By Sylvester Imonina
Many years ago, some of my Niger Delta brothers, in order to benefit from God’s given resources in their lands resorted to crude oil refining business in the region. During that period, diesel and kerosene which were majored in by them were readily available at a cheaper rate to members of the public and the refiners had a steady source of income.
Unfortunately, while the refiners were smiling to the Banks as a result of their new found business, environmental degradation was on the rise. Asides the flora and fauna been extinguished, water bodies in Niger Delta were polluted on a daily basis. Farmers and fishermen were the worst hit by these illegal refiners.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government of Nigeria whose body and soul is largely dependent on crude oil while other mineral resources in other regions of the Country are tapped freely by the natives and their collaborators, contracted Tantita Security (a company privately owned by a Niger Delta Indigene) to assist the government in securing oil facilities and products in the Niger Delta. The said Tantita Security came out with all force to checkmate illegal refining and crude oil theft in the region.
From available information at my disposal, crude oil theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta has been reduced by almost 95 percent. A trip to most Communities in the region that were notorious for illegal refining of crude oil will convince you that Tantita Security has dealt a heavy blow to this illegal business of some of our Niger Delta brothers. Today, some of those brothers of ours are thinking of other means of survival.
It is therefore strange that despite the massive work of Tantita Security, there is a daily wailing by the Federal Government of Nigeria of crude oil theft. How! That cannot be! What happened to our security network in our Rivers (Nigeria Navy/Army) and NNPCL?
This has brought us to the question, “who dey Thief our crude oil”? Definitely, it cannot be the common man in the Niger Delta whose illegal refinery has been extinguished by Tantita Security more than two years ago!
Would it be a fallacy of hasty generalization to say that the Federal Government knows those stealing our crude oil! I don’t think my conclusion is hasty because there are security personnels (Nigeria Navy/Army) policing our water bodies on a daily basis. On land, we have anti crude oil vandalization security outfits monitoring movement of vehicles carrying crude oil related products.
If the Federal Government of Nigeria is telling us the truth about the stealing of Nigeria’s oil, then the Government should focus her attention on Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL). It is the belief of most Nigerians that the greatest oil fraud is oozing from NNPCL, security operatives and their collaborators and not the common man (illegal refiners) whose businesses has been crumbled years ago by Tantita Security.
Nigerians want to know who is stealing their crude oil. The wailing by Federal Government of Nigeria is becoming a cacophony of noise, aimed at deceiving and misleading the common man. Let the common man in the Niger Delta in particular, and Nigerians in general benefit from their crude oil and not the few persons and friends of the Federal Government in Abuja and major cities in the Country.
Let there be action and/ or commitments on the part of the Federal Government in checking the excesses of her friends in and outside Nigeria. The wailing should stop.
- Sylvester Imonina, A public affairs commentator writes from Ozoro, Delta State.
