50 years ago, Nigeria was Refining Fuel locally

Nigeria is a country blessed with abundant natural resources, especially crude oil, which accounts for about 90% of its export earnings. However, despite its oil wealth, Nigeria remains one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world. How did this happen?

How did Nigeria go from being a regional leader in refining fuel locally to being dependent on importing petroleum products from abroad? The answer lies in the greed and inefficiency of its leaders, who have plundered the nation’s resources for their own selfish interests, while neglecting the welfare and development of the masses.

Nigeria started refining fuel locally in 1965, when it commissioned its first refinery in Port Harcourt. By 1979, Nigeria had four refineries with a combined capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, enough to meet its domestic demand and even export some surplus. However, since then, Nigeria’s refineries have suffered from mismanagement, corruption, sabotage, and lack of maintenance. As a result, they operate at a fraction of their capacity, or are shut down completely. According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria’s refineries operated at an average of 15.4% capacity utilization in 2020.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s domestic demand for petroleum products has increased over the years, as its population and economy have grown. According to the NNPC, Nigeria consumed an average of 57.44 million liters of petrol per day in 2019. To meet this demand, Nigeria has resorted to importing petroleum products from abroad, spending billions of dollars annually on fuel subsidies and importation costs. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Nigeria spent about $5.2 billion on fuel subsidies in 2019.

But today, Nigeria is shamelessly exporting crude oil and importing petroleum products. It spends billions of dollars every year on fuel subsidies and imports, while its refineries are either shut down or operating at a fraction of their capacity. Nigeria is losing money, jobs, and opportunities to grow its economy and improve its infrastructure.

How did this happen? The main reason is corruption. Nigeria’s leaders have looted the oil revenues, leaving little for investment and maintenance. They have also neglected the refineries, allowing them to decay and become obsolete. They have failed to build new ones or upgrade the existing ones. They have also sabotaged the efforts of private investors who wanted to build refineries in Nigeria.

Another reason is political instability. Nigeria has experienced several coups, civil wars, and ethnic conflicts since its independence in 1960. These have disrupted the oil sector and created insecurity and uncertainty for investors and operators. They have also led to environmental degradation and human rights violations in the oil-producing regions, where militants and activists have fought against the government and oil companies.

The result is that Nigeria is suffering from a chronic fuel increase and scarcity that affects every aspect of its society. Nigerians have to endure long queues at filling stations, frequent power outages, high transport costs, and low productivity. They also have to cope with inflation, poverty, unemployment, and poor public services.

This is unacceptable and unsustainable. Nigeria’s leaders have to wake up and take responsibility for their actions. They have to reform the oil sector and make it transparent, accountable, and efficient. They have to revive the refineries and encourage private participation. They have to diversify the economy and reduce dependence on oil. They have to invest in education, health, infrastructure, and security.

Nigeria has the potential to be a great nation, but it needs visionary and honest leaders who can harness its resources for the benefit of its people. Nigerians deserve better than what they have been getting for the past 50 years.