For a country like Nigeria, which is blessed with many natural resources, it is disheartening to see that these natural resources are not properly managed to benefit the citizens but are siphoned by those in authority and Power for their selfish interests and ambitions.
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Crude oil happens to be one of the most abundant natural resources that Nigerians have been blessed and it just happens that the refineries in Nigeria are nonfunctional forcing Nigerians to export these crude oil to other countries and to depend on the importation of petroleum and other products after it is refined.
Nigeria has four major refineries located in the south-south ( Port Harcourt and Warri)and northwest ( Kaduna), the refineries were shut down and out of operation19 because they were functioning below capacity. If the machinery were fed about 100% and the turnout was 40% that simply means poor productivity and loss of income.
According to the managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, the decision to stop the operations of the refineries was centered on two reasons; the first was the issue of low functioning capacity due to vandalization, some Nigerians were and still in the habit of stealing oil pipelines or destroying them. The second which is also a major concern for Nigerians is the fact that corruption was a big deal in the sector. funds that were expected to go into the turnaround maintenance of the machinery in the refineries were hijacked and looted by those in authority and politicians.
Imagine why the number of unemployment in Nigeria is alarming, probably a thousand or more were laid off because the refineries were out of operation and those who had a job suddenly woke up to the reality that they had no job and were forced to think of any means of survival, all because some greedy and selfish interest topped the chart.
The NNPC generates revenues for the country as being part of those exporting countries that export petroleum to other countries but since little or no attention is paid to the maintenance of these refineries, a good number of the citizens are deprived of the benefits that come with it.
One of the major challenges of Nigerians is the poor culture of maintenance, machinery, equipment, tools, and, infrastructures lack the proper maintenance needed for efficient and effective output. Nigerians are most at times in the habit of ignoring to maintain things and eager to apply a fire brigade approach to situations that could be avoided.
A few days ago there was a case that was discussed on a particular radio station, how a section of a building in a particular location collapsed, destroying some lives and properties. According to some of the tenants living within the vicinity, the building had some cracks on it and the landlord was informed through the caretaker about the visible cracks on the walls of the building but typical of Nigerians, nothing was done about it until it collapsed and claimed the lives and properties of some of individuals.
Some of these kinds of unfortunate incidents can be avoided if we begin to maintain and fix things at the earlier stage and not wait till they are almost completely out of working conditions maintenance is key to efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity.
The impact of having these refineries out of operations is that Nigerians are expected to buy these finished products of crude oil at a higher price after exportation and once the price of petroleum (fuel) is hiked in Nigeria every other commodity goes the same way. Simply put, the increased price of fuel in Nigeria is directly proportional to the increased price of other commodities, especially food items.
Bearing in mind the current state of the country, Aliko Dangote who is known to be the third richest businessman in Africa and an entrepreneur took the step of starting up a refinery operation in Lekki (Lagos state), the Dangote refinery is expected to produce about 650,000 barrel per day which is about one-third of what was produced by Nigerian refineries in 2016.
But recently, instead of gaining the support of the Federal government and officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to begin production, Dangote NOW considering Brazil and the United States of America for the purchase of crude oil since the Nigerian oil company only supplies a limited quantity of crude oil to the refinery. These have raised a lot of concern amongst Nigerians, as buying crude oil from other countries may be expensive thereby inflating the price of the finished products after refining.
This just goes to tell the kind of countrymen we are, those that do not consider each other's plight, or appreciate and encourage one another. Aliko Dangote may probably be looking for how to solve Nigerians' insecurity on petroleum bearing in mind that he is a businessman but the Nigerian Government and NNPC wouldn't want to give him that opportunity. How long shall we continue like this?
It will only be fair if the government revives those four refineries and their proper maintenance is considered seriously to tackle the problem of fuel scarcity and the high cost of exportation and refining.
Reference
Why We Shut Down Four Oil Refineries – NNPC
Nigeria’s Oil Production Nears 1.7 Million Barrels Per Day, Says NNPC Chief Kyari
Refinery saga: NNPC supplies insufficient crude oil to us – Dangote