Let me send my congratulations to president Buhari for kickstarting a new oil drilling project in Nigeria. Sure – more oil will not save Nigeria. Yes, I do not believe that more oil will change any economic trajectory in Nigeria. The more oil Nigeria drills, the more we lose our minds. Nonetheless, I want to congratulate Nigeria and specifically the president for demonstrating one thing: Nigeria has the capacity to execute anything it truly wants to do: “Three years after its oil exploration in northern Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has flagged-off oil drilling projects in the region…at a border community between Bauchi and Gombe States…The project partner, the New Nigeria Development Company, is owned by the 19 states of Northern Nigeria.”
Three years after its oil exploration in northern Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has flagged-off oil drilling projects in the region.
The project, dubbed Kolmani Integrated Development Project, heralds the first ever oil drilling Endeavour in the northern Kolmani River II Oil Field located at a border community between Bauchi and Gombe States.
NAN reports that Buhari will perform the official ground-breaking ceremony of the Oil Prospecting Lease (OPLs) 809 and 810 at the Kolmani River II Well on Tuesday.
The project partner, the New Nigeria Development Company, is owned by the 19 states of Northern Nigeria.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, in October 2019, announced the discovery of crude oil, gas and condensate in the Kolmani River.
The speed and the efficiency which Mr President and his team have executed this project demand our commendation. You see, when we cannot build a bridge after 21 years or fix an airport after 12 years or even repair roads, it has nothing to do with capacity. Simply, it is all about political will and leadership.
IBB built Abuja from scratch in less than 5 years. Today, governors celebrate commissioning of flyovers. Ask me how many bazaars IBB would have celebrated if he was commissioning flyovers. Today, opening motorparks are big events. Ask me how many Jakande would have celebrated. My kinsman, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (RIP Ogboo), provided the foundation of modern Aladinma and Ikenegbu layout in Owerri in less than 9 months he was a governor.
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So, fellow citizens, this is a big lesson: we need political will and Mr President has demonstrated that Nigeria can do things, from fixing the refinery to the university system, only if we are truly interested. According to the BBC I monitored today, this project will bring $70 billion to Nigeria over ten years. Do not be distracted by that “chicken change”; Nigeria earned close to $742 billion between 1999 and 2020 on oil. Indeed, $70 billion may not even be enough to steal around!
Nigeria earned $741.48 billion from oil and gas between 1999 and 2000, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) declared in Abuja on Tuesday.
NEITI Executive Secretary, Ogbonnaya Orji, made the declaration at a “stakeholders’ engagement forum” on the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
NEITI had so far conducted and published 25 cycles of audit reports in the oil and gas sector, covering the period 1999 to 2020, he said.
Mr Orji said that from the reports, a total of $741.48 billion had accrued to the Nigerian government from the oil and gas sector during the period.
On this event , focus on the fact that Nigeria can execute this project (with no Shell, Chevron, or big players involved) in less than 3 years! Can we replicate the same feat in other areas? That is the message, oil or no oil.
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I watched the event live on Channels TV, and it somewhat gave the impression that Nigeria was celebrating oil drilling for the first time, which made it a lot more confusing. Nigeria? Oil? The only takeaway is that Gombe and Bauchi will join the 13% derivation band, which will improve the respective states revenues, marginally; everything else is just flat.
We have redefined governance in Nigeria, and the mediocres have managed to convince large swathes of people that everything in governance is extremely difficult to achieve, so building roads and bridges have become complicated science anyway.
We need to engage in more mentally stimulating enterprise and adventures, enough of oil here, gas here, they only make us dumber and unproductive.
It’s just when clueless blockheads decides to change the narratives to deceive the greatly illiterate populace, it all appears a miracle to construct a mere primary school blocks and mystery to construct Trunck C roads. What a mess?