of Algeria. It was the ogidigan, the god of the political and electoral process and the supreme overseer of the nation's revenue sources. Then, suddenly, the hammer fell. And a king who knows no Joseph came into office; powerfully armed, and dismantled Sonatrach. That's not the end of the story.
The President and CEO of Sonatrach, his son and some of the top management staffers were SUCCESSFULLY PROSECUTED and sent to jail.
Today, Sonatrach is the best-run State-owned petrochemical entity in Africa and throughout the developing world. It has investments in Africa, South America and in South East Asia, partnering with sovereign nations and IOCs.
Yes, I'm talking about a state-owned oil company of an African nation. How many times have we dismantled NNPC in recent years? Several times. Is there any evidence to that on the ground with respect to performance and accountability? On paper, yes. But not in reality.
NNPC on its part is also investing. It has expended extensively millions of dollars searching for crude oil deposits in Sokoto and around the Chad Basin, the same Chad Basin that Professor Jubril Aminu, as the Petroleum Minister, dissipated uncontrollably, our hard-earned foreign exchange, executing a futile mission in the name of searching for crude oil deposits.
Today, those who are in a position to talk or protest loud about the shortage of Petroleum products are in whispering mode - not talking or protesting. Because, in the opinion of a friend, those complaining about bigotry and bigotry related conducts are more likely to be accused of bigotry in Nigeria, than those who are actually bigotry personified. Here is a good example.
If for instance the former Governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliu, as the President or Chairman of the northern governor's forum is reported telling the press that he is going to instruct northern Senators and House of Representative members to suspend actions on the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), until they (Governors) conference with experts on how the section relating to "Host Fund" would impact the interest of the northern region, he would be considered "just doing his job."
But, if one Alex is to blog about the Governor's divisive position and condemning it at the same time, he is automatically a bigot - he doesn't like northerners. And each time his name appears for screening for any federal government job, he can kiss the job bye-bye.
In Nigeria, it is politically incorrect to mention any region in your essay appearing in the public domain, irrespective of the premise of the usage or application. That's our reality. The fear, the resentment, and the subsequent rejection of the bold, the visionary, and the creative thinkers in our public service, especially in a land full of unfulfilled promises are real. And it must be rejected.
These three states in Nigeria, Imo, Edo, and Ogun, each of them graduates more lawyers every year than the nation-state of Algeria. While Algeria has one of the finest hydrocarbon law in the developing world (I wrote a term paper on it in my "International Petroleum and Comparative Law" Class in graduate school), on the other hand, Nigeria, with a massive reservoir of first-class legal titans cannot package an Energy Legislation in close to twenty years.
The Nigerian PIB has undergone a series of calibrations and dilutions, and more than fifteen years later, it is yet to be passed into law, because of one Section: the Host Community Fund.
The host community fund, covered under Section 10, demands of IOCs and domestic companies engage in exploratory activities in the Niger Delta to set aside 10% of their net income for the host communities for ecological disasters and catastrophic occurrences.
The last time the Bill came up for hearing, some members of the National Assembly, expanded the definition for "host community" and gave it a convoluted definition for the purpose of benefiting regions or States that are not in any shape or form within close proximity to the Niger Delta. So, if a gas pipeline or crude oil pipeline passes through your backyard (e.g Kaduna or Kogi State) you are automatically a "Host Community State" whether or not your region or community is within close proximity to gas flaring or exploratory activities. Bizarre? Yes, sure bizarre. What's under threat here is peaceful investments climate in the Niger Delta, followed by curtailment in revenue streams into the Federation Account.
(You will find the political factors inhibiting the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into Law in my published essay on the website of the NigeriaVillageSquare. It is also available on my blog).
(You will find the political factors inhibiting the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into Law in my published essay on the website of the NigeriaVillageSquare. It is also available on my blog).
If you think you're punishing the people of the Niger Delta by refusing to expedite the process on PIB, think again. Maybe the ongoing fuel shortage or hoarding is compelling enough for a rethink within the rank and file of the northern political leaders sitting on the passage of the Bill. Quote me: they are. I have records of all their comments each time the bill is tabled for hearing.
Finally, if Mr. President, as the Minister of Petroleum Resources as well as his DPR team didn't see the shortage or hoarding coming and were not proactive enough to develop a robust standby strategic action package to overcome the known shenanigans of the so-called saboteurs and marketers, knowing fully well that it is a yearly occurrence, I don't see any reason why the Minister of Petroleum Resources must continue on the job. Same applies to the entire executive team of the regulatory department.
Let's have a fresh start, Mr. President. We cannot continue every year doing the same thing, embarking on haphazard remedial measures after the damage has been done and expect Nigerians to be happy.
You need a new attitude, a new start, and new warriors conversant with the emerging trends in the petroleum and gas industry. I can run the compliance and regulatory department for you and for my country smoothly and disaster-free, much much better than what you have seen so far in DPR. Yes, I am putting my specialization and hands-on training on the line - licensing, permitting and regulatory compliance.
It is more than knowing the laws, it requires having a firm grasp of the facts on the streets coupled with audacity and the abilities to confront the so-called saboteur pound for pound and flesh for flesh proactively in the game they play. Learn from President Obama, you take the fight to the bedroom of your adversaries, not snippets of press releases.
You have been promoting from within in the energy sector, without appreciable results. I humbly recommend you step out of the cliques of the usual suspects to breathe life into a national oil behemoth that is now more celebrated for wastage and embezzlement of public funds than in developing new mechanisms and new attitudes for surmounting the age-old hoarding and artificial shortfalls of petroleum products prevalent during the yuletide. I beg to submit.
Merry Christmas, once again. Mr. President.
