By Babatunde Fashakin

Let’s not kid ourselves, things are not bad….they are extremely bad! We are in a situation of denial, our economic power has dwindled, our confidence shaken, and our fate hijacked.

The current situation of the oil and gas industry has turned and for the worse. We have an industry bill that has been taken over by politicians without the credible background to make any contribution to it, people who do not have the educational background or experience to superintend such feat.

We are also facing an industry lost, we have discouraged Nigerians from investing their hard earned money and the foreign investors we have managed to chase them far away. What are we doing? To add fuel to the fire, the oil companies have been pushed into a mode of wait and see. Yes there are some bidding exercises going on, but nothing will materialise.

Why such a bleak picture, because it’s the reality on ground. Speak to any Nigerian, and he is complaining about the disastrous economic situation. We all are aware of the world financial crisis, but we took it upon ourselves to create our own massacre.

The lOC’s have taken a step back, as they are being forced to renegotiate their JV and PSC terms. While we must get a better deal for our country, there are ways and means to do so. We do not start reviewing all agreements and embarrass ourselves on international levels. We are now seen as incompetent and confused, we renege on our commitments.

Yet we still wish to act like we have everything going for us. My fellow Nigerians, we are in deep trouble. However, despite all this, we have an opportunity to make a significant impact on our economy and play a role in global markets. This impact can only come in one pure form. Commitment!

We need to commit to develop our infrastructure, not just in the areas where our honourable and distinguished politicians and governors live. We need to commit to local content. At present NNPC and Napims bypass their own due process and award non-compliant bidder’s jobs for every other reason than that of progress. We need to commit to develop centres of excellence with various sectors of this industry.

We need to commit with or without a Petroleum Industry Bill. If we do not commit, we have betrayed our nation and our children. Our neighbouring countries are laughing at us; they are luring our potential investors both foreign and local. We are losing out. My fellow Nigerians, we must commit.

Project development at the moment is a distant dream, and will remain so until there is some stability and clarity of direction. In a world that is in an unstable state, investments are scrutinised heavily, we need to inspire confidence, project unity and deliver! At the moment we are de-frauding our economy by the lack of implementation of what is only the due process and a necessity of simple economics. Mr. President set out his 7-point Agenda, focusing on the key areas that Nigeria needs attention.

This agenda while highly criticized is a very essential basis for development. We also don’t need to make a mountain out of a mole hill. The basic needs need to be addressed. The majority of Nigerians live in utter darkness, no access to clean water, poor roads, no security, decaying social system, and education. These are the fundamentals, we don’t need awards for them, it is our duty to provide them. Employment is our major focus, and we must target employment opportunities across all sectors.

The oil and gas sector provides for over 90% of our GDP, yet doesn’t provide us with a clear vision how we will achieve our local content goals. We need to make sure our government bodies use qualified personnel while reviewing the PIB bill, not illiterates and hot heads that go about blackmailing companies and civil servants to get what they want. The way we are going, this bill may be unacceptable to stakeholders. Recently at one of the many public reviews of the PIB, Nigerians, expatriates, business owners and officials all noted the increase in taxes, reduction of clarity, and lack of focus the new bill presents.

What hurts most is that it will kill the ability of the industry to attract investment, and more importantly encourage up and coming Nigerian companies to compete. We need clear reform and we must get a better stake for Nigeria, but there are better ways to do this especially as it affects local content – simple consistent implementation of basic Nigerian content guidelines without exceptions.

Today while companies are told to comply with bidding documents, Napims still approves no compliant bidders and NNPC reneges on the strict policies it tries to enforce. Giving a select few companies carte blanche and free reign on terms and conditions relating to Nigerian content, currency split, training, in country procurement, and overall execution plan. A total contradiction of what was in the original scope to be bid. Where is the due process?

Babatunde Fashakin is an oil and gas industry enthusiast. He turned in this piece from Port Harcourt.