In the Grandiose Parlor…

Chauffeur-driven, feeding fat on government allowances, locked up in the government-paid, generator-powered, air-conditioned enclaves, and surrounded by a retinue of personal and security aides, it is very easy to lose the pulse of the people on the streets, subsisting on less than $2 per day. This is exactly what is happening in Nigeria.

One fact has emerged clearly as riots enter Day-3, and Nigeria grinds to a screeching halt following petrol subsidy removal and subsequent increase in price: the government is not in tune with the masses. The tenacity, organization of the protesters and extent of the riots have shown that those calling the shots in government have indeed lost touch with the reality of the people they govern.

The subsidy removal argument as presented by the President Jonathan and his aides is poignant and sensible on paper. However, the petrol subsidy, as ineffectual as it may be from government point of view, is the only “social welfare” enjoyed by the common man on the street; it directly impact the lives of the people on daily basis. Besides, the “failure of the petrol subsidy”, as presented, is mainly due to government inefficiencies and corruption, perpetrated by a handful of elites. So why pass the burden on to the people without preparing and helping them manage the aftershock?

No matter how well the strategies for cushioning the effects of removal is, the street will not buy it! The federal government has little or no credibility with the people.

A better approach would have been to phase out the subsidy in stages, and at each stage, demonstrate to the people the gains and benefits of the removal in real life, not just on paper.

The situation in Nigeria is now a case of who blinks first, I would rather have Jonathan be the first to blink.  Jonathan, can you do this, please?

More on the petrol subsidy removal here:

• Naijablog: The Fuel Subsidy Removal Protests for Dummies
• My Heart’s in Accra: More thoughts on Occupy Nigeria
• YNaija: This is Why we are Angry

Remi Okunola, lawyer, is a co-founder Nigeria’s indigenous offshore drilling contractor, Seawolf Oil Services Limited. His talk at 2010 TEDxEuston speaks to the kind of mindset and attitude Nigerians, particularly those overseas, must muster to effect changes in Nigeria.

Enjoy!

Diezani Allison-Madueke is a beautiful, lucky 50 year old woman if you ask me. Among the the newly commissioned set of federal minsters, Diezani is not unfamiliar with the rigmarole of ascending ministerial desk as she took oath of office: Her newest portfolio at the Petroleum Ministry is her third. Continue reading…

President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua calls for international help on Niger Delta to solve the military crisis in the region.

Nigerian Economist Chudi Chukwuani retorts on VOA:

“The reaction here is that we are at a lost. The call is a clear failure on the part of the government to properly secure our national asset, to protect our sovereignty and our territorial waters. All of us know that the origin of the so-called Niger Delta militancy started from political thuggery.”

Listen in full:

“The Federal Government has said that it is ready to shut in oil wells and lose revenue if that was what would be required to achieve the 2008 gas flares out deadline”, in a statement credited to a senior official of the Department of Petroleum Resources, and reported by the Punch Newspaper.

“The time has come for us to decide whether we are a nation or not. And if we are, we need to take some painful decisions. We should be able to leave these resources for our children unborn if we cannot utilise them today.”

Finally, it appears the government is coming to its senses.

I’m all for this. Just in April, I called for all onshore gas-flaring wells to be shut down until the nation is ready to do what is right.

There will be a loss of revenue, no doubt, and the oil producing companies are quick to point this out: A shut down will “cut Nigeria ’s production by about 870,000 barrels of oil per day, amounting to a revenue loss of $12bn at the price of $40 per barrel.”

But this isn’t too dear a price to pay for doing what’s right. Nigeria shouldn’t put its people in harm’s way and endanger the environment, just for a couple of million of dollars! Simple.

The oil companies have proposed a 2012-deadline for zero flare. In 1993, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) started pursuing the gas flares out policy without success.

Finally someone got the memo that the only option to solving nagging problems is simply to bite the bullet and face the problem head-long.

Shut down the darn wells I say!

On the web: Punch: Gas flares out deadline: FG set to shut oil wells

On Grandiose Parlor: Gas flaring, Niger-delta crisis

Nigeria crude oil production may decline by as much as 30% as the oil sector suffered two devastating blows on the Bonga and Escravos oilfields. The attacks occurred within the last seven days.

Royal Dutch Shell operates the floating Bonga offshore facility that produces about 200,000 barrels per day. Chevron produces 120,000 barrels per day from the Escravos oilfield. The output from the two oil fields is about 20-30% of Nigeria’s total crude oil production, which was about two milion barrels per day before the attacks.

The attack on the Bonga facility, located some 65 miles from land, marks a new era of Niger Delta militancy: It is the first offshore location attacked.

The attacks fields precedes the government plans for the Niger-Delta summit, an exercise designed to find lasting solution to a crisis that has become tougher and more complicated.

Whatever plans president Yar’Adua has for the Niger-Delta, now is the time to fast-track such and ensure it works. The days for mouthing empty policy statements are over, likewise is the era of scoring quick ceasefires and cash settlements.

President Yar’Adua has his job cut out for him, and his administration will now be judged on one yardstick: His ability to not only contain the insurgency, but build an environment in the Niger-Delta that makes militant violence unnecessary and unprofitable.

Yar’Adua and advisers must be focused on one end point: A fail-proof workable solution that addresses the root causes of the problems in the Niger Delta once and for all. This is the only solution.

Natural gas is a by-product of the oil drilling, and Nigeria flares the largest quantity in the world. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told the House Committee on Petroleum that meeting the government’s target to end gas flaring by 2009 is unrealistic without proper funding.

Even Shell said it would cost about $6 billion USD to end flaring at the 1,000+ wells its owns in Nigeria.

There are no easy options to stopping gas flaring, this has been made clear enough. What would have been the best approach is to use the gas domestically to power electricity plants. Even this comes with a several billion dollar price tag.

May be it’s time to just shut all onshore oil wells until Nigeria is ready to deal with the issue. After all, the people whose lives are being made miserable should matter most than some petrol$$$ or special interest groups…right?

Video below speaks to the issue gas flaring: