The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Ms. Christine Largarde, a fortnight ago visited Nigeria and held crucial talks with President Muhammadu Buhari and other top echelon of the Nigerian government. She also had interactions with legislators, business leaders, prominent women, and the civil society. Ms. Lagarde prior to the visit looked forward to productive meetings with President Buhari on how his team was addressing the economic challenges occasioned by low oil prices. At the end of the visit, the Bretton Woods Chief advised Nigeria to devalue her currency, increase value added tax, withdraw petroleum subsidy and so forth.

Nigeria got to a giddy height of low crude oil prices which negatively affected our economy and the currency. Foreign Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) are now being sought to upgrade critical mass transit and energy infrastructure worth about N25 billion. Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibajo who oversees President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic policies, late October 2015 said that other SWFs have indicated interest in the fund which would be used to address the nation’s dilapidated roads, rail and power infrastructure.

With the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting last week in its Vienna headquarters, members emerged with decision put in escrow for cartel leaders to tidy up agreements on production caps. It means every member (rich or poor) is producing as they can pump into the market to sustain their teetering economies. Most OPEC members seem roiled with incongruous market share control mechanisms espoused, with the rift between high cost producers whose economies are being devastated by low crude oil prices and prosperous producers that stand for market share.

Ellsworth Huntington an American geographer, explorer and associate researcher at Yale University in the early 20th century propounded the theory of environmental determinism. According to himenvironmental determinism is the effect of climate on human heredity and civilization which breeds superiority of peoples of the temperate zone to those of the tropics and intermediate zones.

The annual Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations global treaty on climate change starts on Monday, November 30 to December 11, 2015 at Le Bourget in beleaguered Paris in the aftermath of the multiple terror attacks where 129 people were killed a fortnight ago. The COP is the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to make nations have a legally binding and universal agreement on climate to keep global warming below 2p C.

Last week screams rent the air at the NNPC Amphitheatre that bids were transparently opened for offshore processing arrangements and crude oil term contracts. Some petroleum resources managers whose overt or covert actions over the years that smirched the NNPC also smiled broadly with smirks. They took prime airtime displacing scheduled programmes on national television networks (some on live broadcasts) for those ceremonies. Opening of envelopes for tender was what we wasted funds to beam on television and radio to the world as our achievements in the industry.

Preparing for the herald of a new year in global petroleum business is typified byanalysts retreating into the crystal ball game forprice and market projections. As a lay person in crystal gazingmy first thought for 2016wasNigeriain the quagmire of global geopolitical crossfire, and moving unobtrusively into recession.

The validity of the licence to establish a refinery or plant shall be for a period of two years after which it shall lapse.The licensing of 18 private refineries by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005 could not achieve any result as they eventually constituted themselves into the Association of Private Petroleum Refinery Owners of Nigeria.

As we marked Nigeria’s 55th Independence anniversary two days ago in what was low key, we examine with introspection our journey in nationhood and how patriotic or otherwise we have been or would have been in managing our petroleum resources and assets for the greatest good for the greatest number. It is time to acknowledge the fact that management bandwidths are determined by individual capabilities.

Nigeria has now become a Buhari that is very enigmatic when we discuss how and what Nigeria should be, and in which direction she should be headed. In all spheres of Nigeria’s bureaucracy today the mention of that name Buhari conjures the image of a spirit that is everywhereand watching everybody. People now go to work early;though some on their desks actually pretend to be busy doing nothing.