I REMEMBER SO WELL YEARS BACK WHEN THE RIVERS STATE REFINERY WAS CONCESSIONED; ABI NA SOLD TO DANGOTE AND OTEDOLA. ALL HELL WAS LET LOOSE, THE SOUTH /SOUTH PEOPLE SHOUTED WAR DRUMS AND SWORE SHOULD IT THE SALE STAY, THEY WOULD BURN THE COUNTRY DOWN. THOUGH I MIGHT NOT REALLY BE 100 PERSENT FAN OF DANGOTE SEEING THE WAY HE ROSE TO THE TOP OWING TO HIS SUPPORT FROM EVERY PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT THAT COMES IN, BUT I STILL ADMIRE HIM FOR BEING THE ONLY NORTHERNER THAT SEES NOTHING WRONG IN BEING OR MAKING ALL PART OF NIGERIA HIS HOME AND ALSO BEING A SMART BUSINESSMAN.
DANGOTE AND OTEDOLA SURE PACKED UP LICKING THEIR WOUNDS NOT MINDING THE FINANCES EXPENDED AND THE TIME WASTED, THE REFINARY SALE WAS REVERSED FOR SURE TO AVERT THE LAND OWNERS TO FROM KILLING AND KIDNAPPING MORE WHITE PEOPLE.
ITS JUST A SURPRISE THAT UP TO 9 YEARS LATER I CHECKED AND I FOUND OUT THAT BETWEEN THE TWO GROUP OTEDOLA/DANGOTE AND THE SOUTH/SOUTH ZONE, THE FORMER SEEMED TO HAVE GAINED AND GROWN WHILE THE LATER HAVE SERIOUSLY LOST AND MIGHT STILL BE LOOSING FOR MORE YEARS TO COME UNTILL THEY COME TO REALISE THAT THAT CRUDE OIL THEY HOLD SO DEAR TO WOULD ONE DAY BE JUST THERE WAITING AND BEGGING FOR BUYERS TO COME BUY.
DANGOTE HAPPENS TO WIN BECAUSE IN LESS THAN 2 YEARS TO COME THEY WILL BE COMMISIONING WHAT IS TO BE ONE OF THE BIGGEST REFINERIES IN THE WORLD, 665,000 BPD WITH A CAPACITY TO REFINE MORE THAN THE 445,000 BPD CAPACITY THE NIGERIAN REFINARIES PUT TOGETHER “WAS” REFINING. AND MIND YOU IT WON’T BE REFINING JUST BLCO, BUT IT WILL ALSO BE REFINING CRUDE OIL BROUGHT IN FROM DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD. YOU AND I CAN NOW BUILD PRIVATE TANK FARMS AND BUY CRUDE OIL FROM ANY PART OF THE WORLD TO REFINE AND STORE IN TANK FARMS FOR EXPORT OF PETROLUEM PRODUCTS OR SALES LOCALLY.
TIME WILL COME WHEN THE RIVERS STATE REFINARIES MIGHT PACK UP OR SOLD OFF BELOW ITS VALUE. ALL THOSE YEARS I HAVE WAITED FOR THE RICH DUDES FROM THAT STATE TO COME OUT WITH INDIVIDUAL RESOURCES OR GROUP RESOURCES TO AQCUIRE THE REFINERIES AND PUT THEM INTO WORK, BUT NONE HAVE COME FORWARD AND THE REFINERIES ARE STILL SAME WAY.
THEY SHOULD NOTE THAT EXPLORATION HAS STOPPED IN THE NIGER DELTA AND CONCENTRATED ON OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. OTHER OIL BLOCS ARE ON THE WAY. LIKE THE LAKE CHAD BASIN AREA IN BORNO, BENUE AND OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. IF YOU THINK THAT BUHARI IS BLUFFING ABOUT FINDING OIL IN THE NORTH, THEN YOU MUST BE FOOLED BECAUSE THAT DUDE WAS ONCE THE OIL MINISTER AND IT WAS HIM THAT BUILT THOSE REFINARIES. THEY KNOW JUST WHERE AND WHERE THE OILS WHERE LOCATED AND DECIDED TO MILK THE NIGER DELTA FIRST, JUST LIKE USA IS DOING WITH OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD STILL REFUSING TO TOUCH THE ALASKA FIELD THAT HAS BIGGER DEPOSITS BIGGER THAN SAUDI AND IRAN PUT TOGETHER, AND THEY JUST STARTED WITH SHALE OIL AGAIN.
DO YOU SOUTH/SOUTH PEOPLE EVER BELIEVED THAT OIL WILL EVER BE FOUND IN LAGOS, KOGI, ANAMBARA AND STILL GOING? EVEN IN MY TOWN AWOMAMMA IN ORU EAST, IMO STATE, WE HAVE AN OIL RIG JUST HALF A MILE FROM THE HIGH IN RESIDENTIAL AREA READY TO START PUMPING OUT ANYTIME SOON. EVER DREAMT OF THAT HAPPENING AT ALL? IF SUDAN AND SOUTH SUDAN COULD HAVE OIL, THEN SOMETHING MUST BE BENEATH THE NORTHERN PARTS. MANY PLACES IS YET TO BE TAPPED INTO AND LOTS OF REFINARY ARE ON THE WAY.
I AM WRITING ALL THIS BECAUSE I FEEL SO ASHAMMED OF THE SOUTH/SOUTH PEOPLE. THEY HAVE TOTALLY OVER THE YEARS WITH THEIR RESTIVENESS DESTROYED EVERY HOPE OF HAVING INVESTORS COME INTO THE NIGER DELTA REGION TO INVEST. TO COMPENSATE THE SOUTH/SOUTH THE KING MAKERS DECIDED TO LET THEM HAVE A GO AT THE ASO VILLA AND FOR SIX YEARS OR MORE THEY BLEW UP THE RARE OPPORTUNITY THEY MIGHT NEVER EVER GET AGAIN. THAT PERIOD SAW IN THE SOUTH/SOUTH EX-MILITANTS, SELFISH POLITICIANS BEING EMPOWERED FINANCILALLY, FORGETTING THE VERY PROBLEMS THEY EVER HAD, THE OGONI SPILLAGE WHICH THE JONATHAN ADMIN. THEIR SON IGNORED BUT SURPRISINGLY BUHARI, THE MAN THEY REFUSED TO VOTE FOR IS VOTING MORE THAN $2B TO CLEAN UP. I WENT TO BAYELSA AND I CRIED BECAUSE FROM PH TO THAT AREA THAT USED TO BE THE SECOND ASO ROCK FOR SIX YEARS, NOTHING WORTH DYING FOR WAS PUT UP. I CALL THOSE SIX YEARS, WASTEFUL YEARS FOR THE SOUTH/SOUTH PEOPLE FOR IT WAS THOSE YEARS THEY MISSED IN REALIZING THE BLUEPRINT OF YAR’ADUA’S DREAM FOR THE REGION. IT WAS THOSE YEARS WHEN I SAW THE LIKES OF TOMPOLO, ANSARI, ETC., BEING SPOKES PERSON OF A REGION I HAVE SEEN TO HAVE PRODUCED LITERALY GIANTS, BILLIONAIRES, ETC., I WAS MOVED TO TEARS OF SHAME FOR THE CHILDREN OF THAT ORUBEBE WHEN HE DISGRACED HIMSELF IN THE FULL GLARE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY WHEN HE CAME IN TO INTERRUPT THE INEC CHAIRMAN DURING THE ELECTION CALLING PERIOD. AND THAT MAN FOR SURE IN HIS L.G.A., IS A SO CALLED PARTY CHIEFTAIN AND SOON THEY WILL BE CALLING HIM HONOURABLE OR ELDER STATESMAN. AM NOT FORGETTING THAT OLD MAN EDWIN CLERK THAT WENT ROUND THE COUNTRY CAMPAIGNING FOR JONATHAN AND FORGETTING TO TELL HIM WHERE HE IS GETTING IT WRONG. AND HE IS AN ELDER STATESMAN TOO.
I WATCHED WITH AMAZEMENT AS THE NIGER DELTA AVENGERS HAVE TAKEN IT UPON THEMSELVES TO DESTROY THEIR LAND AND THEY STILL WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE SENDING LOFTY ALLOCATION MAYBE FROM INTERNAL GENERATED REVENUE GOTTEN FROM CUSTOMS, ETC., THEY CAN’T EAT THEIR CAKES AND HAVE IT.
THE NDA SHOULD KNOW THAT MANY STATES HAVE BEGUN DIVERSIFYING FROM THE FEDERAL ALLOCATION GOTTEN MOSTLY FROM OIL. IF ALL STATES STARTS TO RESTRUCTURE THEIR SYSTEM LIKE THAT OF LAGOS STATE TAX SYSTEM, AS MOST ARE BEGINNING TO DO RIGHT NOW. NOBODY WILL BE NEEDING THAT MONTHLY PEANUT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ANY MORE.
LAGOS WAS GETTING LESS THAN N1B MONTHLY BEFORE TINUBU GOT IN AND TODAY THEY ARE GETTING MORE THAN N30B MONTHLY AND THEY DON’T EVEN SEE THEMSELVES WELL RESTRUCTURED 50%. EVEN AS MANY HAVE CALLED TINUBU LOTS OF NAGATIVE NAMES, BUT THE MAN HAVE SUCCEEDED IN NOT ONLY BRINGING THE LIKES OF OBJ (THAT WITHHELD THE STATE ALLOCATION FOR UPTO 3 YEARS OR MORE) TO HIS KNEES, BUT ALSO CHANGED THE FACE OF THE POLITY IN THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN AFRICA. LAGOS SURVIVED WITHOUT ALLOCATION FOR YEARS AND KNEW NOTHING FROM CRUDE OIL AND STILL NEVER OWED THEIR WORKERS AND DID MANY OTHER GIANT PROJECTS ALSO.
SO LETS ASSUMING ALL STATES RESTRUCTURE AND REMOVING ALL BOTTLE NECKS IN GETTING THEIR IGR, NOBODY WOULD EVEN CARE IF OIL IS SOLD OR NOT. AND MIND YOU NO COUNTRY WOULD BUY IF THEY DON’T GET A NOD FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. PLEASE STOP DESTROYING YOUR REGION. STOP GRABBING. REMEMBER THE FUTURE OF YOUR CHILDREN.
THINK WELL PLEASE