Free market cannibalism: Oil sector regulators must do better
Of all capital projects in the country, the Dangote Refinery has proven itself most profitable on a national scale. It did not suffer the fate of other state-run refineries who gulp billions annually but spit dirt. Its benefits remain endless for the government, marketers, and the common man.
Within a few months of operation, it crashed the prevailing market price of diesel. To oppose the oil freedom of Nigeria which has found fulfilment in the refinery is a sure marker of those antagonistic to the idea of a working Nigeria.
Over and over, the Federal Government has failed to live up to its promises of producing PMS in-country. So much so it led to the proliferation of illegal refineries. The South South still bears the brunt of soot, its major towns riddled with citizens who are ticking bombs of lung disease. A lack of order is an invitation to chaos. Sadly, this has been the Nigerian story for decades.
It is not one man’s responsibility to ‘save’ the nation, but Dangote chose this cause. How counterproductive then, if businesses that should improve the health of the nation, feel a lack of structural support from the government. With a lot of multinationals exiting the country, it feels self-defeating to hinder the success of a Nigeria-birthed refinery. If years ago, the Federal Government doled out 25 licences to build a refineries, and only Dangote Refinery has been able to fulfil the goal, it isn’t unbecoming to think that the government should be a prime supporter of the project.
Without mincing words, regulators should not act as bottlenecks to the success of Nigeria for the sake of personal aggrandisement of its officials. Recently, on social media, a retired ambassador’s daughter decried the weakness of the Nigerian passport, saying her father had been denied entry in the country he served as Nigeria’s representative. Already, Nigeria’s reputation in the international oil market is soiled. We import what we should refine. Need we soil our reputation any further? To constantly import fuel is neo-colonial slavery.
Regulators must resist the fate of puppets. Of course, the Nigerian-birthed refinery has antagonists. There are people who wish that Nigeria persists in oil penury despite its great potential. Government officials must remember that their role is temporary. International oil companies who seek an edge over the homegrown refinery will seek any means to upend its success. For them, the self-sufficiency of Nigeria is a threat. The officials must ensure that they are not a party to such malignant intentions.
It is no secret that Nigeria would be saving $26 billion annually from petrochemical plants and fertiliser importation, thanks to the Dangote Refinery. What more need be said. The unemployment rate will suffer an appreciable blow upon total success of the refinery… what other manifesto is greater than this? Not to mention the rebounding of the Naira when fuel importation is halted.
No wonder, speaking on his motivation, the mogul said once, “What actually inspired me is when you look at what happened in a country like India where entrepreneurs went ahead and created about five million barrels-per-day oil refinery. This country does not have as much oil as Nigeria. Nigeria is here sitting on over 2.4 million barrels per day at a point and we do not refine the oil we produce. Here, we have a country of over 200 million people and we are importing 100 percent of what we consume.”
When the Federal Government abruptly halted the fuel subsidy, it revealed its political will in matters of note. Here again, the government through its regulators must stand true, and act as a barricade against the dirty politics of those who want continual impoverishment of the nation. Nigeria must move on from mere propaganda to action that benefits the populace.
