Post by Trade facilitator on Apr 25, 2013 0:32:06 GMT 1
The discovery of black gold, otherwise known as petroleum in Nigeria in the mid 60s to the early 70s (a period popularly referred to as the oil-boom era), made the majority of Nigerians to abandon agriculture, which before then served as the mainstay of the people and a major source of revenue for the country. They started pursuing contracts from the three tiers of government: federal, state and local government whose purse had swollen courtesy of the oil-boom era.
Also abandoned by Nigerians at that time was the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources which, along-side agriculture, served as their main income earner. The black-gold thus took the place of agricultural produce and became the major export commodity from Nigeria and therefore the major revenue earner for the country.
As Nigeria’s “Brent Sweet” oil, which in terms of quality can only be compared to that of Saudi-Arabia is in high demand in the world market, Nigeria was soon to become a force to reckon with in the area of exportation of oil. And so, when the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was established, Nigeria became a key player in the cartel which, soon after its establishment, became a very powerful body that determines the quantity of oil to be pumped into the world market. This, in turn, gave the league of petroleum exporting countries the leverage to determine, to a large extent, the price of petroleum at the world market.
However, European countries who constitute the major consumers of petroleum and its products, suddenly became displeased by the activities of OPEC whose policies sometimes affected the economies of all or most of the European countries as a result of the sudden rise in price of petroleum. This was due to the fact that for most of the things they did from electricity supply to industrial productions, farming and some forms of labour, they relied on machines which run on fuel.This forced the Europeans to concentrate on how their technology would work, against the threat of OPEC.
To achieve this, they have since started research on cars that will run on water or solar rather than petroleum or gasoline.
Coupled with this, is the thinking that oil may one day disappear from where it abounds now to other places in other countries. This makes it imperative for countries like Nigeria to diversify their sources of revenue generation by venturing into exploration and exploitation of abundant mineral resources in the country.
Examining the moral imperatives of the topic of a three-day workshop “Road map for mineral and raw material exploration in the North-West” held recently, the Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Sokoto, Rt Reverend Mathew Hassan Kukah, said in view of Nigeria’s experience with exploration of oil in the Niger-Delta region, the country must put into consideration a number of factors in developing a road map for mineral exploitation. Kukah, who was the guest speaker at the workshop organised by Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) in conjunction with Ardo Media Consultants and held at the conference hall of Dankani Guest-Inn in Sokoto recently, said there were the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of investment that should be considered in developing the road map.
Bishop Kukah said against the back drop of what happened in the Niger-Delta region, Nigerians should have a lot of lessons to learn about how to go forward with the issue of mineral exploitation in the North-West. “It is important to note that what went wrong in the Niger-Delta lay was the exclusion of people from the process. When the British found oil, they did not make so much out of it. We did not know anything about it. The result is that they applied land laws that favoured them but in the end placed us at disadvantage,’’ he said.
He contented that the British took advantage of Nigerians’ ignorance then and that the absence of knowledge was now being paid for through the instability in the Niger-Delta region. He said the ignorance reduced Nigerians to a peripheral level of engagement in the oil business, in the belief that the endeavour was the white man’s area of capacity with the oil companies warning the people that the business was capital intensive and required precision technology.
Bishop Kukah said Nigerians thus became content with collecting crumbs from the master’s table which, at the end, bred corruption and said there was the need for manpower development, training and participation. He added that it was important for communities to be involved by virtue of the land being their own. The bishop however cautioned that the country should be careful to avoid using traditional rulers and their children as representatives of the communities, saying as the society was becoming more open, the strategy of participation must target all sectors of the community- women, youth and others.
He stated that the North should not be tempted to think that the discovery of minerals would solve its problems automatically but rather, the people must be prepared to face the challenges of modernity that come with the influx of entrepreneurs, new lifestyles and so on. He said this was necessary as, according to him, if the society does not consciously open up, it would continue to have repeats of miniature Boko-Harams, men prepared to seduce their people to the wilderness using religion.
Also speaking in a key-note address, the Director-General (DG), RMRDC, Professor Peter Onwualu, said mineral raw material could be regarded as encompassing metallic and non-metallic mineral resources. The DG, who was represented by Alhaji Kazeem Bilyaminu, said with a land area of approximately 924,000 km2, Nigeria possessed a favourable geological setting which ensured the occurrence of a wide variety of mineral resources that could serve as input for manufacturing and economic development. Professor Onwualu said the mineral industry had a role to play in ensuring sustainable future for economic growth. He however said that the challenge was to exploit the solid minerals in such a manner as to guarantee sustainable development. The don regretted that the addition of petroleum to the inventory of mineral resources in the country in the mid 60’s which propelled the nation to incredible heights of affluence as an exporter of crude oil, led to the drifting of the solid mineral sector into neglect.
He said the volatile nature of the oil market made it imperative for Nigeria to diversify its mono-product economy and hence the establishment of the RMRDC to, among other things, facilitate the exploitation of local raw materials as industrial inputs and generate investment in the minerals sector. The don added that, mindful of the problems associated with minerals prospecting and exploitation, the Federal Government established the federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, in addition to putting in place investment-friendly minerals policy and favourable reforms to the mining act, among others.
Source: tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/10313-politics-of-mineral-exploration-in-n-west
Also abandoned by Nigerians at that time was the exploration and exploitation of mineral resources which, along-side agriculture, served as their main income earner. The black-gold thus took the place of agricultural produce and became the major export commodity from Nigeria and therefore the major revenue earner for the country.
As Nigeria’s “Brent Sweet” oil, which in terms of quality can only be compared to that of Saudi-Arabia is in high demand in the world market, Nigeria was soon to become a force to reckon with in the area of exportation of oil. And so, when the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was established, Nigeria became a key player in the cartel which, soon after its establishment, became a very powerful body that determines the quantity of oil to be pumped into the world market. This, in turn, gave the league of petroleum exporting countries the leverage to determine, to a large extent, the price of petroleum at the world market.
However, European countries who constitute the major consumers of petroleum and its products, suddenly became displeased by the activities of OPEC whose policies sometimes affected the economies of all or most of the European countries as a result of the sudden rise in price of petroleum. This was due to the fact that for most of the things they did from electricity supply to industrial productions, farming and some forms of labour, they relied on machines which run on fuel.This forced the Europeans to concentrate on how their technology would work, against the threat of OPEC.
To achieve this, they have since started research on cars that will run on water or solar rather than petroleum or gasoline.
Coupled with this, is the thinking that oil may one day disappear from where it abounds now to other places in other countries. This makes it imperative for countries like Nigeria to diversify their sources of revenue generation by venturing into exploration and exploitation of abundant mineral resources in the country.
Examining the moral imperatives of the topic of a three-day workshop “Road map for mineral and raw material exploration in the North-West” held recently, the Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Sokoto, Rt Reverend Mathew Hassan Kukah, said in view of Nigeria’s experience with exploration of oil in the Niger-Delta region, the country must put into consideration a number of factors in developing a road map for mineral exploitation. Kukah, who was the guest speaker at the workshop organised by Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) in conjunction with Ardo Media Consultants and held at the conference hall of Dankani Guest-Inn in Sokoto recently, said there were the social, cultural, economic and political dimensions of investment that should be considered in developing the road map.
Bishop Kukah said against the back drop of what happened in the Niger-Delta region, Nigerians should have a lot of lessons to learn about how to go forward with the issue of mineral exploitation in the North-West. “It is important to note that what went wrong in the Niger-Delta lay was the exclusion of people from the process. When the British found oil, they did not make so much out of it. We did not know anything about it. The result is that they applied land laws that favoured them but in the end placed us at disadvantage,’’ he said.
He contented that the British took advantage of Nigerians’ ignorance then and that the absence of knowledge was now being paid for through the instability in the Niger-Delta region. He said the ignorance reduced Nigerians to a peripheral level of engagement in the oil business, in the belief that the endeavour was the white man’s area of capacity with the oil companies warning the people that the business was capital intensive and required precision technology.
Bishop Kukah said Nigerians thus became content with collecting crumbs from the master’s table which, at the end, bred corruption and said there was the need for manpower development, training and participation. He added that it was important for communities to be involved by virtue of the land being their own. The bishop however cautioned that the country should be careful to avoid using traditional rulers and their children as representatives of the communities, saying as the society was becoming more open, the strategy of participation must target all sectors of the community- women, youth and others.
He stated that the North should not be tempted to think that the discovery of minerals would solve its problems automatically but rather, the people must be prepared to face the challenges of modernity that come with the influx of entrepreneurs, new lifestyles and so on. He said this was necessary as, according to him, if the society does not consciously open up, it would continue to have repeats of miniature Boko-Harams, men prepared to seduce their people to the wilderness using religion.
Also speaking in a key-note address, the Director-General (DG), RMRDC, Professor Peter Onwualu, said mineral raw material could be regarded as encompassing metallic and non-metallic mineral resources. The DG, who was represented by Alhaji Kazeem Bilyaminu, said with a land area of approximately 924,000 km2, Nigeria possessed a favourable geological setting which ensured the occurrence of a wide variety of mineral resources that could serve as input for manufacturing and economic development. Professor Onwualu said the mineral industry had a role to play in ensuring sustainable future for economic growth. He however said that the challenge was to exploit the solid minerals in such a manner as to guarantee sustainable development. The don regretted that the addition of petroleum to the inventory of mineral resources in the country in the mid 60’s which propelled the nation to incredible heights of affluence as an exporter of crude oil, led to the drifting of the solid mineral sector into neglect.
He said the volatile nature of the oil market made it imperative for Nigeria to diversify its mono-product economy and hence the establishment of the RMRDC to, among other things, facilitate the exploitation of local raw materials as industrial inputs and generate investment in the minerals sector. The don added that, mindful of the problems associated with minerals prospecting and exploitation, the Federal Government established the federal Ministry of Mines and Steel, in addition to putting in place investment-friendly minerals policy and favourable reforms to the mining act, among others.
Source: tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/component/k2/item/10313-politics-of-mineral-exploration-in-n-west
