Niger Delta Settlement: Sincerity is Key

Spotting a light-blue shirt, neatly tucked into his trousers, with neither tie nor jacket, James Orife, managing director, an oil and gas consultancy outfit, cut the image of a simple and modest person. Sitting across the large table in his sparsely-furnished office, reminisced about Nigeria`s golden era. Indeed, the man who graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology believes the 40 years he spent working in Nigeria`s oil industry as a pioneer staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, was wasted. In this interview with Ademola Ogunlowo, editor, and Raymond Mordi, assistant editor, Orife speaks on a number of issues, including the lackadaisical manner the Niger Delta issue was handled by Nigerian executives in multinational oil companies operating within the region, recent amnesty deal with militants, how the country can survive without oil and the threat by oil majors to starve the country of investment. Excerpts:

 

What is your of perception of Nigeria of today, as compared to when you were an undergraduate?

There is absolutely no basis for the comparison; it is just like comparing us now with America. In those days, professors were scrambling to come and lecture in our universities here. Those days, there was nothing like anyone trying to help his children cheat during exams; there was nothing like any principal helping his pupils to cheat in exams. People had every reason to want to work hard to succeed, because those ahead of them worked hard

to get to where they were. We are talking of people like Kenneth Dike, Simeon Adebo, Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and (Ahmadu Bello) the Saduana of Sokoto.

 

How did we get to where we are today?

We lost all our values and we lost everything. In those days, people were brought up to be honest, to be diligent and to expect reward for hard work; even though there was an element of favouritism, excellence and meritocracy was the order of the day. A country`s education is what I call its live wire, because education creates wealth. Look at Japan; they don`t have any mineral resources, but today look at where they are. We have everything, but we are still poor. Even the human beings God has given us; we can`t even raise them to develop the resources that we have. Our problem is lack of planning.

 

Why are Shell and other multinational oil companies kicking against the Petroleum Industry Bill?

Oil is the most painful thing that has happened to this country. Yes, we have made some money; a lot of money indeed, but what have we done with it? Look at our roads; in 1972/73, we used to drive from here to Benin in two and half hours. Today, how long does it take to drive to Benin? During the Gulf War we had a windfall of about $12.4 billion; can we account for that money today? It is only in Nigeria that $12.something billion can go unaccounted for. What happened to the report of the gentleman who carried out an investigation about how the money was spent? Why are we wasting our time talking about Vision 20-20? How can you have vision 20-20 without education, without power, without

a good healthcare?

 

What are the key elements of reforms contained in the bill?

I think it is high time we started thinking about Nigeria without oil. It is because of oil that we lost our focus. Before oil came we were a prosperous nation; we had cocoa, we had palm oil, we had groundnuts, we had ginger, and we had cotton. This country can survive without oil from its agricultural products alone. Why is everybody talking about oil? Is it because we are so lazy? Oil is good, yes, but can it be all and all in our lives? If we had six good specialist hospitals, our president would not have gone to Saudi Arabia for treatment. Some of the world`s best surgeons today in the United States, US, and Britain are Nigerians. There is no aspect of medicine that we don`t have Nigerians that are specialists in that field. These professionals have been forced to go abroad; they cannot practice their profession here because there are no facilities. Our leaders are carrying on as if everything is okay in this regard. Why is it impossible for us to create a conducive environment for them to work? I once had an encounter with a British hospital and I discovered in the process that four of the six consultants in that department in the hospital were Nigerians. In another department, four of the training surgeons were Nigerians. It`s sad, isn`t it?  

 

How do you see the recent amnesty deal between the federal government and the militants?      

For me, the issue of what happened in the last five years was foreseen way back in 1987. It was foreseen because many of the states

in the Niger Delta had a high level of entry into secondary schools and the universities, what they call cut-off point. It`s only one or two states that had low entry points. For the good of the industry, we had advised the oil companies then to reserve 40 per cent of all their employments for people from this catchment area, so that they can speak for the industry and speak for the companies in future. But they said, no. It has taken us about 20 years to learn that lesson, and also at a very great expense. Unfortunately, most of the problems were being caused by my own countrymen in the oil industry not the expatriates. When you reach a particular point in your career, you should be able to stand firm and tell your employer that this is what I think is best for the country. If I may ask you, how would those people feel that militancy became a big issue after they left the scene? This was something that was avoidable; it`s a case of seeing fire and walking into it, and then turning round to complain. The problem was not created by the country, but by Nigerians in those oil companies. The companies are now like cartels, with people struggling for supremacy. Would they say they do not know the demography of their company`s staffing? Should the interest of the country not be uppermost? Without a nation, there is no industry, because you can only operate an industry within the confines of an entity, be it a town, state or nation.

 

As it is now, do you think the amnesty deal is sustainable?

Well, sincerity is the key. If you want to right a wrong, you do it without holding back. The person you may select may not even be from that ar

area, but somebody who has the conviction of what is right. This is because even the person from that area who is not sincere may just be a tool; particularly if he is the type that would always listen to his master`s voice, without stating clearly his own views. As things stand now, we are in trouble. We are in trouble because people who are in positions of authority cannot say the truth as they see it. It is the convenience of some people that has become a national inconvenience.

 

The issue of lack of gas for the various power projects has been a recurring decimal since government intensified efforts to improve the power situation in the country. Are you satisfied with the strategies being proposed to end gas flaring and thus make the product readily available?

Three years ago, when I was president of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, I urged government to challenge the society, so that we do what needs to be done to tackle this energy matter once and for all. But on condition that it must adhere to our recommendations. That didn`t happen because unfortunately three-quarters of our problems are caused by politics. Why must Nigeria be the greatest flarer in the whole world? Our gas is clean; one of the best in the world. When the issue of gas came up about 20 years ago, we submitted a gas policy. After that the African Petroleum, AP, also helped in drafting a gas policy. Must it take us such a long time, to see what is good for our country?

 

Have you seen elements of that policy you initiated in the present gas policy of the country?    

Yes, some of it

it; like liquefied natural gas, LNG; the fertilizer plant and the West African Gas Pipeline project. But we can do more. Nigeria is not bedevilled by shortage of manpower; we have excess manpower in that industry.  We have surplus manpower that can do all we want to do, if we are honest.

 

Is the West African Gas Pipeline project in any way threatened by the discovery of oil in Ghana?

It shouldn`t. Ghana is just starting. It would take a long time before they can reach the level we are now, and I`m not so sure that their type of oil is exactly what we have here. Theirs may be slightly heavier. But the gas pipeline has been laid. I`m not sure Ghana would want to take the risk of not fully proving what it has, because the Nigerian gas is something that is sure, established. Ghana is just trying to evaluate its reserves; we may need to wait for the next five years, to see where the industry is headed in Ghana. I wish to be positive that it would not be like the situation in Nigeria, and I hope that their leaders would learn from the Nigerian experience.

 

The oil majors have threatened to starve Nigeria of investment in the next five years, as part of the protest against the PIB. Are you bothered by this development?

It is an empty threat! If they want to withdraw, it`s a free world. Nigeria is one of the most lucrative places for their business worldwide, and they know it. If they are going to withdraw, their place will be taken overnight. It is those who don`t know that would be bothered by their threat. People are waiting in the wings to take their place.

 

Fuel

scarcity has become the rule in Nigeria rather than the exception. How did we get to this embarrassing situation?

Don`t forget that it is Nigerians that planned the three refineries in Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt. Nigerians participated in the designing of these refineries, and most of them are alive and still in this country. But they were retrenched because of convenience. Have you ever heard of somebody who leaves his own truck or vehicle to go and hire somebody else`s truck? Would you not rather maintain your own vehicle? That`s exactly what we are doing; transport our crude oil to refineries abroad and then bring it back to the country after it has been refined. This entails the payment of processing fees or whatever strategy they are using. Look at the issue of turn around maintenance, TAM. TAM has been a big scandal, and nobody has been able to give what I call an impeccable account of what was done. My colleagues overseas usually remark that my country must be a very funny country to have refineries, but cannot maintain them. People say that there are cartels in the industry. Did you not see what Dora Akunyili did in the pharmaceutical industry with regards to substandard and expired drugs? And she earned the acclaim of the world for what she did. I`m not sure that there is any other person in the last administration that got as many awards as she did. The other person with a similar credential is Nuhu Ribadu, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. There are other examples of people who have done it in this country. So, I get annoyed when people say that those inflicting this pain on the country constitute cart

constitute cartels and we cannot deal with them.

 

Are you saying that it is a deliberate neglect on the part of government that led us to this seemingly intractable situation we have found ourselves today?  

This is not an intractable situation please. This is a country where individual interests seem to override the national interest; patriotism is no longer in our lexicon, because if it was on our lexicon, a lot of things happening to us would not be happening. Why do you want to see your fellow brother queuing up for fuel at filling stations, when you can avoid it? People`s homes are getting burnt for storing fuel in the house to enable them power their generators and move from place to place. How is it possible that countries that don`t have crude oil are able to survive? Have we not done it before? All we need to do is go back to those old ways. It is the lack of will to confront some of these ills that has led to the crisis we are experiencing in our national life. The greed for wealth is so much that people don`t even think anymore; there is no limit to what they want to acquire. They have lost all common sense or values. What do you want to do with a billion naira in your life? Throughout my university education, N1 billion sounded Greek, now you are talking about trillions. We are budgeting trillions, where is the evidence that they are spending the money? Is it in our roads, schools, in our railways, in our medical care or our industries?

 

What is the way out of this mess that our leaders have thrown us into? How many refineries do you think can satisfy the demands of Nigerians for

petroleum products?         

We must start by maintaining what we have. I will give you an example. In 1989, the fluid catalytic crank, FCC, of the Warri refinery could not be repaired. It was a team of Nigerian engineers that went and rectified it. But after three months, that team was disbanded and sacked. We need to put our national interest above everything that we do. But do we? There are a lot of people with minimum values in Nigeria today, particularly people holding political offices. There is need to set standards for those in positions of authority. What is required to be a local government chairman, what is required to be the principal of a school? Who has more responsibilities, the principal of a school or a local government chairman? We must set standards for politics, to remove the dregs of society and attract people that have track records of performance. It is in the interest of political parties to do that on their own for the good of the country.

 

A situation when the president is not available to perform his duties, and he is reluctant to handover to his deputy, how does this impact on the system?

1. Everybody who wants to be honest knows that when the principal of a school is going on leave or is going on a course, he hands over to the vice principal. When the vice principal is going on leave or going on an errand that would take him two or three days, he hands over to the most senior teacher until the vice principal comes back. There is no reason why the president should not have done the right thing by handing over to his deputy. This has been p

provided for in our constitution. For what other reason do we have a president and a vice president? Why is it such a pain to abide by the constitution? It is incomprehensible for me that he did not know what to do. What is happening is a disservice to this nation because they are ridiculing us before the whole world.