By Precious Mark
Top corporate executives and regulatory chiefs at the 25th Edition of the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week in Abuja have broken ranks to demand an immediate shake-up in how the sector treats its younger workforce, insisting that companies must dismantle rigid legacy entry barriers and trust young indigenous professionals with actual corporate authority.
The industry leaders handed down this charge during a sector dialogue titled “Emerging Leaders: Shaping the Future of Energy,” where stakeholders confronted the systematic challenges locking young talents out of key operational roles amid an evolving domestic regulatory framework.
The session, which was anchored by the Managing Director of Arcade Engineering, Bolu Tife Odusanya, pointedly challenged top-tier managers on what a 30-year-old entering the energy workforce needs to do differently to secure actual, front-row corporate responsibilities.
Answering the call, the Chief Executive Officer of Yikodeen Company Limited, Yinka Atunde, maintained that the domestic operating terrain remains artificially hostile to the career progression of young professionals.
“Working in an environment like Nigeria, you don’t get opportunities easily. It is important to believe that young people in Nigeria can make a difference. It is possible, and we need to start believing in young people,” Atunde said.
Speaking from an operator’s perspective, the General Manager of Nigerian Content Development at Chevron Nigeria Limited, Ikhuoria Aimienwanu, argued that the industry can no longer afford to let the fear of technical failure cripple its delegation of duties.
Aimienwanu pointed out that structured mentorship and strategic thinking models remain the missing links in corporate succession, stressing: “Give them responsibility that makes them make mistakes, and they will begin to take on responsibilities and learn from those mistakes.”
He added that while manufacturing and infrastructure asset execution in the local oil and gas space is already capital-intensive and hard for top-tier firms, it becomes doubly oppressive for youth-led businesses, demanding aggressive institutional cushioning and unwavering resilience.
Weighing in on how the sector can successfully balance international energy transition targets with a rapid scale-up of domestic output, the Assistant Manager, PCAD, at the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Bashir Ahmed, stated that real change will depend on the collaborative actions taken today.
“Are we bouncing off ideas to them? The regulatory space is evolving, but we are willing to meet you halfway,” Ahmed assured the young innovators.
Flipping the script on operational habits the local industry must unlearn, the National Chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Petroleum Engineers, Engr. Yetunde Aladeitan, took a direct swipe at excessive, gatekeeping employment requirements.
She argued that operators must stop expecting young professionals to boast decades of experience before being granted entry into leadership pipelines, highlighting that their raw willingness to take risks is a massive asset.
Engr. Aladeitan revealed that her institute has launched a youth development initiative that attracted 300 applications from young professionals across the country, which has been screened down to 40 candidates.
She requested immediate collaboration from corporate oil companies and government parastatals to scale the initiative.
Also speaking, a Process Design Analyst with NNPC Limited, GodsLove Chinyere Oliver, warned corporate setups against handing out titles without operational power, backing the moderator’s position that responsibility and authority are two different things that must be combined to successfully transition the sector into the next phase of local content growth.