Can I please crave the indulgence of my dear brothers and sisters in this forum on this issue
[size=5pt]OIL! WHO OWNS IT, NIGERIA OR NIGER-DELTA?, [/size]

I believe a right thinking Nigerian who lives in Nigeria and sees all that unfolds during the so-called military and self styled Democracy practice in Nigeria will agree with me that If I as the man that questions you on the real owner of the oil, found the land that houses the most populous black people in the world is owned and should be given to the people of the oil rich region.

why?
Because the so called leaders of the country called Nigeria use the revenue gotten from the exploration of the oil for personal effects,

Because the government of Nigeria fails to feed the Goose that lays the Egg.

Because the Government of Nigeria sees Niger delta as a minority in contest amidst the three big tribe

I know you might asked how about 13% derivation fund!

Can you please compare the terrain of Oil rich Niger-Delta to any part of Nigeria? No far differs, The cost of Laying Foundation in Brass Bayelsa State, will be used to Survey and finish the same house in Lagos.

Can you please come down to Creek and sees how battered the roof of houses built there are because of Gas Flaring

And also sees the killing of Crabs and fishes by Oil spills by The Oil companies,

All this neglect by Governments and Oil companies operating in the Niger delta so much demand more than 50% talk less of 13%. For the loss and neglect of the region demands more, I mean more to repair the pains and destruction caused by oil activities, Environmental effects,

No one in the region wants to wake and hear that there is kidnap here and there, and if no lasting solution is not instituted, the trend of kidnap will be upward and i pray we will be out of this.

I think and believe many people shares the same with me, that [size=8pt][/size]THE PEOPLE OF NIGER DELTA SHOULD BE GIVEN TOTAL CONTROL OF THIS GOD GIVEN RESOURCES (OIL),

Thanks and God bless.

I feel you Bro. It is well. We will get there.

Point of correction!! other parts of Nigeria has oil wells too, like my igbo states

All of the above. That is Nigeria and Niger-Delta. The question now is how can we grow our GDP with everyone having good smiles like that of Bro Pete at the start of the thread. When there is plenty, less corruption and a high standard of living our quality of life will go up.

They say give unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar

But even Caesar would have been uncomfortable with the blatant thievery of the Niger Delta's resources
to support amongst other things the Hisbah police in the North

@topic,

Q. Who owns the oil in Niger Delta

A. Niger Delta.

Q. Who owns Niger Delta

A. Nigeria.

If the above is the case, we can safely conclude then that Nigeria owns the oil. QED

when the North was using groundnut to sustain us nobody asked who owned the nuts o!
when the middlebelt was using tin and iron to feed us nobody asked who owned the metals o!
when the west was using cocoa to keep us alive no one cared or asked how the farmers fared!
now some imbeciles whose fathers were made alive by the fruit of other parts of the country think they can hold the Nation to ransom now?

GOD FORBID BAD THING! *spits out in disgust*
FOOLISH PEOPLE

like the prophecy says in the book,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Destruction comes from the places of waters

Instead of us to cooperate and conclude on the sector that will best for Nigeria, we are fighting over resources; which still leaves a lot of people in poverty, HOW STUPID WE ARE

@BIBIKING

If you would kindly refer us to when proceeds from other regions of the federation
were used to develop other parts of the country to the extent the Niger Delta subsidises
us now, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anticipating that you won't be able to provide such evidence. . .shut up sho gbo. omo rada rada

Will Bibiking kindly list out projects with which groundnut pyramids, cocoa and coal proceeds were used to erect any enduring structure in any parts of the Niger Delta - from Delta to Cross River state?

As per what we have from the proceeds from oil sales, I have:

1. The entire city of Abuja - Including Aso Villa, NNPC Towers, The Ship House, National Stadium Abuja, NTA Head office, International Conference Centre, Supreme Court, Louis Edet House (Hq of NPF) etc etc.

2. 90% of Lagos: There's no gainsaying the fact that General Gowon built all of the bustling bridges and roads you see in Lagos. The CBN office, The former house of Assembly complex, Dodan Barracks, Bonny Camp VI, etc etc etc.

3. Practically all of the Federal Structures you see in places at Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Borno, Jigawa, Taraba, Katsina - including all of the military paraphernalia at Kaduna.

4. The two Hiltop Mansions at Minna and Abeokuta.

5. OFN (Obasanjo Farms Nigeria Ltd)

6. $12 BILLION greenbacks to IBB - courtesy of Gulf War oil windfall

7. $10 Billion greenbacks unaccounted for by OBJ as power projects fund - evidence from Yar'Adua.

8. Festac 77 structures - including FESTAC TOWN

9. Games Village Abuja.

10. The National Assembly abuja.

11. OKLNG at Olokola (Ogun and Ondo) boarder.

So, bibiking, please show us any structure built with proceeds from elsewhere in Nigeria, in the Niger Delta. I'm waiting.

ono:



11. OKLNG at Olokola (Ogun and Ondo) boarder.

Please take this out as it is pure mis-information. You can even claim you own the gulf of guinea / ocean which Ondo, Ogun and Lagos has boundry with.?

Ondo State has been producing about 5% of Nigeria's crude oil for quite a long time.

Also OK LNG has different options for Gas Supply. One of the sure sources of Gas supply is offshore Ondo state, an offshore Gas field owned by British Gas. Thus if Gas from other sources are cut off the project will still fly to a huge success with offshore gas.

Will bibiking kindly rise to the occasion by providing concrete evidence as demanded?

babs,
I know how much volume of gas each of the partners in the OKLNG project are expected to pump to that plant. And 95% of the gas volumes will be channelled v[b]ia long range pipelines[/b] from a number of[b] prolific gas fields from the Niger Delta[/b]. Never mind that the companies handling the gas pipelines and projects are different.

@Ono
Please brief me on the war in Chad and leave Niger Delta issue for now

control which oil? it is about time the niger-delta people wake up to reality. in as much as a lot needs to be done to assuage the feelings of neglect in the region but i fail to see any tangible proof of what the funds already allocated to the states has yielded. The leaders of the zone have just turned local war lords sponsoring militias that thrive on criminality.

all the south-south governors of the past 8 years have turned state funds to private piggy banks which they use to finance there expensive habits both in and out of nigeria and the present ones are no different so who in essence is going to see to the judicious use of this resource if turned over 100% to the niger-delta people?

abeg this story/debate has gone on for far too long. the people of the region shd hold there leaders responsible for the degradation rather than trying to shift blame all the time.

buchio7:

control which oil? it is about time the niger-delta people wake up to reality. in as much as a lot needs to be done to assuage the feelings of neglect in the region but i fail to see any tangible proof of what the funds already allocated to the states has yielded. The leaders of the zone have just turned local war lords sponsoring militias that thrive on criminality.

all the south-south governors of the past 8 years have turned state funds to private piggy banks which they use to finance there expensive habits both in and out of nigeria and the present ones are no different so who in essence is going to see to the judicious use of this resource if turned over 100% to the niger-delta people?

abeg this story/debate has gone on for far too long. the people of the region should hold there leaders responsible for the degradation rather than trying to shift blame all the time.

What I don's understand about arguments like yours is its patronage of the Niger Delta agitation.

Are you going to tell me the non Niger Delta indigenes that have enjoyed these largese have been more astute with funds that originate from the Delta?

And how would you feel if resources from your land, extracted at great cost to your livelihood is handed back in the form of a handout like an
adult to a little child.

That is the issue. Not the mismanagement of funds by which ever party.

Hand the resources back to the people who own it, then let the law chase those who mismanage any such funds.

@doyindamus
hand the resources to the ND people alone, eh?
So what then happens to the approx 90 million Nigerians not from that region?
handouts? Crumbs?


@all
Cocoa was planted by westen farmers, weeded, mulched and fertilized by these same farmers. in times of disease, the farmers suffered, paid the price for the vagaries of nature. When the crop was ready these same farmers had to harvest, dry the pods, split the pods and get them ready for sale.
Ditto for northern farmers and their crop of groundnut.

Crude oil is formed over millions of years, with zero input from anyone living today. the exploration and production is done largelyy by people with expertise, most of which come from outside the ND due to the initial lack of emphasis on education by the people from that area. Why then can you compare this to the days of the cocoa farmers and the groundnut farmers? Did the sweat of the ND people generate this wealth?

I know what they mean by 'resource control'. it represents to them the unwarranted enjoyment of wealth with minimal input. this is why, for example, youths in Buguma (Rivers State) are paid a monthly 'salary' of N20000 for doing nothing at all (heard from a reliable source). This is what they hope to achieve from 'resource control'.

Dishonesty is the bane of the ND people. they keep parroting the amount of development in other states of the country, without acknowledging the real reasons why their states remain backwards. Had Alams used the N50 billion he stole to do something for bayelsa, who knows what edifices there we would have been talking about.

Dear All,

This issue should not be taken sentimentally, let put ourselves into the shoes of these people living in the creeks and see how it feels to produce such a wealth and still surffer to make ends meet,

We in the Niger-delta appreciate the fact that others too produce commodity in the entity called Nigeria, But note that the dredging of land and spilling of Oil is an environmental Hazard which greatly affects plants and animals (human inclusive)

When the North were growing cowpea, the Farmers were directly paid and the Cocoa were paid for by the buyers, why the oil an exception?

Go to Bonny Island, it is the LNG quarters that looks like heaven the surrounding Ijaw community is a hell on Earth.

Lets join our Voices to call for Resource Control

Inasmuch as I sympathize with my brothers and sisters in the Niger Delta, it should be abundantly clear that they cannot use force to exercise their rights - not in the current political dispensation. They have to seek other means - political, legal, social, etc. to achieve their goals. Their leaders have to be united and honest with the people, develop the political and social infrastructure that can help and seek to establish meaningful ties that are strong and extend beyond their region to increase their chances of success. Today, they are caught in between the mistakes of yesteryears and the greed of the ruling political elite of today, unfortunately.

Texazzpete- - - - -which kain scientific logic you dey use.



the oil was formed over thousands of years blah blah blah. . . The fact still remains. . .this land is specific to a particular community.

Western Nigerian humus is more fertile than Nothern Nigerian arid sand. . .why isn't the government demanding more from the proceeds of that
produce. Why hasn't it claimed it wholly the way it has claimed the oil fields of the Niger Delta.

The situation is bloody absurd. I am not from the Niger Delta and I am incensed by the pure thievery of it all.

You cannot simply go into a community and take their property to distribute elsewhere.

It is the most perverse socialism.

what they do with the resource is not the issue. . .whether they will burn the proceeds from the oil or use it to clean their yansh
is nobody else's business.

Who made the rest of Nigeria guarantors of 85% of wealth that belongs to someone else. . .

I'm particularly thrilled by the response from doyin -  a non Niger Deltan for that matter! Tex and his group just don't know what pains you feel when you go to your hometown or village and see someone else ''tapping'' into your ancestral lands to the benefit of not yourself or community, but to the benefit of other places. Places like Lagos, Abuja earlier  listed are the sole benefactor of the proceeds from oil sales.

I really don't think things would have degenerated to this level but for the satanic neglect, deprivation and inhuman treatment meted out to the Niger Delta that hosts the oil and gas resources.

Someone said in one thread that simply because Ondo state now produce some 5% of hydrocarbon resources (oil and gas), although I know it's less than that, they deserve sitting a project as huge as OKLNG in a border town between Ondo and Ogun state. OKLNG will be bigger, much more bigger than the Bonny LNG plant in River State - at least I know that much about the OKLNG project.. I also know that the gas resources to be fed into that plant will be coming from the Niger Delta (95%) states of Bayelsa and Delta.

Looking at the Nigerian map, and the location of the Niger Delta, there's no moral, economical, political justification for sitting the plant in Olokola. It's sheer devilment for OBJ to move a plant as huge as that to an enclave. 

People just don't appreciate what psychological trauma the average Niger Deltan pass through daily. I mean, just imagine all that's happening around you in your homelands. The gradually eroding ecosystems, the wastes, the pollution, the unemployment, the pipelines carrying hydrocarbon resources to places as far as Kaduna, Benin, and Lagos, power plants at Ughelli, Sapele, Kwale and Afam generating power for other places while you remain in darkness. A state like Ogun having up to 10 Universities, and others with several Federal Universities. Meanwhile, Delta and Bayelsa States have no Federal Universities. The case of Delta is even pathetic. Put all these together and add others I'm simply tired to put down here and tell me if its reasonable to even engage anyone in a discussion session as this.

Ono your pain is felt. Nigeria is running a most absurd "federal" system of government.

romeo:

@Ono
Please brief me on the war in Chad and leave Niger Delta issue for now

You'd better pray that things don't degenerate to the level we now have in Chad, in Nigeria. It will be too much for the ''earth'' to grapple with. But then, it seems that's just where we are heading at the moment, except something soothing happens to the delta people.

@ ono

Chad is about way more than oil, its been on for 17 years, long before oil was found, its centered mostly around a sit tight leader changing the constitution and enriching a few individuals to the detriment of others, as well as interference of Sudan in Chad and vice versa, so comparing the ND situation to Chad is highly inaccurate.

Oil is barely years old in Chad, the issues have gone on for way longer. In addition, France's interference also has added to the situation.

@ Ono

how can Lagos and Abuja be the only beneficiaries? What were P/H, Yenagoa, Asaba and Uyo without oil money?

ono:


Someone said in one thread that simply because Ondo state now produce some 5% of hydrocarbon resources (oil and gas), although I know it's less than that, they deserve sitting a project as huge as OKLNG in a border town between Ondo and Ogun state. OKLNG will be bigger, much more bigger than the Bonny LNG plant in River State - at least I know that much about the OKLNG project..

Looking at the Nigerian map, and the location of the Niger Delta, there's no moral, economical, political justification for sitting the plant in Olokola. It's sheer devilment for OBJ to move a plant as huge as that to an enclave.

I'm not questioning the neglect of the actual producing communities in the ND, but try to be factual in your assertions. One more comment, lose the drama of Olokola, There are reasons the plant should be sited there.

The picture below shows one of the latest finds by BG - 13.5% owner of Olokola, obviously this site is proximal to their oil field for the purpose of processing gas there.

Secondly, First phase of Olokola will be 11million tonnes P/A of LNG, NLNG currently produces 12million a year, which took 6 years or so to develop, by the time OKLNG reaches its 11MPTA, NLNG will have far exceeded that with Train 5, 6 and 7 coming on stream, so your assertion is WRONG. OK is just as large as Bonny, and similar in size to BRASS

Two LNG plants in the Delta, the Escravos project amongst others, and one plant is now located close to other oil fields and you want to discredit it. Stop spreading falsehood man!

On the universities issue, you do have a point. . .but there is only ONE federal University in Ogun state, the fact that private ones and the state government decide to invest in tertiary education while your governors buy the choicest mansions in England is not my problem, but a failure on your part.

Cry foul all you want. Without demanding accountability from your own leaders, you do yourselves the greatest disservice. Over 1/3rd of all allocations from 1999-2007 went to the Niger Delta - what difference has that made to your lives?

Instead of asking these questions you keep rehashing the same story over and over again. Steps are being taken to redress the obvious imbalances, but the truth is that the blatant mismanagement shown by your leaders leaves a lot to be desired. Even more disturbing is the hero-worship of these same people who have deprived you of power, health and others. Instead you keep blaming the FG.

Debosky . . . may i ask what business of yours it is if the Niger Delta leaders mismanage their resources?
Have other "leaders" managed those resources any better?

Babangida alone is responsible for the loss of over $12bn oil windfall, yet some on this same land are clamouring for him to be president.
Pls we have NO moral rights to ask the Niger Delta leaders to be financially prudent . . . at least they can afford to waste money that is theirs . . . it is a shame that we are busy squandering resources that we stole!

debosky,
We've been through this argument several times in my entry on Olokola LNG and the Niger Delta Question. You didn't get back to me on that last post of mine.

At the root of the sit tight issue in Chad, you see a ''greedy'' leader who wants to appropriate all the good fortunes Chad is reaping from crude oil sales to himself and cronies loyal to his government. That the opposition groups were repelled by the army will not do much to address the uprising you have going on here. Corruption and corrupt enrichment have been the bane of most African leaders. Tell me anyother thing Chad produces that will make one not want to sit tight on the president seat. Didn't IBB do thesame, didn't OBJ tried the path of third term until he was eventually chased out? You should be able to read meanings to issues by now rather than looking at things at face value.

We all know how France deals with their former colonies - especially in times of crises. And a country like Chad that produces the balck gold will surely draw the French army when in crises.


You want to compare the kind of attention and infrastructural development you have in Lagos , Abuja and Kaduna to what obtains in Asaba and Portharcourt, or even Yenagos. This is laughable. Yenagoa is yet to be connected to the national grid as we speak, even when Bayelsa state hosts some of the prolific gas fields in the Niger Delta, that will contribute to you OKLNG. Or is it the decaying infrastructure and slums that is Portharcourt that you're comparing to Abuja and Kaduna? Please get your facts rite. Portharcourt and Warri should at least be able to measure up to the level of several oil hubs in the world - like Aberdeen, Houston and The Hague, but for the satanic neglect of the place by successive military and civillian thieves.

By your statement on the first phase of the OKLNG, you've succeeded in telling us that the plant will be much bigger that NLNG. By the time OKLNG goes into its second and third phases with other trains, it will be the biggest LNG plant in sub saharan Africa. So, what are you talking about?

@ 4Him

I never claimed it was my business. . .my argument is primarily against the argument that the monies have benefited only 'Lagos and Abuja' when a third of all the funds for the past 8 years have gone to the zone.

If 33% of the entire funds go to you and there is NO change, what guarantee that their lives will improve with 100%?

The resources were not stolen in any guise, the constitution is very clear, Mineral rights anywhere in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is vested in the Federal Government on behalf of the citizens of Nigeria - this was way before the oil was discovered and was done with the full agreement of the then ND leaders. If you have a grouse against that, argue it at the Supreme Court or get the constitution amended.

Mismanagement is one thing, claiming that all the funds have gone elsewhere is another, All I am saying is that the blame is not afar off in Abuja, but in Yenagoa, P/H, Asaba and Uyo. . .if you want development, those are the places to fight first.

@ Ono

NLNG is growing as we speak, it was initially planned to be 6MTPA, now its running at 12MTPA, so it has doubled beyond initial planning due to its second phase.

Olokola is still a proposed project, the funding has not even crystallized, it may well be that by the time it reaches its second stage, NLNG and Brass would have exceeded it by then SINCE THOSE PROJECTS ARE GROWING AS WE SPEAK. There is no third stage proposed for Olokola, only a second stage.

Who says it will be the biggest in Africa? have you heard about the planned Angola LNG and Gabon LNG projects? Those ones will easily exceed Olokola, that if its proposed second phase even comes through due to competition from all these other sources.

Oil not behind the Issues in Chad, it is more political than anything else. The soldiers defected since the President wants to sit tight - and others want to taste power - this same violence is going on in Somaila, or is it oil they are chasing as well?

I am not comparing Yenagoa to Lagos, but simply addressing your penchant for hyperbole - you tend to overstate issues in the midst of your emotional outbursts. There may not have been equitable development across board, but there has been a great deal of improvement funding wise - A THIRD OF NATIONAL REVENUE , unless you are saying that is insignificant and unable to do anything.

I once said in one of my entries that when we're dealing with the delta issue, we should be pragmatic in our reasonings.

If we have been producing oil in the country fro the past 50 years at an average rate of 2 million barrels/day, that means we've produced some 2million*365*50 barrels of crude oil. And if the price of the barrel of crude is averaged at 40 dollars per barrel over this period, then Nigeria have realised:

2million*365*50*40 dollars in the past 50 years. That's some staggering: ~ 2 trillion dollars!

Now, how much of this can we say was ploughed back into the Niger Delta over the past 50 years?

And why won't I be passionate about these things? Who will be in my shoes and not be passionate about the issues affecting his place? I bet if you're in my shoes, you will be at the rooftop shouting away at the injustice meted to your people.

@ ono

I am not saying you should not be passionate.

I understand your grouse and I have seen a lot of it first hand too. BUT it is nigh impossible to go back and recoup all that has been wasted, but if in a period of democracy with elected officials, trillions of Naira amounting to A THIRD OF ALL NATIONAL REVENUE has gone into the Delta.

have you seen development commensurate to even a quarter of that amount?

I know harm has been done, but if you focus ONLY on that without looking at what is being done now to improve the situation and hold the right people accountable, you will unfortunately NOT be better with 100%. I am not in any way saying anyone has a moral right to dictate to you, but I am more concerned about the impact on the ordinary folk of the ND, if they will raise their voice and hold their local leaders accountable, a lot more benefits will come to them.

If you truly want to be pragmatic in your reasoning, your focus must partly shift to the current stewardship you have and not be solely on the past wrongs. Much more oil remains in the ground than has been extracted - how do we ensure that the monies coming from there get utilised properly?

ono:

I once said in one of my entries that when we're dealing with the delta issue, we should be pragmatic in our reasonings.

If we have been producing oil in the country fro the past 50 years at an average rate of 2 million barrels/day, that means we've produced some 2million*365*50 barrels of crude oil. And if the price of the barrel of crude is averaged at 40 dollars per barrel over this period, the Nigeria have realised:

2million*365*50*40 dollars in the past 50 years. That's some staggering: ~ 2 trillion dollars!

Now, how much of this can we say was ploughed back into the Niger Delta over the past 50 years?

And why won't I be passionate about these things? Who will be in my shoes and not be passionate about the issues affecting his place? I bet if you're in my shoes, you will be at the rooftop shouting away at the injustice meted to your people.

Like you wrote, we should be pragmatic in our reasonings
We should also lay down the facts as they are
A barrel of oil wouldnt have been $40, 50/40/30 years ago!
So also we were not producing 2mb/day in 1958/1968/1978

This type of statistics does not help our arguments.

My question really, is: what have our leaders done with all the monies allocated to Niger Delta in all these years
We should start asking questions, instead of buck passing

oldie:

My question really, is: what have our leaders done with all the monies allocated to Niger Delta in all these years
We should start asking questions, instead of buck passing

and what have our leaders done with all the monies allocated to the non-Niger Delta in all these yrs? Its not like everywhere else is eldorado afterall.

oldie:

Like you wrote, we should be pragmatic in our reasonings
We should also lay down the facts as they are
A barrel of oil wouldnt have been $40, 50/40/30 years ago!
So also we were not producing 2mb/day in 1958/1968/1978

This type of statistics does not help our arguments.

My question really, is: what have our leaders done with all the monies allocated to Niger Delta in all these years
We should start asking questions, instead of buck passing

I used the word ''average''. Ever heard of rough estimate before. A barrel of crude oil (nigerian grade) currently goes for upward of about $95. In the early 90s it was sold for about $18. And in the early 80s it was some $80. So, if I used an average price of $40 for the past 50 years, is there anything wrong with that?

Beside,  we have produced close to 4 million barrels a day in the past, especially during the oil boom era. So, what point are you trying to pass across?