For decades Nigeria has been besetted by importation of petroleum products, occasioned by non-functionality of our local refineries, thereby throwing the nation into untold hardship.
The ordeal has been like that of rat race, where heaps of promises by the Federal Government via Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) now limited never materialised.
But thank God for the President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s administration who came on board barely six months ago and made good its promise that Port Harcourt Refinery would come on stream in December, 2023.
Though we have not seen the actual commencement of production by the said refinery, but having being test run, chances are that other curves would be smoothened.
As we celebrate the test run of the much awaited commencement of production by the Port Harcourt Refinery, we want to say that it is not yet Uhuru.
The question that is on the lips of every true Nigerian is what next? Nigeria and Nigerians have really suffered in the hands of Shylock mercantilists in the name of fuel importers/importation.
It is unthinkable and uncanny that a country like Nigeria that is among the largest producers of crude oil in the world, is importing virtually every petroleum product for its domestic consumption. Which nation does that? So we once again salute the courage of President Tinubu and his team for the promise made and kept.
But Nigerians will be happier if this joy will be sustainable. Let it not be a one-off jubilation. And that can only be achieved if the routine turnaround maintenance timetable is maintained and kept. By this we mean that if it is five years turnaround maintenance, let it be five years, if it is ten years as the case may be, let it be religiously followed.
Now that we have managed to gallop out of the rough waves, let us be safety conscious. The struggle should continue, the other remaining two refineries, talking about Warri and Kaduna refineries should equally come on stream. A rat that has one hole, they say, does not live long. So let us as a country blessed with abundant human and material resources have multiple holes.
Let the modular refineries or those licensed to establish modular refineries do so. Appropriate or relevant authorities are saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that such licenses are used to do their jobs.
Anybody or organisation that possesses that modular refinery license without using it should be stripped of such privilege. There is no vacuum in nature, so the said licences must be used for the purposes they were issued.
While we still await the commencement of the Dangote Refinery said to start with 650,000 barrels of oil per day, let government owned ones kickoff. Because as the saying goes, ‘Our own is our own and their own is their own.’ Let Dangote Refinery be a booster to Nigeria. Nigeria as a major oil producer should feed the world with enough fuel exportation and that is when domestic consumption has been gotten right. Let us not be in the river and cannot wash off soap from our eyes.
We believe and strongly too that the era of petroleum products scarcity in Nigeria is over and that it is a new dawn. And now that the oil subsidy is gone for good, let the Federal Government under the leadership of Sen Ahmed Bola Tinubu prove that Nigerians did not make a mistake by electing him into office. Even though it looks early in the day to judge him, a hen that will become a cock is said to be sported after the hatching of the eggs.
The government has started well by keeping to its promise of rehabilitating the Port Harcourt Refinery in record time, so Nigerians have no reason not to be hopeful that better days are ahead. It is up to the President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s Government to prove them right or wrong. But we pray that it proves us right and that can only be done if the current tempo is sustained. Anything short of that will be monumental minus or failure on the part of the Federal Government.
We are very optimistic that it shall be win-win for the present Federal Government and Nigerians will be grateful for that. We believe that once the fuel price stabilises, cost of living will reduce. Exchange rate will fall in place, a situation where over N1,000 exchanges $1 is unacceptable. Let the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other relevant bodies saddled with the responsibility of managing the country’s finances wake up and do their jobs. Dollar as a currency of exchange is owned by a country, just as Nigeria owns the Naira. The economists and financial managers in the United States of America (USA) are not superior to that of their Nigerian counterparts, so there is no justifiable reason why we should be where we are today economically.
In terms of mineral resources, we are far above some countries that are doing well monetarily. So we do not have any reason to be found in the rear. It is incumbent upon our leaders to take us to our proper position as giant of Africa. The followers too have a role,as there cannot be good leadership without qualitative followership. Let us discard the idea that only leaders should be blamed when things go wrong. Far be it, it is a collective responsibility by all.
Nigeria must be great again and that must be achieved by the contribution of all citizens. A stitch in time, they say saves nine!