A couple of years back, precisely in 2010, when he was Chairman of the Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Professor Asisi Asobie gave some damning and damaging statistics on the state of the nation’s oil and gas sector. Damning because it indexed the wastefulness and lack of vision among managers of the nation’s resources in years past; and damaging because it speaks volume of the rot in the sector that has over the years remained the goose that lays the proverbial golden egg. The occasion was the All Nigeria Editors’ Conference hosted by the Rivers State government.
Here are a few of the statistics. Between 1999 and 2005 (six years), the Nigerian federation realised $109 billion (N15.67 trillion) from the oil sector 42.2 percent ($46 billion) of which was from taxes, royalty etc while 57.8 percent or $63bn was from export and domestic crude sales. Out of this, $21 billion was invested by way of Joint Venture cash calls. Gross revenue realized for the federation was $140bn (N19.6 trillion). These amounts, said Asobie, were based on NEITI’s audit findings. They were strictly oil-sector specific flows plus non-oil sector specific flows from oil companies. They do not include income tax from other sources, customs revenues, VAT, etc; meaning receipts into the federation account for the period far exceeded the afore-stated figures when you compute earnings from other non-oil sources.
To effectively get a handle on how the money was spent, let’s look at how the various tiers of government and in fact the different zones benefited from this huge volume. For the period under review (1999 – 2005), a total of N15.8 trillion was paid into the federation account if you add revenue from other sources including customs duties, VAT et al from the oil companies. Out of this, the federal government got N5.138 trillion representing 32.5 percent; states shared N10.671trillion or 67.5 percent. Let’s break it down further according to zones. During the period, the South-south zone got a hefty N1.259 trillion; North-west, N627.888bn; South-west, N550.526bn; North-east N458.195bn; North-central N425.398bn, and bringing up the rear was the South-east with N374.503bn.
Again, reflect on this. Approximately 80 percent of the oil revenue is concentrated in the hands of one percent of the population; and 70 percent of Nigeria’s private wealth is held abroad. In fact, the guest lecturer at the conference and then Executive Secretary of the Local Content Development Commission, Ernest Nwapa, drove the nail deeper into the psyche of the editors when he said that out of every $100 made from oil and gas, only $5 is retained in Nigeria while $95 is stashed away overseas. This is beyond capital flight. This was sheer robbery by the oil ‘super-majors’ with of course connivance with corrupt public office holders in the country.
Nigeria, truly, is a victim of the “Dutch Disease” as well as the “resource curse”. Both are symptomatic of monoculture economies where the nation relies heavily if not solely on crude cash. Whereas the ‘Disease’ leads to poverty in the midst of plenty, the ‘Curse’ tends to make a people lazy, uninventive and largely unresourceful. “The ‘disease’ kills agriculture and the primary industry; the ‘curse’ makes the people docile”, Asobie postulated.
So, why are Nigerians suffering when their country is rich? Why are her teeming youths wandering the streets in hopeless swagger as they endure the yoke of unemployment? The answer is corruption. In addition to that is a clear lack of vision from the leadership.
This is the context in which one is enthralled by the new push coming from Akwa Ibom State, one of the major oil-producing states of the nation. At a time receipts from crude oil sales are dipping, the governor is envisioning a new Akwa Ibom anchored not on the props of oil money but underpinned by industrialization, wealth creation, agriculture and hospitality. The governor, Udom Emmanuel, never ceases to voice his admiration for nations which became successful through the application of knowledge to create an oasis of productive knowledge economy. He talks with passion about the exploits of China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, among others. These are countries that pulled through the ruins of war, poverty and despoliation to become world industrial powers. They became industrial hubs because at a point in time, their leadership re-engineered the people’s psyche, making their citizens understand that sustainable development does not come from importing food, drinks and just about everything but from building a strong industrial base powered and propelled by knowledge as the chief resource.
The governor launched the Dakkada (rise up) value creed, first to redefine the identity of the people and second, to rekindle a new thrust of hope and self-belief among his people. Then, he turned to the youths to make them believe that they are the change they want to see; not just with rhetorical stimulation but pragmatic empowerment with contemporary tools. Last year, he commissioned Oracle Database Administration training in the state. Today, Akwa Ibom is host of the globally recognized Pearson VUE e-Testing Centre, meaning Nigerians and indeed Akwa Ibom youths need not travel far to acquire relevant ICT certifications. Already, the first batch of Oracle Database Administration trainees has graduated from the centre and Governor Emmanuel has armed each one of them with a brand new laptop.
This gesture may be lost on some of the youths; but what the governor is saying to them is ‘create your own future’. No man can create his future except he is empowered with the relevant skill set. The average Akwa Ibom youth, especially those Oracle graduates kitted with a laptop, has been set on the path to wealth creation. The likes of Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corporation in 1977, Michael Dell of Dell Computers and even Bill Gates of Microsoft did not have such opportunity yet they forged ahead, broke through the ceiling of convention to beget to humanity ICT monuments. Today, they are the change we know. We all live in the tomorrow they created yesterday.
This is why Governor Emmanuel’s style of governance that seeks to teach the people how to fish rather than feed them with fish crumbs is admirable and a template worthy of replication across the country. Besides, the governor has dispatched 200 youths to Israel for training in agriculture and another 200 for capacity-building in power engineering and management.
All of this point to his overall vision for the state: industrialization. In just 12 months, scores of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) have been signed with strategic investors and partners. Not one to stop a vision at mere scribbling on paper, Governor Emmanuel has ensured that the investors have taken practical steps to set up shops in his state. The automobile assembly plant, electric meter manufacturing plant and the fertilizer blending conglomerate to mention but a few are the emblems of a state on the path to industrialization.
Yet, in spite of these accomplishments, the governor has remained shy of public attention and would not engage in self-adulation, either. Instead, he chooses to let his works speak for him. This is the stuff of good leadership. In the midst of scarce resources, Governor Emmanuel is building hope and a future for his people. Reed Markham, the cerebral author and writer once said: “Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity.” This is what Governor Emmanuel epitomizes: turning the difficulties of the moment to oases of opportunities.
- Olali writes from Uyo
