The Oily Angle of Boko Haram

The following unsolicited data found its way into my phone and it helped triggered off the subject I had been contemplating upon for quite some time now. It is about our petroleum. Nigeria’s “crude oil production is 2.5 million barrels per day, currently selling at $113 per barrel with a daily sales of $282.5 million and monthly sales of $8.475 billion and annual sales of $101.7 billion , which naira equivalent using an exchange rate of N160 for a dollar, translates to N 16.272 trillion naira per year. Compared to the country’s 2012 budget of N 4.5 trillion, there is a surplus of about N 11 trillion naira.” The message asked: “where is the surplus going?” It also reminded me that the Customs, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Port Authority, the NAFDAC, Corporate Affairs Commission, PHCN and so on, are generating huge amount of revenue to the country annually.” Meaning, that our government is not telling us the truth about our true annual income from all sources of our revenue generation. Whoever sent the message wanted me to disseminate it to other Nigerians so we could fight for our freedom from economic and political bondage. Well, I confess that I have always been suspicious of the unwholesome handling of the wealth of this country and I also know that this has been so since after the civil war of 1967 to 1970. In effect, since 1972 to date, successive government have been playing games with our oil income and all published statistics or figures, whether by the NNPC, the federal government or the Central Bank of Nigeria are numeral concoctions and are nothing related to the true amount of incomes or expenditures of the country. As a result of the rising increase of oil production, there has also been a steady rise of oil theft both onshore and offshore as well as from sales money and the treasury. The truth is that no one can boast of knowing how much crude oil we produce per day, except the foreign explorers and managers of our oil. Even if there are Nigerian petroleum engineers who have the know-how to tell the exact amount of crude oil we produce, they lack the technological equipment to do it as the imported ones could be programmed to record whatever figures fed into it by their designers or manufactures. The result is that we are all at sea as to how much oil we produce and how much income we make out it. The question is: how come that Nigerians have failed to ask the question: where is the surplus going – until now? Each time the government demurs on the demands of the Nigeria Labour Congress or any of its articulate affiliates such as NMA, ASUU, etc, one expect that agitators will roll out figures to show why government could afford to pay a more reasonable minimum wage or enhanced allowances for the workers or finance a good welfare package for the elderly, the sick or the unemployed Nigerians – from our oil revenue! What has been responsible for this mute and lame reaction of Nigerians until now? Was it lack of information, or non-dissemination of information? Someone believes that Nigerians are pathological cowards, perpetually afraid to confront situations, especially where security agencies could be let loose by the government to deal with protesters. The example of the Arab Springs may be responsible for this latter-day awareness, but are we united enough to challenge our government to come out clean and disclose the facts of our oil incomes? If oil is not accursed then Nigeria must be because the oily mess in which the country finds itself is inexplicable. Someone who looks or sound like a sage told me some cranky story of oil finds in the North – East which he claimed is, the cause of Boko Haram uprising in Maiduguri. According to him, Northern leaders having known of the large Petroleum deposits in the North – East, have designed the Boko Haram to eject other Nigerians from the North and declare their own republic where they will have the whole oil to themselves and not share anything with other Nigerians. As if this story line is not incredible enough, he asserted that the oil find and the refinery newly built in Niger Republic are owned or financed by wealthy Northern Nigerians who made their money through the oil blocks granted them or by the theft of oil revenue while in government. He concluded that Northerners have helped themselves to the Niger – Delta oil but now want to monopolize their own through insurgency or even secession. On this score, I am again at sea as to why anyone would think like this if Nigerians regard themselves as one people with one destiny. But what if the story turned out to be true? If it is rue that oil of commercial quantity had been discovered in the North, why has the NNPC not involved either in its discovery or even in its announcement? Was the discovery a project of the Federal government or that of the 19 Northern States? As with the Niger – Delta oil, this Northern oil if it is truly discovered is bound to bring its own curse if refined with sectarian motive. By the way, is it only oil that gives a country good revenue? Is there no country in the world that has no oil, yet is rich and prosperous? Why are we all so obsessed with oil as if there is no life without it? Is Nigeria and petroleum jinxed? Minus oil, Nigeria has other resources no one is interested in developing. Almost every minister of Steel went there to despoil the iron and steel industry yet; Nigerians are not asking why our steel industry has refused to grow. If the oil find in the North is true, is Boko Haram the means by which they want to achieve resource control? Speculations, endless speculations are one of the symptoms of a belligerent polity and the only wise prescription is an open conference where all the issues could be discussed. However, those who may have a lot to hide do not want a conference and those who want to talk are not granted the right forum to do so. In the end, it seems to me that those who are serious in the struggle for self determination will have to do more than rhetoric to achieve their desires. I do not know what each ethnic nation, or region wants but whatever it is, could we not go about looking for it without a fight? This oil palaver is getting messier by the day and is capable of putting asunder what it did not joined together. What an oily mess!