Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has emphasised the need for the oil industry to spearhead technological advancement in Nigeria to address what he terms a “national dilemma”.
Jonathan stressed the importance of collaboration between oil companies and the government to enhance technical capacity and promote the production of locally-made solutions.
Speaking at Sweet Crude Dialogue in Yenagoa, organised by De Mangrove Conversations, the former president highlighted the oil companies’ huge investments in equipment and logistics for their production activities, which ultimately fall back on the Nigerian economy.
He advocated a shift in approach on the part of the oil companies, stating that leveraging the country’s oil resources is crucial for technological development.
He emphasised the need for the oil industry to work closely with the government to enhance technical capabilities and manufacture essential equipment domestically, in order to assist the country’s diversification drive.
Jonathan stated, “So, we can’t continue this way as a nation. Let me say, use what you have to get what you want.
“Since we have the oil, if we must develop technologically, we should start from the oil industry, it’s a national dilemma. We make sure that the oil companies participate with the government to develop the technical capacity and manufacture some of the needs of the oil industry, we can diversify to other aspects.
“I’m happy today. I’m saying this because of the local content, the Nigerian Content Development Management Board that has been represented. That is one of the reasons why, when I was in office, that law came to be.
“And that is the only way we can change the story of the oil industry. If we can develop some of these little things, these little, little things used in the oil industry. If they cannot be developed within the country, then, as a nation, we are not getting anything from the oil industry, it will not help our economy.”
Jonathan said the focus should not just be selling crude oil.
“Yes, we earn money from that, but that does not create too many jobs. That does not diversify the economy,” he said.
He added, “What will diversify the economy is the other aspect of the operations of the oil industry. That means that the amount of local production of most of the things we need in the oil industry.”
He, however, commended the oil firms, saying, “You are doing well.”
Jonathan also commended the Nigerian Content Development Management Board for promoting local content. He emphasised the need to develop small-scale solutions within the country to benefit the economy.
Jonathan also expressed optimism about the potential for legislative frameworks, such as the Petroleum Industry Act, to drive positive changes in the oil industry and address community concerns.
He encouraged ongoing dialogue and collaboration among stakeholders from various backgrounds to drive progress in the oil industry and beyond.
He expressed confidence that with sustained efforts and adherence to relevant legislation, the younger generation would inherit a more prosperous and sustainable industrial landscape.
The chief host of the event and Governor of Bayelsà State, Senator Douye Diri, lamented that oil and gas resources from the Niger Delta had powered the Nigerian federation, built cities, and funded government, yet the communities where the wealth were drawn from lacked basic amenities and live in poverty.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Peter Akpe, Diri said Bayelsà State had refused to accept that the story could not be written.
Diri said that was why he encouraged and funded the Bayelsà State Oil and Environmental Commission, which gave a comprehensive scientific report on what he termed an oil-generated environmental genocide.
Diri stated, “The Bayelsà government and Bayelsà State House of Assembly are working together on the Bayelsà State Environmental remediation and just transition bill to give effect to the commission’s recommendation.
“The theme of this dialogue, ‘Through the Payton’s Eye: 70 Years of Oil and Gas Production in Nigeria,’ is evocative and it is demanding.”
The convener and Chief of Policy, De Mangrove Conversations, Biobele Da-Wariboko, said the dialogue aimed to leverage discourses to highlight the several voices from the Niger Delta crying for fairness, equity, justice, and progress in the distribution of the region’s oil resources.