news

Niger

Followers

Showing posts with label Niger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Niger. Show all posts

Niger Delta Group Seeks EFCC’s Intervention in Tackling Oil Theft

Niger Delta Group Seeks EFCC’s Intervention in Tackling Oil Theft






The Community Development Committees (CDC) of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas have called for a more direct intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in tackling the scourge of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.


The group made the call on Tuesday, February 13 when its Board of Trustees, led by the Chairman, Joseph Ambakederimo paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede at the corporate headquarters of the Commission.


Ambakederimo noted that oil theft in the Niger Delta has caused huge disruption to the country’s economic forecasts and negatively impacted the national economy.


“Oil theft and vandalization of oil infrastructure are issues of economic sabotage and a threat to national security. The EFCC is empowered by law to deal with economic saboteurs. We urge the Commission to give adequate attention to this threat to our environment in the Niger Delta and the economic sabotage of our country by adopting preventive measures and diligent prosecution of culprits”,  he said.


 He decried the involvement of oil-producing communities in oil theft, stressing that a national conference may be needed to address the issue. “Community involvement in oil theft should be a cause for worry to every patriotic Nigerian. The complicity and conspiracy of silence by well-meaning individuals is even more troubling. This menace at some point affects everyone. We advocate for a more robust national discourse on this existential threat of our time,” he said.


Responding, the EFCC boss who spoke through the Commission’s Secretary, Mr Mohammad Hammajoda praised the initiative of the group and assured the delegation of the Commission’s collaboration with all relevant agencies of government and non-state actors to bring the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism to an end.


“We highly appreciate your presence. This is an important engagement towards finding a solution to the scourge of oil theft and vandalization of oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta region. Apart from the fact that oil theft has made it difficult over the years for us as a country to meet up with our OPEC production quota, and by extension diminish the revenue we ought to make from crude oil sales for national development, the menace often comes with the evil of pipeline vandalism, which in several cases leaves a huge toll of environmental pollution, manifesting in the destruction of marine economy, farmlands and everything in the ecosystem, including human lives”, he said.


He further stated that, “arresting the tide of oil theft is at the core of what we do in the Commission in nearly all the zonal commands in the southern part of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta. I give you my assurance that we will collaborate with your organization for the sake of our country, our generation and posterity”.


Source; EFCC






The Community Development Committees (CDC) of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas have called for a more direct intervention of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in tackling the scourge of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta region.


The group made the call on Tuesday, February 13 when its Board of Trustees, led by the Chairman, Joseph Ambakederimo paid a courtesy visit to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ola Olukoyede at the corporate headquarters of the Commission.


Ambakederimo noted that oil theft in the Niger Delta has caused huge disruption to the country’s economic forecasts and negatively impacted the national economy.


“Oil theft and vandalization of oil infrastructure are issues of economic sabotage and a threat to national security. The EFCC is empowered by law to deal with economic saboteurs. We urge the Commission to give adequate attention to this threat to our environment in the Niger Delta and the economic sabotage of our country by adopting preventive measures and diligent prosecution of culprits”,  he said.


 He decried the involvement of oil-producing communities in oil theft, stressing that a national conference may be needed to address the issue. “Community involvement in oil theft should be a cause for worry to every patriotic Nigerian. The complicity and conspiracy of silence by well-meaning individuals is even more troubling. This menace at some point affects everyone. We advocate for a more robust national discourse on this existential threat of our time,” he said.


Responding, the EFCC boss who spoke through the Commission’s Secretary, Mr Mohammad Hammajoda praised the initiative of the group and assured the delegation of the Commission’s collaboration with all relevant agencies of government and non-state actors to bring the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism to an end.


“We highly appreciate your presence. This is an important engagement towards finding a solution to the scourge of oil theft and vandalization of oil and gas infrastructure in the Niger Delta region. Apart from the fact that oil theft has made it difficult over the years for us as a country to meet up with our OPEC production quota, and by extension diminish the revenue we ought to make from crude oil sales for national development, the menace often comes with the evil of pipeline vandalism, which in several cases leaves a huge toll of environmental pollution, manifesting in the destruction of marine economy, farmlands and everything in the ecosystem, including human lives”, he said.


He further stated that, “arresting the tide of oil theft is at the core of what we do in the Commission in nearly all the zonal commands in the southern part of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta. I give you my assurance that we will collaborate with your organization for the sake of our country, our generation and posterity”.


Source; EFCC

Kolmani Oil Discovery: What it means Ahmed Adamu, PhD

Kolmani Oil Discovery: What it means Ahmed Adamu, PhD

Some Nigerians had some euphoria as the game-changing oil and gas discovery in Kolmani, a Northern Nigerian area, was announced. It is the first Northern Nigerian proven petroleum reserve, sixty-six years after petroleum discovery in southern Nigeria. "What does this discovery mean to us as Nigerians and northerners," someone from the north called and asked me.


An estimated proven reserve of 1 billion barrels of crude oil and 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas were found in an oil field that straddles Bauchi and Gombe states, known as the Kolmani oil field. The commercial quantity of the oil reserve in this area could increase in the future. 


Anywhere oil is found in Nigeria belongs to the federation. The only benefits to the host community are the 3% of the oil operating cost in the area from the preceding year and the constitutional 13% derivation funds to the state government. The new oil-rich states will benefit from these two sources.


The 3% is only for the oil-bearing communities; other non-oil-bearing communities will not benefit from it. At the same time, 13% of all the revenue generated from the oil produced in the state will go to the state government. Oil-producing states and their host communities could get more than N100 billion in a year from these two sources alone. 


Other extended benefits to the new oil-rich states could be direct jobs for high, medium, and small-skilled labor. Already some Indian oil companies have shown interest in becoming partners in developing the onshore Kolmani oil fields. 


Onshore oil production in Nigeria, like the Kolmani field, is not attractive to major oil-producing companies. The five major oil companies operating in Nigeria are divesting from onshore and shallow water oil fields despite the recent reduction in taxes and royalties in the PIA. Oil companies prefer deep water oil production to avoid hostilities from restiveness, vandalism, and insecurity associated with the onshore oil production areas. 


Because of what is stated in the PIA relating to the 3% for host communities, the Kolmani oil production should not experience restiveness and vandalism. The PIA said, "In any year where an act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest occurs which causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host communities, the community will forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the cost of repairs". Host communities' benefits are now tied to the smooth running of the oil production in their area.


NNPC limited will be the Kolmani oil and gas concessionaire and will lift Nigeria's profit oil and gas from the oil field and transfer the proceeds to the Nigerian Petroleum Upstream commission after deducting its service cost. However, the profit oil could only be derived after cost recovery by the developers of the field, known as contractors. 


The New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) is the lease owner for petroleum mining on the field. But, could NNDC be able to develop this new oil field? No. NNDC may not have the technical and financial readiness to develop the Kolmani field yet. Therefore, oil companies must be contracted to spend millions of dollars and provide technical expertise to develop the area. 


There will not be a profit oil and gas from the field until after some years of production to allow the contractors to recover their cost, but this depends on the oil price and contract agreements. Mainly the cost incurred by the contractor in developing the field is amortized and may take up to the first five years of production, and then the profit sharing will start. This is to allow the operators to recover their costs of development. The government will transfer the exploration costs to the operator, which will add to the total cost of oil. 


The only money that will be accruing to the federation account in the early years of production will be the royalty crude and hydrocarbon taxes (only if there is a profit), which are 15% and 30% of the crude oil produced, respectively. It could take between five to ten years to develop the field. So, any financial benefits will be after developing the area. 


Would the focus be on developing crude oil only or both crude oil and gas? Natural gas has far-reaching economic benefits, but developing it is more expensive. With the ongoing gas pipeline projects, there could be more gas supply from this field which will help industrial growth in the country. 


Now, some states will begin to suspect their possible oil and gas reserves. We can now conclude that every part of Nigeria has a possible oil and gas reserve. With the first oil discovery in the north and with the creation of the Frontier Exploration Funds, more exploration will be undertaken in the north. The Frontier Exploration Fund is funded by 30% of the NNPC Limited profit oil and gas and 10% of all rents on petroleum licenses and leases. 


Many states are facing debt and development issues and might wish to have more control and access to the natural resources in their states to fix their problems. More oil, gas, and other natural resources could be harnessed when state governments are given the right to control those resources. States will maximize their potential resources to outcompete each other. 


In the event of states' resource control, people ask, how could border states handle shared oil and gas fields that cross their borders? Just like the Kolmani oil and gas field, which straddles across Gombe and Bauchi states. Any state that produces more at the border areas may draw more oil from the neighboring state. So, who drills first captures the oil.


 To avoid over-production and damage to the environment at the border areas, the neighboring states should unify the oil field, appoint a single operator, and share the profit based on where the field lies in relation to the boundary. State governments in a geo-political zone could undertake this kind of unification. 


Even after states' resource control, further oil explorations will continue to search for more oil and gas reserves in the states that do not confirm their petroleum deposits yet. So, non-oil-producing states could become oil producers eventually. 


With oil fading away and growing restrictions on the use of fossil fuels, we can maximize the utilization of our endowed petroleum resources to build infrastructure and the economy and fund alternative energy sources and consumption. 


Finally, more oil reserves without growing and functioning refineries will not make any difference. The focus should be on functioning and adequate refineries locally to stop importing refined petroleum. Imported refined petroleum is the biggest bill in our import basket. Having local refineries will help restore the value of our exchange rates. Government refineries must be privatized as soon as possible, and modular refineries should be encouraged to grow their efficiencies and capacities. So, the discovery of oil and gas in the Kolmani area is not a given benefit; it is a potential benefit, so celebrate not yet. 


Ahmed Adamu, PhD

Petroleum Economist

[email protected]



SPONSORED ADS 👇👇








SPONSORED ADS 👇👇

A1 PREMIER MODEL ACADEMY LTD, OSOGBO, OSUN STATE



Excellent, our choice!!!






Some Nigerians had some euphoria as the game-changing oil and gas discovery in Kolmani, a Northern Nigerian area, was announced. It is the first Northern Nigerian proven petroleum reserve, sixty-six years after petroleum discovery in southern Nigeria. "What does this discovery mean to us as Nigerians and northerners," someone from the north called and asked me.


An estimated proven reserve of 1 billion barrels of crude oil and 500 billion cubic feet of natural gas were found in an oil field that straddles Bauchi and Gombe states, known as the Kolmani oil field. The commercial quantity of the oil reserve in this area could increase in the future. 


Anywhere oil is found in Nigeria belongs to the federation. The only benefits to the host community are the 3% of the oil operating cost in the area from the preceding year and the constitutional 13% derivation funds to the state government. The new oil-rich states will benefit from these two sources.


The 3% is only for the oil-bearing communities; other non-oil-bearing communities will not benefit from it. At the same time, 13% of all the revenue generated from the oil produced in the state will go to the state government. Oil-producing states and their host communities could get more than N100 billion in a year from these two sources alone. 


Other extended benefits to the new oil-rich states could be direct jobs for high, medium, and small-skilled labor. Already some Indian oil companies have shown interest in becoming partners in developing the onshore Kolmani oil fields. 


Onshore oil production in Nigeria, like the Kolmani field, is not attractive to major oil-producing companies. The five major oil companies operating in Nigeria are divesting from onshore and shallow water oil fields despite the recent reduction in taxes and royalties in the PIA. Oil companies prefer deep water oil production to avoid hostilities from restiveness, vandalism, and insecurity associated with the onshore oil production areas. 


Because of what is stated in the PIA relating to the 3% for host communities, the Kolmani oil production should not experience restiveness and vandalism. The PIA said, "In any year where an act of vandalism, sabotage or other civil unrest occurs which causes damage to petroleum and designated facilities or disrupts production activities within the host communities, the community will forfeit its entitlement to the extent of the cost of repairs". Host communities' benefits are now tied to the smooth running of the oil production in their area.


NNPC limited will be the Kolmani oil and gas concessionaire and will lift Nigeria's profit oil and gas from the oil field and transfer the proceeds to the Nigerian Petroleum Upstream commission after deducting its service cost. However, the profit oil could only be derived after cost recovery by the developers of the field, known as contractors. 


The New Nigeria Development Company (NNDC) is the lease owner for petroleum mining on the field. But, could NNDC be able to develop this new oil field? No. NNDC may not have the technical and financial readiness to develop the Kolmani field yet. Therefore, oil companies must be contracted to spend millions of dollars and provide technical expertise to develop the area. 


There will not be a profit oil and gas from the field until after some years of production to allow the contractors to recover their cost, but this depends on the oil price and contract agreements. Mainly the cost incurred by the contractor in developing the field is amortized and may take up to the first five years of production, and then the profit sharing will start. This is to allow the operators to recover their costs of development. The government will transfer the exploration costs to the operator, which will add to the total cost of oil. 


The only money that will be accruing to the federation account in the early years of production will be the royalty crude and hydrocarbon taxes (only if there is a profit), which are 15% and 30% of the crude oil produced, respectively. It could take between five to ten years to develop the field. So, any financial benefits will be after developing the area. 


Would the focus be on developing crude oil only or both crude oil and gas? Natural gas has far-reaching economic benefits, but developing it is more expensive. With the ongoing gas pipeline projects, there could be more gas supply from this field which will help industrial growth in the country. 


Now, some states will begin to suspect their possible oil and gas reserves. We can now conclude that every part of Nigeria has a possible oil and gas reserve. With the first oil discovery in the north and with the creation of the Frontier Exploration Funds, more exploration will be undertaken in the north. The Frontier Exploration Fund is funded by 30% of the NNPC Limited profit oil and gas and 10% of all rents on petroleum licenses and leases. 


Many states are facing debt and development issues and might wish to have more control and access to the natural resources in their states to fix their problems. More oil, gas, and other natural resources could be harnessed when state governments are given the right to control those resources. States will maximize their potential resources to outcompete each other. 


In the event of states' resource control, people ask, how could border states handle shared oil and gas fields that cross their borders? Just like the Kolmani oil and gas field, which straddles across Gombe and Bauchi states. Any state that produces more at the border areas may draw more oil from the neighboring state. So, who drills first captures the oil.


 To avoid over-production and damage to the environment at the border areas, the neighboring states should unify the oil field, appoint a single operator, and share the profit based on where the field lies in relation to the boundary. State governments in a geo-political zone could undertake this kind of unification. 


Even after states' resource control, further oil explorations will continue to search for more oil and gas reserves in the states that do not confirm their petroleum deposits yet. So, non-oil-producing states could become oil producers eventually. 


With oil fading away and growing restrictions on the use of fossil fuels, we can maximize the utilization of our endowed petroleum resources to build infrastructure and the economy and fund alternative energy sources and consumption. 


Finally, more oil reserves without growing and functioning refineries will not make any difference. The focus should be on functioning and adequate refineries locally to stop importing refined petroleum. Imported refined petroleum is the biggest bill in our import basket. Having local refineries will help restore the value of our exchange rates. Government refineries must be privatized as soon as possible, and modular refineries should be encouraged to grow their efficiencies and capacities. So, the discovery of oil and gas in the Kolmani area is not a given benefit; it is a potential benefit, so celebrate not yet. 


Ahmed Adamu, PhD

Petroleum Economist

[email protected]



SPONSORED ADS 👇👇








SPONSORED ADS 👇👇

A1 PREMIER MODEL ACADEMY LTD, OSOGBO, OSUN STATE



Excellent, our choice!!!






Bandits' invasion of NDA: Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of “armed force” in the whole wide world say Sowore

Bandits' invasion of NDA: Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of “armed force” in the whole wide world say Sowore


Following another invasion of the Nigerian army defense academy in Kaduny early hours of Tuesday by the Bandits who killed at least two Personnel while abducted at least one other Major, AAC National Chairman has said the Nigerian President Major Muhammadu Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of any “armed force” in the whole wide world. 


Omoyele Sowore who is the convener of RevolutionNow movement, presidential candidate in the 2019 general electionson the platform of African Action Congress said Buhar failed regime can't even defend the future commanders.

 

" Muhammadu Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of any “armed force” in the whole wide world. This fumbler can’t even defend his future commanders! #RevolutionNow #BuhariMustgo"




Following another invasion of the Nigerian army defense academy in Kaduny early hours of Tuesday by the Bandits who killed at least two Personnel while abducted at least one other Major, AAC National Chairman has said the Nigerian President Major Muhammadu Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of any “armed force” in the whole wide world. 


Omoyele Sowore who is the convener of RevolutionNow movement, presidential candidate in the 2019 general electionson the platform of African Action Congress said Buhar failed regime can't even defend the future commanders.

 

" Muhammadu Buhari is the most incompetent commander-in-chief of any “armed force” in the whole wide world. This fumbler can’t even defend his future commanders! #RevolutionNow #BuhariMustgo"



Muhammadu Buhari's Nigerian Presidency And His Niger Republic Development Agenda By Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

Muhammadu Buhari's Nigerian Presidency And His Niger Republic Development Agenda By Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

Buhari

Unofficial historical records claim that Muhammadu Buhari's father was a poultry farmer from Niger Republic who came to settle in Northern Nigeria and eventually married a Kanuri Muslim from today's Borno State. Muhammadu is therefore the 1st generation Nigeria citizen from the Buhari lineage. 


What a privilege for him to have become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria within a generation! A parallel of some sort between Buhari and Obama! Though Obama visited Kenya a couple of times as the sitting president of the United States of America, that was at his personal cost. We are talking about a federation where things work; a place where the president is a tenant in the White House and must pay his rent; a facility where his wife as the first lady is the CEO of their official residence, while their constitutional occupation lasts. But our own Nigerian federation spends more money on cutlery for the Villa in a year than we do on any of our federal universities in a year. Our own presidents are a burden to the Villa, adding no value to its maintenance.

 

The sojourn of young athletic Muhammadu in Nigeria was dotted with favour. In the past joining the military was not fashionable among young men of d Southern extraction, let alone women. Majority of Southern Nigerian youths were more attracted to the academia, the civil service and the corporate sector. So, young immigrants in the North from Chad, Niger, Sudan and Cameroon had practically no competition from their Southern counterparts.


Muhammadu Buhari, thus had a rewarding career in the army. He became the governor of the old North Eastern state at age 33 in 1975. This is the average age of some peaceful protesters on whom the army turned the gun at Lekki Toll Gate recently and recorded painful and embarrassing massacre of the 21st century. Buhari went on to become the Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources in 1976 at the age of 34 and within a spate of one year, young Muhammadu has seen it all as governor and a Federal commissioner of Petroleum Resources. 


44years down the line, the youth of that age lined up the streets to protest police brutality tagged: *#EndSARS* as well as bad administration.


Buhari's emergence as head of state was dramatic. Himself and his gang in khaki aborted our 2nd Republic and sent to jail politicians of the Southern descent under spurious allegations, while their Northern counterparts found solace in the comfort of their homes where they were under house arrest for the same nature of offences for which most of the Southern politicians eventually died in jail due to the harsh and inhumane conditions of our prisons.


His reign was an allegory; seen but hardly heard of. His 2-i-C, Major Gen. Tunde Idiagbon held the show and ran it. Little wonder that the young man Sabiu *Tunde* Yusuf from Daura who is serving as his personal assistant and private secretary had the name Tunde added to his name. This second Tunde is so relevant and influential in the running of Muhammadu Buhari's government that the mighty and powerful defer to him, while the arrogant sojourners in the corridors of power kowtow him. But this is another story for another day.


Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon had one thing in common. They were pious Muslims with a leaning on fundamentalism. With Islamic jurisprudence guided decrees drafted and promulgated under them as head of state and Chief of Staff Supreme Military Headquarters respectively, they were indeed supreme in power. They were so rigid with the implementation of draconian decrees till the liberals in the army who were also Muslims saw the need to step in and allay the fears of Christians in the country who were already feeling uncomfortable. The distrust of the Muslim North in Babangida who overthrew a trusted ambassador of Islam led to Babagida's decisions to haul Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to regain the confidence of the North.


Buhari's eventual release was an eye opener to him. The challenges of the poor masses of his community, who run to him on daily basis for assistance was a burden for which he sought power to be able to help them. Buhari's integrity in this regard is a top notch. He never hid this fact. 


He often said: *I am seeking a democratic power to help my people*


He made successive attempts to make good his promise to gain power and better the lot of his people.


After recording serial failures, he finally retired to fate but not without recording a consistent 11 million voters who wanted him to be their democratically elected president, majority of whom are Northern Muslims.  


Starring the nation in the face was his alleged cronyism, nepotism and bigotry. It was so bad that his Christian cook who is an Igbo man became a campaign model, as if cooks are critical stakeholders of executive decisions. Nigerians now know better.


Thus in 2014 when Bola Ahmed Tinubu was looking for a way to oust PDP, a Northern candidate was relied upon to do the magic, projecting to take over from such a person. The 11 million electoral value of Muhammadu Buhari fanned his political greed which is today is his albatross.


Where the heart of a man is, there will his treasure be invested. If Buhari were a musician he would have sang *The Song of Maradi* as Peter Tosh did of Jamaica. 


If told that Buhari's umbilical cord was possibly buried in Maradi, many will not doubt it. His preference for Niger to Nigeria first became an open threat to every concerned Nigerian in Kano when two governors from the Niger Republic graced his presidential campaign. Buhari of course won the 2019 election. Since then all roads and rails lead to Maradi, Niger Republic. 


The rail construction to Niger was an executive fiat. It must be finished and commissioned by 2021, the same year the MOU for fuel importation from Niger into Nigeria will take effect. I guess your mind is as good as mine. 


Buhari is not clueless as most people believe. Adding the rail construction to the fuel importation deal signed with the Nigerian Government would tell you why the rail was extended to Niger in the first place.


Unfortunately, ours is a country where citizens are too busy ekking out a living. We have no time for the Government. Those who dare bother about happenings in government and have taken it upon themselves to keep people in government on their toes are labelled idle, lazy and even failures. But we must keep asking questions till answers are provided.


We have four refineries with a combined refining capacity of 450,000 barrels per day that are abandoned to rot away.


Niger Republic is a small landlocked country without access to any body of water; though maritime transportation could aid easy movement of products. 


Can you figure out the need for Amaechi's railway design to Niger where a refinery will *grow overnight* with a REFINING CAPACITY of just 20,000 barrels per day? Don't you think we need to ask how much was the cost of this miracle refinery that became our saving grace the same year that N81 billion was spent on ours without any head way? Yet, we abandoned our own and went to embrace Niger Republic. 


These useful idiots are unacceptable in the 21st century communication lexicon. But our country seems to me like a nation of idiots. For how else should people who don't ask questions and for whom anything goes, be described. Sadly so. An honourable minister had asked us to rejoice that our crude oil would finally be refined in Niger and the finished product would now be returned to us through the pipeline and railways options. Why shouldn't our Muslims say *Allah Akbar!* And the Christians say, *Praise the Lord!*?


Only a *god* whose dwelling place is in the desert can make a man in this 21st century sign an MoU of $2b to transport crude oil from his own country via pipelines to another to go and refine. Such *wisdom* must be premedieval; the type that saw the Hausas surrenderred their lands and thrones to the Fulani centuries ago; the same scenario that shifted the Yorubas out of their inheritance in Ilorin to give Fulani an edge; while we must submit to modernisation and allow indigenous Fulani the benefit of it. 


Shouldn't we ask questions about what would become of us when a loan taken in the name of Nigeria but used to develop facilities in another sovereign state can't be paid back? China may end up taking over facilities in Nigeria with no consequences to the Niger Republic.


There is what the Yoruba call *hot love*, the kind that abandons itself while festering the nest of others. This must be the love at work. If it is not, just maybe it's one for the place of one's nativity. I still can't fathom how we opt to transport our crude oil to Niger Republic at an outrageous cost to us and buy back the refined product at additional cost.


We have the resources to run pipelines from Niger Delta to supply crude oil to Niger Republic, but we *lack* the expertise to maintain our existing refineries which Nigeriens must have in abundance, for our lack can't be resources. Yet, we say, we elected a government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 


Daura today is the most developed village in Africa with the status of a modern city. The man who 37 years ago scuttled the hope of Lagos in joining the league of metropolitan cities with a metro line has elevated his village with less than the population of any ward in Lagos to a city, with assistance from former governors from the southern part of Nigeria - Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Timipre Sylvia of Balyesa. A money miss road government errand runners from the South East was not left out. He completed a state of the art library for a community whose youths are roaming streets across the country.


Shouldn't we ask questions? Won't Professors of History and International Relations who don't want to offend our politicians at least teach us what we need to know about how Niger discovered oil and joined the league of oil producing countries?


Our loss to Maina alone is said to be around N40 billion, but someone (Ndume) from the North stood surety for him with a property in Asokoro, worth possibly a N100 million but allegedly valued for N500 million to tally with the terms of surety. Ndume is being remanded in a correctional centre till the N500 million is provided or the house will be sold to cover the money. So what becomes of Maina and our remaining N39.5 billion?


Where is Maina? Is his ancestral root also from Niger Republic? Could he be hidden among the Sahels and Tuareg who are partners in the agenda to develop Niger Republic at the expense of Nigeria? An adage in Yoruba says, *he that asks questions doesn't get lost*. If applied, he who is lost and asks questions will surely find his way home. Nigeria is lost to Niger. There are many questions we must ask our leaders so that we can start finding our ways back to Nigeria. And that should begin with you here.

Buhari

Unofficial historical records claim that Muhammadu Buhari's father was a poultry farmer from Niger Republic who came to settle in Northern Nigeria and eventually married a Kanuri Muslim from today's Borno State. Muhammadu is therefore the 1st generation Nigeria citizen from the Buhari lineage. 


What a privilege for him to have become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria within a generation! A parallel of some sort between Buhari and Obama! Though Obama visited Kenya a couple of times as the sitting president of the United States of America, that was at his personal cost. We are talking about a federation where things work; a place where the president is a tenant in the White House and must pay his rent; a facility where his wife as the first lady is the CEO of their official residence, while their constitutional occupation lasts. But our own Nigerian federation spends more money on cutlery for the Villa in a year than we do on any of our federal universities in a year. Our own presidents are a burden to the Villa, adding no value to its maintenance.

 

The sojourn of young athletic Muhammadu in Nigeria was dotted with favour. In the past joining the military was not fashionable among young men of d Southern extraction, let alone women. Majority of Southern Nigerian youths were more attracted to the academia, the civil service and the corporate sector. So, young immigrants in the North from Chad, Niger, Sudan and Cameroon had practically no competition from their Southern counterparts.


Muhammadu Buhari, thus had a rewarding career in the army. He became the governor of the old North Eastern state at age 33 in 1975. This is the average age of some peaceful protesters on whom the army turned the gun at Lekki Toll Gate recently and recorded painful and embarrassing massacre of the 21st century. Buhari went on to become the Federal Commissioner of Petroleum Resources in 1976 at the age of 34 and within a spate of one year, young Muhammadu has seen it all as governor and a Federal commissioner of Petroleum Resources. 


44years down the line, the youth of that age lined up the streets to protest police brutality tagged: *#EndSARS* as well as bad administration.


Buhari's emergence as head of state was dramatic. Himself and his gang in khaki aborted our 2nd Republic and sent to jail politicians of the Southern descent under spurious allegations, while their Northern counterparts found solace in the comfort of their homes where they were under house arrest for the same nature of offences for which most of the Southern politicians eventually died in jail due to the harsh and inhumane conditions of our prisons.


His reign was an allegory; seen but hardly heard of. His 2-i-C, Major Gen. Tunde Idiagbon held the show and ran it. Little wonder that the young man Sabiu *Tunde* Yusuf from Daura who is serving as his personal assistant and private secretary had the name Tunde added to his name. This second Tunde is so relevant and influential in the running of Muhammadu Buhari's government that the mighty and powerful defer to him, while the arrogant sojourners in the corridors of power kowtow him. But this is another story for another day.


Muhammadu Buhari and Tunde Idiagbon had one thing in common. They were pious Muslims with a leaning on fundamentalism. With Islamic jurisprudence guided decrees drafted and promulgated under them as head of state and Chief of Staff Supreme Military Headquarters respectively, they were indeed supreme in power. They were so rigid with the implementation of draconian decrees till the liberals in the army who were also Muslims saw the need to step in and allay the fears of Christians in the country who were already feeling uncomfortable. The distrust of the Muslim North in Babangida who overthrew a trusted ambassador of Islam led to Babagida's decisions to haul Nigeria into the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) to regain the confidence of the North.


Buhari's eventual release was an eye opener to him. The challenges of the poor masses of his community, who run to him on daily basis for assistance was a burden for which he sought power to be able to help them. Buhari's integrity in this regard is a top notch. He never hid this fact. 


He often said: *I am seeking a democratic power to help my people*


He made successive attempts to make good his promise to gain power and better the lot of his people.


After recording serial failures, he finally retired to fate but not without recording a consistent 11 million voters who wanted him to be their democratically elected president, majority of whom are Northern Muslims.  


Starring the nation in the face was his alleged cronyism, nepotism and bigotry. It was so bad that his Christian cook who is an Igbo man became a campaign model, as if cooks are critical stakeholders of executive decisions. Nigerians now know better.


Thus in 2014 when Bola Ahmed Tinubu was looking for a way to oust PDP, a Northern candidate was relied upon to do the magic, projecting to take over from such a person. The 11 million electoral value of Muhammadu Buhari fanned his political greed which is today is his albatross.


Where the heart of a man is, there will his treasure be invested. If Buhari were a musician he would have sang *The Song of Maradi* as Peter Tosh did of Jamaica. 


If told that Buhari's umbilical cord was possibly buried in Maradi, many will not doubt it. His preference for Niger to Nigeria first became an open threat to every concerned Nigerian in Kano when two governors from the Niger Republic graced his presidential campaign. Buhari of course won the 2019 election. Since then all roads and rails lead to Maradi, Niger Republic. 


The rail construction to Niger was an executive fiat. It must be finished and commissioned by 2021, the same year the MOU for fuel importation from Niger into Nigeria will take effect. I guess your mind is as good as mine. 


Buhari is not clueless as most people believe. Adding the rail construction to the fuel importation deal signed with the Nigerian Government would tell you why the rail was extended to Niger in the first place.


Unfortunately, ours is a country where citizens are too busy ekking out a living. We have no time for the Government. Those who dare bother about happenings in government and have taken it upon themselves to keep people in government on their toes are labelled idle, lazy and even failures. But we must keep asking questions till answers are provided.


We have four refineries with a combined refining capacity of 450,000 barrels per day that are abandoned to rot away.


Niger Republic is a small landlocked country without access to any body of water; though maritime transportation could aid easy movement of products. 


Can you figure out the need for Amaechi's railway design to Niger where a refinery will *grow overnight* with a REFINING CAPACITY of just 20,000 barrels per day? Don't you think we need to ask how much was the cost of this miracle refinery that became our saving grace the same year that N81 billion was spent on ours without any head way? Yet, we abandoned our own and went to embrace Niger Republic. 


These useful idiots are unacceptable in the 21st century communication lexicon. But our country seems to me like a nation of idiots. For how else should people who don't ask questions and for whom anything goes, be described. Sadly so. An honourable minister had asked us to rejoice that our crude oil would finally be refined in Niger and the finished product would now be returned to us through the pipeline and railways options. Why shouldn't our Muslims say *Allah Akbar!* And the Christians say, *Praise the Lord!*?


Only a *god* whose dwelling place is in the desert can make a man in this 21st century sign an MoU of $2b to transport crude oil from his own country via pipelines to another to go and refine. Such *wisdom* must be premedieval; the type that saw the Hausas surrenderred their lands and thrones to the Fulani centuries ago; the same scenario that shifted the Yorubas out of their inheritance in Ilorin to give Fulani an edge; while we must submit to modernisation and allow indigenous Fulani the benefit of it. 


Shouldn't we ask questions about what would become of us when a loan taken in the name of Nigeria but used to develop facilities in another sovereign state can't be paid back? China may end up taking over facilities in Nigeria with no consequences to the Niger Republic.


There is what the Yoruba call *hot love*, the kind that abandons itself while festering the nest of others. This must be the love at work. If it is not, just maybe it's one for the place of one's nativity. I still can't fathom how we opt to transport our crude oil to Niger Republic at an outrageous cost to us and buy back the refined product at additional cost.


We have the resources to run pipelines from Niger Delta to supply crude oil to Niger Republic, but we *lack* the expertise to maintain our existing refineries which Nigeriens must have in abundance, for our lack can't be resources. Yet, we say, we elected a government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. 


Daura today is the most developed village in Africa with the status of a modern city. The man who 37 years ago scuttled the hope of Lagos in joining the league of metropolitan cities with a metro line has elevated his village with less than the population of any ward in Lagos to a city, with assistance from former governors from the southern part of Nigeria - Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos, Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers and Timipre Sylvia of Balyesa. A money miss road government errand runners from the South East was not left out. He completed a state of the art library for a community whose youths are roaming streets across the country.


Shouldn't we ask questions? Won't Professors of History and International Relations who don't want to offend our politicians at least teach us what we need to know about how Niger discovered oil and joined the league of oil producing countries?


Our loss to Maina alone is said to be around N40 billion, but someone (Ndume) from the North stood surety for him with a property in Asokoro, worth possibly a N100 million but allegedly valued for N500 million to tally with the terms of surety. Ndume is being remanded in a correctional centre till the N500 million is provided or the house will be sold to cover the money. So what becomes of Maina and our remaining N39.5 billion?


Where is Maina? Is his ancestral root also from Niger Republic? Could he be hidden among the Sahels and Tuareg who are partners in the agenda to develop Niger Republic at the expense of Nigeria? An adage in Yoruba says, *he that asks questions doesn't get lost*. If applied, he who is lost and asks questions will surely find his way home. Nigeria is lost to Niger. There are many questions we must ask our leaders so that we can start finding our ways back to Nigeria. And that should begin with you here.

20 killed in Niger in food distribution stampede: medical source

20 killed in Niger in food distribution stampede: medical source

Niamey (AFP) - Twenty people, many of them women and children, were trampled to death on Monday in a stampede for food and money for refugees in southeast Niger, sources said.

"We have a provisional toll of 20 dead," a medical source said. Aid workers confirmed the account and said about 10 people had been injured.

The accident occurred at a youth and culture centre in Diffa, the main town of a region of that name that abuts Nigeria and Chad.

The region has been repeatedly hit by attacks by Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadist group since 2015.

It hosts 119,000 Nigerian refugees, 109,000 internally-displaced people, and 30,000 Nigeriens who have returned to Nigeria because of instability there, according to UN figures released October.

The aid being distributed had been given by Babagana Umara Zulum, the governor of Borno state in northeast Nigeria, a Nigerian official told AFP.

He had come to the region to visit camps for refugees and the displaced, and had already left the town when the stampede occurred.

- Crowd -

"They were distributing food and money -- 5,000 naira ($13.75, 12.7 euros) per person," a local resident told AFP, referring to Nigeria's national currency.

"Thousands of people, most of them refugees, heard about the handout and left the camps, sometimes travelling up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) to get to Diffa," the source said.

A local official said he was astonished at the situation. "Normally, people who are entitled to the handouts send a representative to Diffa to pick it up. But this time, the refugees themselves decided to come and get it, travelling dozens of kilometres (miles)."

Another resident said: "Even ordinary inhabitants of Diffa rushed there in the hope of getting the handout."

A large amount of food, cooking oil and clothing, as well as the money, was due to be distributed, a Diffa municipal worker told AFP.

"Thousands of people were in the courtyard of the MJC (Culture and Youth Centre) and nearby," he said. Read More
Niamey (AFP) - Twenty people, many of them women and children, were trampled to death on Monday in a stampede for food and money for refugees in southeast Niger, sources said.

"We have a provisional toll of 20 dead," a medical source said. Aid workers confirmed the account and said about 10 people had been injured.

The accident occurred at a youth and culture centre in Diffa, the main town of a region of that name that abuts Nigeria and Chad.

The region has been repeatedly hit by attacks by Nigeria's Boko Haram jihadist group since 2015.

It hosts 119,000 Nigerian refugees, 109,000 internally-displaced people, and 30,000 Nigeriens who have returned to Nigeria because of instability there, according to UN figures released October.

The aid being distributed had been given by Babagana Umara Zulum, the governor of Borno state in northeast Nigeria, a Nigerian official told AFP.

He had come to the region to visit camps for refugees and the displaced, and had already left the town when the stampede occurred.

- Crowd -

"They were distributing food and money -- 5,000 naira ($13.75, 12.7 euros) per person," a local resident told AFP, referring to Nigeria's national currency.

"Thousands of people, most of them refugees, heard about the handout and left the camps, sometimes travelling up to 100 kilometres (60 miles) to get to Diffa," the source said.

A local official said he was astonished at the situation. "Normally, people who are entitled to the handouts send a representative to Diffa to pick it up. But this time, the refugees themselves decided to come and get it, travelling dozens of kilometres (miles)."

Another resident said: "Even ordinary inhabitants of Diffa rushed there in the hope of getting the handout."

A large amount of food, cooking oil and clothing, as well as the money, was due to be distributed, a Diffa municipal worker told AFP.

"Thousands of people were in the courtyard of the MJC (Culture and Youth Centre) and nearby," he said. Read More

Poster Speaks

Poster Speaks/box

Trending

randomposts